Ryder

Ryder opens facility in London

LONDON, ON - Ryder System has opened a new logistics operating center in London, Ontario, to serve Eastern Canada and support more than 3,000 cross-border freight moves per month. The 30,000-square-foot facility at 1205 Green Valley Road includes offices and cross-docking space, and there's also parking for 286 trailers and 162 tractors. There are 210 drivers based at the facility, along with 55 Ryder employees. Inbound shipments from the U.S. will be unloaded here and sorted before being shipped out within 24 hours.

Chanje electric vans unveiled in U.S.

BROOKLYN, NY - Chanje is here. The Chinese-based vehicle manufacturer (pronounced "change") has officially unveiled its electric medium-duty panel van in Brooklyn, New York, with Ryder taking delivery of 125 units for its rental and leasing fleet. The initial rollout will be in key California markets including Los Angeles, San Francisco, and San Diego, as well as New York and Chicago. Ryder will provide parts distribution, service and support. "All the trends in diesel are going in the wrong direction," said Chanje Chief Executive Officer Bryan Hansel, noting that diesel equipment is increasingly expensive to build, purchase, and maintain. China's demand for electric vehicles is expected to outpace North America's needs in coming years, but the U.S. market sets the highest bar for vehicle reliability and safety, and it is home to some of the largest delivery companies and consumer brands expected to use the vehicles, Hansel says. This is being developed as a "world" truck for markets here and elsewhere, and the company says it has invested about US $1 billion in the design and related tooling. But Canada's official rollout has to wait for now. "It's demand-driven. We're certainly going to be inquiring to see the uptake opportunity," Hansel said, referring to Canada as a parallel market to the U.S. "It seems like a natural progression."

Hyliion is turning diesel engines into hybrids

PITTSBURGH, PA - Hyliion is adding a spark to Class 8 engines. The vehicle hybridizing company launched its second product this week, promising to save fleets up to a combined 30% in fuel costs by electrifying traditional Class 8 tractors. The company's new 6X4HE system can be installed on new trucks or retrofitted on older models to create an electric subsidized Class 8 truck. Hyliion says the system is easily attached to the truck frame, and is self-contained.

Financial Planning: Structure a lease that’s right for you

TORONTO, ON -- What is it that you do best: fix trucks, manage toll payments and fuel taxes, change tires, sell used trucks, or move freight? If you're even a modestly successful fleet in today's market, you're probably pretty good at most of the above, but you probably wish you could devote more time and resources to your core competency - moving freight. About 10 years ago, André Boisvert, vice president and co-owner of Lachine, Quebec-based Trans-West Group, concluded that he was better at transportation and logistics than he was at maintenance and fleet management.

Fuel economy up 3% at 17 major fleets

NEW YORK, NY -- Seventeen major North American fleets - including Canadian-based Challenger Motor Freight and Bison Transport - boosted their fuel economy by 3% in 2015, according the Annual Fleet Fuel Study released today by the North American Council for Freight Efficiency (NACFE). Fleet-wide fuel economy increased from 6.87 to 7.06 miles per gallon (34.2 to 33.3 liters per 100 kilometers), representing the largest boost in eight years of consecutive improvements. And they saved just shy of $650 million on fuel bills when compared to the national average. Put another way, their individual trucks saved about $6,020 per year compared to the baseline of a "business as usual" truck that reaches 6.3 miles per gallon (37.3 liters per 100 kilometers).