News
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.
Canada truck market ‘particularly robust’: FTR
BLOOMINGTON, IN - Class 8 truck sales continued to recover in September, reaching 22,100 units overall. That's up 7% compared to the previous month, and 62% above a year ago. Those order volumes meet expectations, and Canadian orders were "particularly robust" as fleets benefit from a strong economy, say the analysts at FTR. North American Class 8 orders reached 239,000 units in the past 12 months. "The recovery in the Class 8 market is building, and we saw that with the orders through the summer. Order totals never got that low and followed cyclical trends," said Don Ake, vice president - commercial vehicles at FTR.
Demo shows 10 mpg is possible
ATLANTA, GA - Seven trucks have proven that 10 miles per US gallon (23.5 liters per 100 kilometers) is possible using technologies on the road today. Trucks participating in the North American Council of Freight Efficiency's Run on Less demonstration rolled into the Georgia World Congress Center just in time for the opening of the first annual North American Commercial Vehicle Show Sunday, having logged about 80,600 kilometers since starting their journey September 6, and achieving an average of 10.1 miles per gallon (23.5 liters per 100 kilometers) during the cumulative 99 days of driving.
Electric Avenues: Cummins sees future in diversity
COLUMBUS, IN -- If you're one of those who's been thinking that Cummins is a dead duck, and that's been the tone of more than a few conversations I've joined over recent years, think again. Nothing could be further from the truth. First off, the company presently maintains an 80% market share in the North American medium-duty market, more than 90% of the school and transit bus markets, and still a decent lead on the class-8 side of things with something like a 40% share through June of this year. Dead in the water? Not exactly. Globally, the company is very strong. In 2015 it manufactured more than a million engines in the heavy-duty, mid-range, and light-duty markets -- from 50 to 650 hp -- and nearly half of them were from its joint-venture partner plants around the world.
Keep your cool. Spec’ the right reefer.
Nothing spoils a day quicker than rotting cargo, but that's exactly what happens if reefer temperatures stray beyond an acceptable range. Arguments at a receiver's dock, insurance claims, and soured business relationships are bound to follow. The challenges can also take root long before temperatures are set or wheels begin to roll.
IN PRINT — The Clock is Ticking: Consumer demands transform trucking
Seventeen years ago, Tom Hanks stood in a shipping yard and lamented that 87 hours was an eternity. Castaway was on the big screen, and the Hollywood superstar was playing a time-obsessed operations manager for a world-wide shipping company. Shouting that "the cosmos [were] created in less time. Wars have been fought and nations toppled in 87 hours. Fortunes made and squandered," Hanks was forecasting the future of the supply chain. From 87 hours to just 24 or less, time is running out for goods that take more than a day to get to consumers, and trucking is undergoing massive changes, all thanks to a store that sells just about everything: Amazon.
