John G. Smith is the editorial director of Newcom Media's trucking and supply chain publications -- including Today's Trucking, trucknews.com, TruckTech, Transport Routier, and Road Today. The award-winning journalist has covered the trucking industry since 1995.
LISLE, IL - Navistar International reported a $4-million net income in the second quarter of 2016, in sharp contrast to a $64-million net loss in the second quarter of 2015. Cost controls, higher parts-related profits, and demand for HX vocational trucks have all been credited for making a difference despite a soft sales market.
Metro Truck Group seems surprisingly reluctant to tell its story. When a meeting is finally scheduled, senior managers spend much of their time explaining that they don't normally do this sort of thing. The Freightliner dealership group based in Ontario's Niagara Region rarely participates in interviews. When its Brantford dealership moved into a new building this winter, it even did so without the fanfare of a grand opening. No ribbons were cut. No speeches made. But there is no escaping the spotlight of a reality show.
When it comes to vehicle safety, a lot of attention is being focused on the one truck component that actually touches the road. The Rubber Manufacturers Association proclaims the first week of June as Tire Safety Week. Days after this concludes, the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance begins a special focus on tires as part of the annual Roadcheck inspection blitz.
ARLINGTON, VA - Truck drivers are paying a real price for the screening and treatment of Obstructive Sleep Apena (OSA), a condition that obstructs breathing patterns and can wake sufferers hundreds of times per night, the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) has found. The review of more than 800 commercial drivers quantifies costs and other impacts of driver screening for the first time.
AUSTIN, TX -- The upcoming harvest season for one particular type of food is expected to get increased attention again from cargo thieves following big jumps in stealing the previous two years. Nuts have become a sought after commodity for organized cargo thefts because of their high value density per truckload and typically low security protocols, according to a new report by the logistics security services provider FreightWatch International "Since the harvest season for most commercially grown nuts is from August to September, it stands to reason that the third quarter of each year tends to record the most nuts thefts, as was the case in 2014 and 2015," the report says.