kscarbel2

It's invaluable to hear a first-hand educated opinion from one of us. Thank you!

Yes.

International Trucks is showcasing several vehicles from its vocational lineup this week at World of Concrete, including an International #HVSeries featuring the Hendrickson HAULMAAX EX suspension. #WOC2020 https://bit.ly/373PIFw

In the same vein that the Kenworth T440 and T470 have a deeper cab, a modification of the T270/370 cab. https://www.kenworth.com/media/9819/kenworth_t440_brochure.pdf

You’re right. But the powers that be don’t want it to publicize it. i suspect though that the Coronavirus is more contagious.

Now they have a longer version. .

The Cummins X12 engine—less weight, more freight. Plus, improved fuel economy for your Autocar DC-64 conventional cab vocational truck. Always Up - Autocar Trucks .

Autocar Model ACX "Xpeditor" equipped with Simard AMS40T2 "twin steer" front suspension at World of Concrete 2020. Learn more about the Simard AMS40T2 "twin steer" front suspension: https://www.simardsuspensions.com/en/products/front-suspension/ams40t2/ .

Definitely the best-looking crew at World of Concrete 2020! #AlwaysUp #Autocar #concretemixers #concretepumpers #concrete

The new #Autocar DC-64M #concretemixer has been drawing a crowd all day. Visit us in booth C-6661 if you haven’t seen it yet! #AlwaysUp #ROI #uptime #dieselconventional #concrete

Fleet Owner / February 3, 2020 One day after signing the updated trade agreement with Canada and Mexico, President Trump took the celebration to a Dana Inc. manufacturing facility in Michigan. On Jan. 29, Trump held a ceremony at the White House to sign the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), the replacement to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Included at the event were numerous trucking industry officials and members of America’s Road Team. The next afternoon, Trump took the message to the key election battleground state of Michigan, speaking to Dana employees and other invited guests at the famous manufacturing facility in the town of Warren. “The USMCA is the most fairest, balanced and beneficial trade deal we’ve ever signed into law,” Trump said during his remarks. James Kamsickas, president, CEO and chairman of Dana, wrote in an e-mail to Fleet Owner shortly after the event his company “has been a strong supporter of USMCA. It was an honor to host President Trump at the first official White House event following the signing of the bill into law and to hear from him directly on a topic that is important for our company and our industry.” Kamsickas noted the plant went from producing 16,000 parts a day to hosting the president -- and then immediately transitioned back to work on for next shift. “Dana Corp. is the perfect place to honor the immortal legacy of the American worker,” Trump said. “I just want to congratulate all of the people at Dana. You have all been outstanding and it really is the great people right now — the great people that work here — those people that can do such precision work. You’re the ones that are doing it, and you’re the ones in our country and the people who we have great respect for.” The facility, which makes axle components for the light- and heavy-duty markets, was originally designed as the Detroit Arsenal Tank Plant. Back in 1941, the plant began producing tanks and became “famous for producing more than one quarter of the tanks for the United States in World War II,” Kamsickas said. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt toured the grounds with the First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt in 1942. Technically, USMCA still must be ratified by Canada before it can be officially implemented. The deal requires that 75% of a vehicle must be made in North America, an effort to help the U.S. automotive industry. Under NAFTA, it was 62.5%. The signing of USMCA “is the beginning of the next phase in our strong and productive relationship with Mexico and Canada,” said Chris Spear, president and CEO of American Trucking Associations. “The USMCA will provide opportunity for manufacturing growth in the United States and throughout the region,” said MEMA President and CEO Bill Long, who also received an invitation to attend the White House signing ceremony. “This action begins to establish economic certainty, which is essential to preserving and enhancing vital North American supply chains for the U.S. motor vehicle sector.”

