Planned hiring is in line with 2011 hiring, which exceeded internal expectations by 74 percent over 2010 due to industry demand. “We’re pleased to continue this positive hiring trend at our North American operations in 2012,” says Ken Hurley, senior vice president of human resources for Penske Truck Leasing. “We look forward to adding new associates to our talented diverse team.”

Penske Truck Leasing and Penske Logistics anticipate finding qualified candidates for the following positions: vehicle maintenance supervisors, technicians, customer service, sales, drivers and logistics and supply chain positions. Penske plans to promote open positions through various online hiring and social media sites, career fairs at diesel technical/trade schools and colleges and universities, diversity career fairs and military job fairs.

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Curt joins our team with a strong background in aftermarket parts after 16 years with Jim Hawk Truck Trailers in Davenport, Iowa. With many years of experience in parts sales and management, Curt is well suited to utilize his skills at Great Dane and will prove great success with GDAP. Curt is replacing Dave Higbee, who was recently promoted to GDAP Operations Manager.

Curt lives with his wife, Melanie and son, Dylan in the Davenport area.

Let’s welcome Curt Westphal to the Great Dane family!

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The peaks experienced by trucking between 2006 and 2008 won’t be returning any time soon and global volatility will continue to be a threat, according to Eli Lustgarten, senior vice president of Longbow Secuities. However 2011’s moderate growth in freight tonnage helped trucking lead the growth in the country’s industrial sector with Class 8 sales reaching 254,000, up from 154,000 in 2010 and 118,400 in 2009, he said.

While “capacity remains tight and rates are holding up,” Lustgarten predicted that 2% economic growth would hold sales to just small gains this year as fleet sizes “stabilize rather than expand.” Looking a bit further out, he said regulatory changes that cut truck productivity and perhaps a move to “re-shore” manufacturing back to the U.S. could spur higher truck and trailer demand in 2013 to 2015.

The outlook for global Class 4 through 8 truck markets isn’t so rosy, according to Jonathan Storey, director of Polk’s Automotive Reports. Growth has begun slowing in several emerging markets, he said, which, combined with Europe’s economic turmoil, has made “the economic outlook gloomier than a year ago.”

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Pike believes the global market for hybrid electric vehicles (HEV), plug-in hybrid electrics vehicles (PHEV) and battery electric vehicles (BEV) will grow at 92% in 2012, with total sales surpassing 19,000.

In the U.S. this year, it predicts that 3,250 medium- and heavy-duty HEV trucks be sold, 790 BEV trucks will be sold and about 500 PHEV trucks will be sold.

In a slowly improving economy, driving factors of increased hybrid sales will likely be fleet owners’ desire to advertise a more environmentally-friendly fleet than their competitors’. Also pushing sales is the bottom-line cost impact from government emission regulations, says Pike.

“The performance of specific economic sectors will play a big role in the growth of electric drivetrains for trucks,” says Dave Hurst, senior analyst for Pike Research. “For example, as the retail industry rebounds, pick-up and delivery vehicle sales will rebound with it. This in turn will have a positive impact on the hybrid, plug-in, and battery electric truck markets, as well.”

In its research report, “Hybrid Medium and Heavy Duty Trucks,” Pike Research forecasted numbers through 2017. The firm expects the market to experience a compound annual growth rate of 42% between 2011 and 2017. In 2017, 100,746 hybrid and electric trucks are expected to sell globally.

In the U.S. in 2017, it’s expected that 21,675 hybrid and electric MD and HD trucks will be sold. That’s a growth rate of around 40% for hybrid and electric truck sales in the U.S. between now and 2017.

There are some obstacles that might stand in the way of growth in sales, however. One of those hurdles is the growing popularity of alternative fueled vehicles, particularly natural gas. Another is the high price tags on hybrid and electric vehicles. HEVs, PHEVs and BEVs all have higher upfront costs that are substantial enough to result in a higher total cost of ownership. Even with lower operating costs ($0.72/mile for diesel versus $0.60/mile for hybrid and $0.22/mile for BEV trucks, according to Pike), the higher purchase price for hybrids and electrics means the trucks aren’t able to recover their costs in a lifetime without government incentives.

