Navistar Receives Subpoena From Defense Department

[kscarbel2]

The Wall Street Journal  /  September 8, 2016

Navistar International Corp. said Thursday it had received a federal subpoena related to truck-suspension systems the company built for the U.S. military.

Lilse, Ill.-based Navistar said it provided the Department of Defense with information on suspension systems sold to the government in 2009 and 2010.

Navistar wouldn’t confirm whether the suspensions were for some of the 8,700 mine-resistant, ambush-protected trucks, or MRAPs, the company built starting in 2007 for troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. The company later upgraded the suspensions on thousands of the boxy, top-heavy trucks originally built for service in Iraq to improve their off-road performance in Afghanistan’s rugged, mountainous terrain.

“We are fully cooperating and providing them the information that they’ve requested,” Chief Financial Officer Walter Borst said during a conference call Thursday.

Navistar announced Tuesday that German auto maker Volkswagen AG will take a minority stake in the company and jointly develop new Navistar trucks and engines for the North American market. VW has agreed to pay $256 million for a 17% stake in Navistar’s stock.

After North American truck sales spiked last year, trucking companies have been dialing back purchases in 2016. Industry-wide production of heavy-duty trucks this year is expected to fall by about one-third from 2015’s volume. Navistar Chief Executive Troy Clarke predicted that industry sales of heavy-duty trucks in 2017 “could be slightly lower” than in 2016.

The company said Thursday that falling sales contributed to a wider fiscal third-quarter loss. Nevertheless, Navistar maintained its guidance for the fiscal year ending Oct. 31.

“We expect a stronger fourth quarter than third quarter.” Mr. Clarke said. “The [third] quarter [had] a little less volume than we anticipated.”

Navistar’s sales of trucks in the quarter fell 24% from a year earlier to $1.4 billion. The number of trucks and school buses invoiced to specific customers fell 23% in the quarter, led by a 46% drop in heavy-duty models.

Navistar’s struggles to increase truck sales are burdened by the fallout from a failed engine exhaust treatment strategy that undermined the reliability of Navistar’s trucks and engines from 2010 through 2012. Truck buyers abandoned Navistar’s trucks for other brands, sending Navistar’s share of the heavy-duty market into a tailspin.

Since then, Navistar has mostly relied on engines built by Cummins Inc. Navistar also bought up used trucks carrying its own engines and resold them overseas. It reported Thursday that its inventory of used trucks in the third quarter fell for the first time in a year.

Navistar continued to back its earlier guidance for the year, projecting adjusted pretax income of between $550 million and $600 million on revenue of between $8.2 billion and $8.6 billion.

For the three months ended July 31, Navistar reported a loss of $34 million, or 42 cents a share, compared with a year-earlier loss of $28 million, or 34 cents a share. Revenue slipped 18% to $2.09 billion. Analysts had expected a profit of 14 cents a share on revenue of $2.18 billion.

[kscarbel2]

Navistar Defense to Upgrade 2,300 MRAPs to Defend Against Evolving Threats

Navistar Defense Press Release  /  September 19, 2012

Navistar Defense, LLC received a delivery order today for up to $282 million to provide more than 2,300 survivability upgrade retrofit kits for International® MaxxPro® Dash Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles. The order from the U.S. Army TACOM Life Cycle Management Command will upgrade MaxxPro Dash vehicles in theater with additional protection in response to evolving threats in Afghanistan. The order also includes parts and service.

"Anticipating the needs of our Armed Forces continues to be a top priority for Navistar and we are proud to offer the vehicle of choice to help them complete their missions safely," said Archie Massicotte, president, Navistar Defense. "Threats continue to change and it is our responsibility to stay out ahead of those threats with the best technology available."

The MaxxPro family of vehicles was originally designed to accommodate rapid vehicle enhancements as threats evolved in theater. Since 2007, the company has provided enhancements to both survivability and mobility through its work on its rolling chassis body swap, DXM independent suspension retrofit kits, armor kits and more.

"We also understand the balance of keeping our service men and women well equipped at a reasonable cost to taxpayers," said Massicotte. "We will keep offering integrated solutions as well as alternatives to buying new vehicles so that we can keep our Armed Forces modern and ready for future operations."

Navistar has delivered nearly 9,000 MaxxPro units in nine major variants to the United States and its allies. This order follows the company's MaxxPro rolling chassis body swap, which upgrades more than 2,700 MaxxPro vehicles with a DXM independent suspension, MaxxForce® 9.3 engine, 570 amp alternator and driveline.

Work for the survivability upgrade will be done in Afghanistan beginning in December 2012. The order is scheduled to be completed by July 2013.

[kscarbel2]

The MaxxPro DXM upgrade kits are designed and built by Hendrickson, and combine Hendrickson’s engineered sub-frames, sway-bars, coil springs and shocks with GD AxleTech International’s 5000 Series Independent Suspension Axle System.

http://www.axletech.com/d/press-release/pr-571.pdf

http://www.axletech.com/na_en/products/product1.php?id=5000ISAS

 

 

 

[kscarbel2]

.