Transport Topics / February 4, 2020 Independent engine maker Cummins Inc. reported declines in net income and revenue in the fourth quarter amid downturns in key global markets. Net income for the period ended Dec. 31 was $300 million, or $1.97 per diluted share, on revenue of $5.57 billion. That compared with net income of $579 million, or $3.63, on revenue of $6.12 billion a year earlier. Annual profit set a record. In the quarter, the engine segment reported on-highway revenues decreased 13%, and off-highway revenues decreased 22% primarily due to decreased global demand in truck and construction markets. “Despite challenging conditions in many of our largest markets over the last six months, Cummins delivered record profits and operating cash flow in 2019,” Cummins Chairman and CEO Tom Linebarger said in a release. For the full year, net income increased to $2.26 billion, or $14.48, compared with $2.14 billion, or $13.15 a year earlier. Annual revenue dipped to $23.57 billion compared with $23.77 billion in the 2018 period. Columbus, Ind.-based Cummins forecast 2020 revenue could decline by 8% to 12%. The company cited as factors: lower truck production in North America, Europe, China and India as well as lower projected demand in off-highway markets, including global power generation, mining, oil and gas, and construction markets. “The actions we have taken to reduce costs will mitigate a further slowdown in 2020 and position the company for stronger performance when market demand improves,” Linebarger added. “We will continue investment in new technologies and products in 2020 to generate strong growth and profitability for the company in both the near and long term, which is consistent with how we have managed through prior cycles.”

We’re live at World of Concrete in booth C6661 w/ our partners Stertil-Koni USA Cummins Inc Allison Transmission & Beck Industrial — come see the #Autocar DC-64M #concretemixer, the #ACX chassis, the #Cummins X12 engine & #stertilkoni mobile lifts! #WOC2020 #AlwaysUp #ROI #uptime #LVCC

It's a blatant monopoly. I used to like Ferrara, before the acquisition.

Ford loses $1.7 billion in Q4 on pension charge, UAW contract costs Michael Martinez, Automotive News / February 4, 2020 DETROIT — Ford Motor Co. lost almost $1.7 billion in the fourth quarter after taking a big accounting hit from employee pension liabilities and retirement benefits, but the automaker eked out a modest profit for the year. Ford on Tuesday said its fourth-quarter earnings before interest and taxes in the quarter plummeted 67 percent to $485 million, while automotive EBIT dropped 81 percent to $215 million. Ford's North American earnings fell 64 percent to $700 million, mostly due to UAW contract costs, warranty expenses and problems with the launch of the redesigned Explorer and Aviator crossovers. Ford last month warned that its fourth-quarter results would include a $2.2 billion charge related to its pension plans. The company has now reported two consecutive fourth quarter losses, after losing $116 million in the final period of 2018. Revenue in the fourth quarter fell 5 percent to $39.7 billion. For the full year, Ford posted net income of $47 million, down from $3.7 billion in 2018. "2019 financially was not OK," CFO Tim Stone said. "From a strategic perspective, I think we had strong progress executing our strategic vision. As I look to 2020 and beyond, I'm very optimistic." For 2020, Ford said it expects adjusted free cash flow of $2.4 billion to $3.4 billion and adjusted EBIT of $5.6 billion to $6.6 billion.

Ford Trucks International Press Release / February 4, 2020 Ford Trucks' Model 1848T 4x2 prime mover enables operators to go the full distance in domestic transportation. #SharingTheLoad #FordTrucks .

It is based on the highly successful DAF "LF". https://www.daf.co.uk/en-gb/trucks/daf-lf We can all note the common theme.......6.7-litre Cummins ISB. Ford and GM/Navistar chose in-house engines to reduce cost, but at what expense to sales??? Give the customer what they want!

These shipments of medical supplies are desperately needed in the Chinese city of Wuhan, the epicenter of the Coronavirus (2019-N-CoV). .

My kind of truck.....exactly what I would buy. However, these "concepts" never make it into production.

Yes. And the cab interior is as nice as a Scania. https://www.kenworth.com/trucks/k270-k370/ https://www.peterbilt.com/trucks/medium-duty/model-220