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In an interview with Fleet Owner, Steve Clough, president, Arrow Truck Sales, said the slowdown in available used Class 8 inventory began last year as the used-truck pipeline started drawing on the “Great Recession” years when production and shipments of new Class 8 dropped precipitously.

Clough said that the availability of three- to four-year-old trucks with 300,000 to 400,000 mi. on the odometer dropped 35% in 2011 compared to 2010 – and he expects availability to decline 20% this year and another 11% in 2013.

That decline in used-truck inventory is expected despite slippage in sales that occurred as 2011 drew to a close, according to data tracked by ACT Research Co. In November last year, Steve Tam, ACT’s vp-commercial vehicle sector, said used-truck volumes were “mixed on a channel by channel basis,” with auction dealers able to obtain and sell more equipment, offsetting some of the softness in the retail and wholesale markets.

“The industry was hopeful that improved new truck sales would provide some much-needed relief for the growing used-truck inventory shortage, but so far that has not happened,” he added, perhaps because most used-truck units are older with more miles, meaning it takes longer for them to be repaired and reconditioned before they are sellable units.

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Net income rose to $497 million, or $1.57 per share, from $283 million, or 89 cents, a year ago. The results were in the high end of its projected range of $1.40 to $1.60 per share.

Revenue for the quarter ended Nov. 30 rose 10% to $10.59 billion, FedEx said Thursday.

“Our improved performance was largely a result of effective yield management programs and strong demand for FedEx Home Delivery and FedEx SmartPost services,” said FedEx Chairman and CEO Frederick Smith.

“With the healthy growth in online shopping this holiday season, demand is increasing for these residential delivery services,” he said in a statement.

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The new facility is located in Quispamsis at 60 Enterprise Drive in the Hammond River Industrial Park, where they will offer sales, parts and and service of Great Dane Trailers. Most trucks makes and models, recreation vehicles and buses will be serviced by UT&T licensed technicians, who are also registered and certified by Transport Canada to perform Regulation CSA inspections.

“Universal Truck and Trailer has the hardest working team in New Brunswick, so we are thrilled with their growth,” said Chris Hammond, Vice President of Dealer Sales at Great Dane.

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COLUMBUS, Ind. — Commercial trailer net orders declined 2% in July from June levels, marking the fourth consecutive month of declines, according to the most recent data from ACT Research.

The industry backlog ended the month of July at 93,600 units, 97% higher than July 2010, according to the State of the Industry: US Trailers report published by ACT.

“Given the industry’s normal seasonal business patterns, the pace of orders is expected to slow further in the third quarter. Current activity is tracking to those expectations,” said Frank Maly, director CV transportation analysis and research with ACT.

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Used Truck Sales Affected By Recent Economic Times

High demand coupled to still-shrinking inventories is forcing many used-truck buyers to alter their purchasing strategies. Yet experts believe the squeeze on used truck supply, which has seen buyers acquiring models with higher mileages than they would generally prefer, should start to shrink as the run up in new-truck purchases this year creates a steady flow of trade-in equipment into the market.

“The demand over the past 12 to 15 months coupled with the tight supply have led to a rebound in [used truck] values from the lows of 2009,” Richard Simons, president of Daimler Trucks Remarketing Corp., a division of Daimler Trucks North America LLC (DTNA), told Fleet Owner.

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COLUMBUS, Ind. — Commercial trailer orders declined for the third straight month in June, according to the latest data from ACT Research.

ACT’s State of the Industry: US Trailers report showed a 26% decline in trailer orders from May. Industry backlogs dropped 5% month-over-month, with the industry order board ending June at 97,000 units.

The order board remains double what it was a year ago, ACT noted.

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