Government emissions standards continue to evolve, so the technology in each and every truck on the road also needs to evolve./p>
Diesel engines need new components, including hybrid-electric powertrains and natural gas engines (which we are proud to be testing as part of an innovative program with Mack and our friends at Pitt Ohio).
Read more about some of the advanced technology being tested here: Commercial Carrier Journal
It’s never good news when there’s a truck in your fleet that’s down for repairs.
Due to the strong freight market and the federal electronic logging device mandate, fleets have even more incentive to make repairs quickly and get their trucks back on the road no matter the time of day. Minimizing downtime and keeping your fleet up and running is key to performance.
Some fleets have resorted to starting their own 24-hour service centers, while maintenance shops like TransEdge has focused on working for and achieving Certified Uptime Center certifications. We’ve invested in improvements designed to get you in, get your repair done in a timely way, and get you back on the road faster. You can learn more about our efforts in this video: Watch Here
Learn more about the national trends here: Transport Topics
U.S. factory production ended 2018 stronger than expected, thanks to a surge in motor-vehicle output and gains across a range of other goods.
These results indicate manufacturing remains healthy, helped by lower taxes and a strong job market. Economists are closely following 2019 results, as many key reports have been delayed by the partial federal shutdown.
Read more: Bloomberg
U.S. factory production ended 2018 stronger than expected, thanks to a surge in motor-vehicle output and gains across a range of other goods.
These results indicate manufacturing remains healthy, helped by lower taxes and a strong job market. Economists are closely following 2019 results, as many key reports have been delayed by the partial federal shutdown.
Read more: Bloomberg
Each year, the American Transportation Research Institute updates its annual Top 10 report, listing the big issues for trucking. The driver shortage continues to dominate the survey results from motor carriers, while drivers rank hours of service as their top concern.
The need to train and hire more qualified drivers is not new. The shortage has been a top-three issue in 12 of the 14 years ATRI has compiled its survey.
Read more: Transport Topics
Anyone who drives a truck will tell you that collision mitigation systems are evolving. At first, false positives plagued these systems, causing false activations and unnecessary emergency braking. Now with refinements, collision mitigation systems are becoming increasingly popular.
Volvo Trucks became the first North American manufacturer to embrace this safety feature, by making the Bendix Wingman Fusion a factory-built standard on its highway models. More on Volvo’s experience and other vendors at this link:
Read more: Transport Topics
When Mack Trucks launched the new Anthem last year, it set its sights squarely on seizing more of the long-haul market. They’ve hit their target, with orders of 70-inch standup sleepers already two times higher than they were for all of 2017.
Now, one year later, transportation writers took a Mack Anthem on 3-day test drive to see what the buzz is about. The takeaway after 1-thousand miles? The Anthem combines a fuel-efficient powertrain and good aerodynamics which adds up to great fuel savings on the long haul.
Read more: Commercial Carrier Journal
At last check, the nationwide driver shortage is estimated to be at least 50,000 and growing. Combined with the booming demand to move freight, more and more trucking companies are coming up with creative solutions to address the nationwide driver shortage.
Wages and bonuses have become common but now some forward-thinking companies have rolled out scholarship programs designed to recruit and retain new drivers.
Read more: Transport Topics
Fed by a stronger economy and the electronic logging devices (ELD) mandate, the trucking industry is now experiencing what is perhaps the tightest capacity crunch in history. By using data on tonnage and other freight trends across various industry segments, motor carriers and shippers can more effectively plan for the scarcity of trucks and adjust their operations to remain competitive.
Overall, handling over 70% of all freight in the U.S., the trucking industry continues to dominate freight transportation over all other modes. Total truck tonnage in 2017, including for-hire and private carrier operations, was more than 22% higher than its lowest point in 2009.
Read more: Transport Topics
The tightest trucking market in years is testing the limits of an otherwise well-conditioned U.S. economic expansion.
Whether it’s driver shortages, new regulations or simply demand continuing to outpace capacity, a lot of focus is being placed on more efficient ways to move freight. The concept of Platooning is one new technology that can help. In fact, Volvo Trucks and FedEx just put platooning to the test.
Read more: Transport Topics