Navistar loses lawsuit against US Army and Oshkosh over vehicle buys Defense News / January 27, 2020 WASHINGTON — The U.S. Court of Federal Claims has ruled in favor of the U.S. Army’s decision to go with only one source for its Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles for more than 10 years, denying Navistar’s lawsuit brought against the service and FMTV-maker Oshkosh Defense for not competitively procuring the vehicle. Following the Army’s initial five-year contract to buy FMTVs from Oshkosh, the service chose a sole-source procurement route with the company, arguing it didn’t have time to reopen competition because of urgent needs. Since 2009, the Army has spent more than $6 billion on FMTVs from Oshkosh. FMTVs are used for a wide variety of missions, including transporting for different cargo and missile defense radars. Navistar filed its lawsuit with the court in early August 2019. A bench trial was held Nov. 26, and a sealed decision was rendered Dec. 13. The court’s decision was unsealed this month. Navistar had filed a protest over the FMTV decision with the Government Accountability Office. But Navistar decided to sue the Army after the company said it was getting nowhere in its quest to get the Army to produce documents that would show the service’s reasoning to continue to order more vehicles from Oshkosh without competition and without proper legal justification. The company contended that the Army did not justify and had improperly awarded its most recent sole-source FMTV procurement in 2019 to Oshkosh, and that the service failed to provide proper notice to possible competitors in accordance with federal acquisition regulations and the Competition in Contracting Act, according to an extensive review of court documents by Defense News. In addition, the Army also ignored a stop-work order, which automatically went into effect when the GAO protest was filed. Navistar filed two complaints: One that claims the Army violated the law when it continued to buy Oshkosh vehicles outside of the scope of its contract without holding a competition, and another that claims the Army illegally continued to work on production of those vehicles despite a required stop-work order that must go into effect once a protest is filed with the GAO. Navistar contended the Army had ample time to compete for follow-on FMTV orders, and that the pool was deep with companies ready to provide vehicles that met the service’s requirements, but the Army never did. The Army instead issued a series of justification and approvals, or J&A, to extend its original contract award, including a September 2016 J&A, which Navistar protested with the GAO. Navistar settled with the Army, which included a deal to build vehicles for Iraq. To justify its orders in 2019, the Army amended the September 2016 J&A rather than issuing an entirely new one. Navistar claimed the move was not only against the Army’s previous practice but also against the rules of contract law. The court disagreed with Navistar’s argument that the Army’s 2019 sole-source contracting action constituted a “cardinal change” to the original contract or its subsequent 2016 J&A, which extended the contract. The judge decided the Army’s 2019 decision to procure an additional 1,916 vehicles did not “materially depart” from the scope of the original contract, which is one of the characteristics of a cardinal change. Additionally, the judge did not find any evidence that the 2019 orders fell out of the scope of the contract as modified by the Army in the 2016 J&A. The orders also fell within the terms of the contract, the judge found, which ended Aug. 25, 2019. The orders were placed between February and June of that year. The court also argued that Navistar and potential other offerors that might have participated in an FMTV competition were “adequately” notified of the possibility that the Army would procure additional tactical vehicles during the term of the contract. The judge found the 2016 J&A made clear the Army’s plan to extend and increase the value of the contract for the purpose of adding additional vehicles and made clear its reasoning not to hold a competition. The court argued that Navistar and others should have expected the possibility the Army would decide to increase the number of vehicles it might procure. The court also noted that the Army issued an explanation again in June 2019 outlining its need to buy more vehicles to bridge a gap between the current version of the FMTV and a new variant, for which Navistar did not compete. The judge wrote that additional vehicles were justified “because it’s well-established the Army’s estimate of its requirements is not a guarantee or warranty of the exact quantity required.” Navistar failed to show that the 2016 J&A limited the number of vehicles the Army could procure, according to the decision. The court also noted Navistar failed to show any statute or regulation that required the Army to issue a J&A every time it needed to add more vehicles beyond original estimates. The judge argued that even though it was the Army’s practice to do so when it ordered more vehicles, the absence of a complete J&A in 2019 was not against the rules. The court also found the Army had proper approval from a senior procurement official to extend its contract beyond the 10-year limit in accordance with the law. Navistar had argued the Army improperly extended the term of the contract. Additionally, the court argued that Navistar’s settlement agreement in 2016 — following the company’s GAO protest — precludes the vehicle maker from raising certain claims related to the FMTV contract because it waived its rights to appeal or protest any further orders under the contract. “The court agrees with the government that Navistar may not pursue claims related to the decision to extend the contract in 2016 or a challenge of the terms of the FMTV contract as they related to foreign military sales,” the decision stated. The judge also decided that since Navistar voluntarily withdrew its GAO protest and wasn’t successful in demonstrating the merits of its claims before the court, injunctive relief could not be provided. “When issues arise that warrant review before independent government agencies and the court, we have and will continue to bring them forward for review on the merits, especially those issues that directly impact U.S. taxpayers, our company and our dedicated employees who support critical U.S. missions around the world,” Kevin Thomas, Navistar Defense’s president, said in a statement to Defense News.