PORTLAND, Ore. — Schneider National recently placed an order for several hundred 2011 Freightliner Cascadias. That and other sizeable orders have prompted the truck maker to recall 540 plant workers and ramp up production.

Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA) announced this week that 540 workers will be back on the job at its North Carolina manufacturing facilities by mid-July. The company says it has received more than 21,400 orders for EPA2010-compliant vehicles, including 16,565 orders for Freightliners. DTNA uses selective catalytic reduction (SCR) to meet 2010 emissions regulations.

“We lead the industry in EPA2010-certified Class 8 truck orders without the use of credits,” said Mark Lampert, senior vice-president, sales and marketing for DTNA. “We are the only heavy truck manufacturer in North America currently increasing production. Our Class 8 daily build rate in the US will increase by more than 67% this July versus July 2009. We have also been able to sustain operation of all of our manufacturing facilities through the EPA07/EPA10 changeover without shutdown or interruption. That reflects the early readiness and maturity of our EPA10 engine and chassis combination.”    

The Schneider order comes on the heels of extensive testing, the companies jointly announced.

“We test all our vehicles extensively for fuel efficiency and operating performance before we buy,” said Steve Duley, vice-president purchasing, for Schneider National. “We have accumulated more than 1.1 million miles with EPA2010-compliant Cascadia trucks on a test basis since February 2009 and are exceptionally impressed with their performance.”

The company’s order is for 2011 Freightliner Cascadias with mostly 72-inch raised roof sleepers and Detroit Diesel DD15 engines as well as Cascadia day cabs with DD13 engines.

DTNA also announced its combined Class 8 market share fot he US and Canada is at 34.2% year-to-date through April and that it accounts for 36% of the current Class 8 industry’s order backlog.
“Our Class 8 year-to-date share is a strong signal of customer endorsement, at nearly eight percentage points ahead of our closest competitor,” Lampert said.