John G Smith
John G. Smith is Newcom Media's vice-president - editorial, and the editorial director of its trucking publications -- including Today's Trucking, trucknews.com, and Transport Routier. The award-winning journalist has covered the trucking industry since 1995.
Mack partners with Petty’s Garage, eyes growth
OAKLAND, CA - Mack Trucks is once again turning to the power of celebrity partnerships as it looks to expand its share of a growing North American truck market. The truck maker is now an official sponsor of Petty's Garage, the high-performance speed shop established by NASCAR's Richard Petty. Under the deal, the Garage receives a 2018 Mack Pinnacle Axle Back model with an MP8-445C engine to move cars to public events as part of the Performance Tour. This build's on Mack's established relationship with the NASCAR race series, which has it providing 10 Pinnacles to haul gear, equipment, and other technologies. For Mack customers, the NASCAR relationship means opportunities to ride in pace cars or see drivers load in equipment at track level. Now appearances by Petty - one of the biggest names in auto racing - will be included as well. This build's on Mack's established relationship with the NASCAR race series, which has it providing 10 Pinnacles to haul gear, equipment, and other technologies.
Path to electrification not straight to linehaul: Mack
OAKLAND, CA - Mack Trucks continues to see a healthy future for diesel engines, even as alternatives like electrification begin to emerge. "Diesel today, it's performing extremely well. It's cleaner than it's ever been, it's robust, it's versatile," said Roy Horton, director - product strategy, during a briefing in Oakland, California. As for talk about electric trucks? "It's almost a little bit of an uphill battle there." Electrification is "on the bubble, and it's something everyone is looking at," he said, admitting that the recent unveiling of Elon Musk's Tesla Semi attracted attention. "It's definitely going to be part of our future." Just not for longhaul. Not right away. Mack believes the earliest adopters of electrification will be operations with the chance to charge at a home base and not depend on general infrastructure for fuel. That includes refuse, local delivery, and public transportation fleets.
Mulroney talks trade, leadership at OTA
TORONTO, ON - Former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney brought a message about the importance of leadership and free trade to fleet executives in Toronto today, at a time when the trade agreements he championed are being challenged and renegotiated. In a speech to the Ontario Trucking Association's annual meeting, Mulroney referred to NAFTA discussions as "the most important international negotiations in modern history" for Canada, the U.S. and Mexico. And he drew on a series of statistics to prove his point about the value of trade. "The statistics alone speak to the success of the (Canada-U.S.) Free Trade Agreement," he said, noting how trade between the countries has tripled since 1989. "With less than 7% of the world's population, NAFTA produces 29% of the world's wealth." While U.S. President Donald Trump has referred to NAFTA as a terrible deal, Mulroney stressed that our southern neighbors have "done extremely well", referring to the U.S. unemployment rate of 4.1% as an example.
Trucking a dominant force in Mexico
PUERTO VALLARTA, MX - In Mexico, there is an undeniable link between trucking and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The nation is now the eighth-largest producer of trucks in the world; the fourth-largest exporter of the vehicles. And related exports now represent 6.3% of the country's Gross Domestic Product, says Flavio Rivera, president and Chief Executive Officer of Daimler Trucks Mexico. The nation's manufacturing facilities produced 191,000 heavy duty vehicles in 2015 alone, with 151,000 built in 2016. Daimler itself has plants in Santiago Tianguistenco, State of Mexico, and Santillo, Coahuila. Manufacturing in general has been bolstered by free trade agreements with 46 countries, and 80% of available freight now moves by truck as well. Indeed, gone are the days when oil exports dominated the domestic economy. "The presence of the trucking industry in Mexico has been gaining ground," Rivera said, during a broad-ranging discussion with industry media in Puerto Vallarta. "All those [manufactured] goods are absolutely moving by trucks." Still, Daimler is offering no official comment about ongoing negotiations around the all-important trade deal. The public focus is on business as usual. "We are continuing producing trucks. We are continuing operating efficient factories," said Rivera. "The manufacturing plants today are in very good shape. Very modern."
Musk Matters: Tesla Semi light on details, but is sparking conversations
The recent reveal of the Tesla Semi was like none other - and not simply because it offered the first look at a prototype of the company's electric Class 8 truck. If anything, there were still plenty of unanswered questions once the lights dimmed and fog machines were stowed away.
Tesla rolls ahead with Class 8
HAWTHORNE, CA - Elon Musk has officially unveiled the all-electric Class 8 Tesla Semi, following months of speculation and delays. Now the question is whether his company will become the industry disruptor it wants to be. A pair of prototype day cabs unveiled in California on Thursday featured a streamlined bullet-like design, evoking a look traditionally left to concept vehicles. And there were plenty of world media representatives there to share in the experience, each shepherded into a secure hanger for a brief peek. Just a day before, Musk went so far as to tweet this truck "can transform into a robot, fight aliens, and make one hell of a latte". Yes, it was hyperbole - there was no cappuccino machine anywhere -- but the Chief Executive Officer and product architect attracted plenty of attention for his latest announcement. More than 1,000 people were on hand for the launch, cheering every point that Musk made, especially when a new roadster rolled out of the back of the trailer.
