Five trucking companies have formed a coalition to help back legislation that would require the installation of electronic onboard recorders in all trucks, a move that would boost highway safety. The Alliance for Driver Safety & Security will urge Congress to pass the legislation introduced by U.S. Sens. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) and Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.). The legislation will require companies to install an electronic device that is engaged to the truck engine that will identify the driver operating the truck, record a driver’s duty status and monitor the location and movement of the vehicle. The legislation calls for Continue Reading

For the first time since August 2009, the price of a used Class 8 vehicle eclipsed $40,000, according to ACT Research Co.’s State of the Industry: U.S. Classes 3-8 Used Trucks report. That’s because reported sales were up 55 percent in August as compared to the prior year. And coupled with short supply and greater demand, a used truck can fetch an increasingly higher price. Dealers said customers are looking for late-model used vehicles particularly. The news sounds promising, but the numbers may only be telling a small part of the story. According to ACT, only an estimated 10 percent of Continue Reading

According to the latest numbers from the American Trucking Associations’ seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index, the economy is slowing and is expected to remain sluggish through the end of the year. But the ATA’s chief economist, Bob Costello, says that the trucking industry has changed “dramatically for the better,” even despite the largest month-to-month drop–2.7 percent–since March 2009. Costello says that carriers can now do better with small increases in demand, particularly since equipment supply was thinned during the recession. The base year for ATA’s index is Continue Reading

The National Transportation and Safety Board (NTSB) is making some sweeping recommendations affecting commercial vehicles in its report on a fatal crash that occurred in June 2009. That multi-vehicle accident near Miami, Okla., killed 10 people when a truck driver approaching the scene did not slow down or make an attempt to avoid a collision, according to the report. Among its recommendations, the NTSB cited the need for a fatigue management system, event recorders and Continue Reading

Spot market freight volume in Canada showed a healthy increase from last year, according to TransCore’s Canadian Freight Index, and a 2 percent increase from July to August. With increasing freight and lower equipment availability–a trend for the last eight months–freight for the month of August 2010 registered a five-year high at 55 percent more year-over-year. TransCore’s Loadlink is a freight matching database and the largest Canadian network of carriers, owner operators, freight brokers and intermediaries. Over 12 million full loads, LTL (less than truck load) shipments and trucks are Continue Reading

Trailer orders continued their healthy rebound, according to the latest report from ACT Research Co. In August, commercial net trailer orders rose 55 percent from the same month last year, “one of the worst years in the commercial trailer industry,” the research firm said. Orders improved across the board in eight of nine categories ACT tracks, with the only drop being in dump trailers. August’s net orders of 10,946 were 2% over July’s level and trailer makers boosted Continue Reading

The financial incentive program the California Air Resources Board (CARB) put in place in 2007 is showing results, as the agency announced it has help put more than 650 hybrid trucks and buses on the state’s roads. Through the program, which is administered through CalStart, a nonprofit organization that works with business, fleets and government to develop and implement clean, efficient transportation solutions, provides vouchers to help fleets offset the higher costs associated with purchasing the advanced technology vehicles. That technology, though, is credited with reducing emissions and Continue Reading

The anticipated CSA 2010 roll out is just months away, and IT providers are hard at work creating innovations to assist fleet owners with the new safety-scoring system. CSA 2010 was one of the key topics at the 24th annual TMW TransForum Users Conference held in Dallas recently. Products discussed go beyond the scorecards that the FMCSA essentially provides through this new system. For example, TMW’s new Continue Reading

WABCO Holdings, Inc., introduced the next wave of braking technology, which is expected to be mandatory in the European Union in 2013, at the IAA Commercial Vehicles show in Hanover, Germany. OnGuardPlus fully applies brakes in imminent crash situations when reacting to moving vehicles ahead, as well as decelerating vehicles that come to a standstill. When approaching traffic congestion, the system also Continue Reading

Two pilot programs in Maine and Vermont allowing heavier weight trucks access to Interstate Highways there got the green light from the Obama administration to become permanent. The move was applauded by the American Trucking Associations (ATA) as further improving safety and boosting productivity in the industry. Using more productive trucks means fewer trips, ultimately reducing the environmental footprint. On Continue Reading