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.
Volvo debuts new regional haul tractor
Volvo Trucks North America has unveiled the VNR regional haul tractor, targeting what the manufacturer sees as an increasing focus on regional runs. "The regional haul segment is changing and growing, and we are going to be part of the solution," said Goran Nyberg, president Volvo Trucks North America, during the truck's world reveal at the Expocam trade show in Montreal. Last year, 21% of the Class 8 trucks sold in Canada had sleepers smaller than 48 inches; day cabs represented 38% of Class 8 sales. Volvo expects those shares to increase because of factors such as an intensifying driver shortage, as fleets look for ways to attract a new generation of employees.
The possibility — and limits — of remote diagnostics
MONTREAL, QC - Manufacturers are more closely connected to individual engines than ever before. Telematics make it possible to monitor fault codes in real time, inform vehicle owners of the problems, and even identify service locations that stock the required parts. Stephane Godbout, the president of SG Consulting, just wants more. He understands the value of data, having worked for a fleet that adopted Detroit Technician in more than 500 trucks as early as 2012. "It was a lot of data to start out with," Godbout recalled during the SCEF maintenance summit in Montreal. "We had to scale back because our people were swamped with data. They didn't know what to do with it."
