Equipment & Tech

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations and Bridgestone Canada (Bridgestone) collectively are issuing a voluntary noncompliance recall of approximately 2,700 certain all position, wide base radial commercial truck tires in size 425/65R22.5. The recall includes the following tires: Firestone FS818 tires in size 425/65R22.5 with Department of Transportation (DOT) date codes 2318 and 2418; Bridgestone M854 tires in size 425/65R22.5 with DOT date codes 2418 and 2518; Bridgestone M860A tires in size 425/65R22.5 with DOT date code 2518; Bridgestone M864 tires in size 425/65R22.5 with DOT date codes 2318 and 2418. All tires covered under this recall were manufactured on specific dates between June 10, 2018, and June 30, 2018, and sold in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Firestone FS818, Bridgestone M854, Bridgestone M860A and Bridgestone M864 commercial truck tires manufactured outside the affected production range meet regulatory requirements and are not part of the recall. The affected tires may not comply with a specific endurance test requirement as prescribed under the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards and similar applicable laws and regulations in Canada and Mexico. In affected tires, there may be a risk of exposure of steel body cords in the sidewall to the environment, which could lead to deterioration of the cords in that area. If a rapid air loss occurs due to that condition while the vehicle is operating, there may be an increased risk of a crash. This is a voluntary noncompliance recall and there are no known accidents or injuries. Bridgestone is notifying regulatory agencies in affected regions in accordance with local laws. Bridgestone also is notifying potentially affected commercial original equipment manufacturers, national account fleets, authorized dealers, company-owned stores and end-user customers to recover and replace any tires that are included in the recall. Bridgestone will replace all eligible recalled tires with a comparable Bridgestone or Firestone all position, wide base radial commercial truck tire in size 425/65R22.5 manufactured outside the affected production range, or with a suitable replacement tire. These tires will be replaced at no charge to customers. Consistent with the company’s longstanding commitment to safety, customer satisfaction and service, owners of tires subject to this recall are urged to contact their authorized Bridgestone tire dealer or company-owned service center to arrange verification and replacement. To find an authorized Bridgestone dealer, visit the Bridgestone commercial tire website at https://commercial.bridgestone.com/en-us/index. Customers in the U.S. and Mexico with questions about the voluntary noncompliance recall may contact Bridgestone Technical Service at 1-800-847-3272. Customers in Canada may call Bridgestone Canada Technical Service at 1-800-267-1318; select option 7.

DALLAS — Truck fleets and operators using Drivewyze PreClear weigh station bypass service will soon be able to receive bypasses at 21 weigh stations in Oregon through the Oregon Green Light (OGL) preclearance program. The Green Light sites are automated weigh stations on Interstates 5, 82 and 84; U.S. Highways 30, and 97; and Oregon Highways 58 and 730. Drivewyze is integrating with the Green Light Program through its back office, so that customers can use their Drivewyze-equipped electronic logging device to access bypass opportunities. Activation of the new sites will take place over the next few months. “Carriers and drivers using our weigh station bypass service won’t need to separately sign up for the Oregon Green Light program, install a separate transponder, or incur any additional cost,” said Brian Mofford, vice president of government experience for Drivewyze. “This is great news for Drivewyze customers travelling on Interstate 5.” The integration comes as a win for the State of Oregon as the state has continued to grow its program while offering bypass opportunities to more trucks, said David McKane, safety program manager at the Motor Carrier Transportation Division (MCTD) at the Oregon Department of Transportation. Since its deployment in 2001, OGL has provided more than 25 million preclearance bypasses to nearly 4,000 participating truck fleets and operators. In cost savings, according to the OGL program, that equates to 2 million hours saved for truckers, and more than $250 million saved in operational costs. “By seamlessly integrating our two systems and providing weigh station bypasses to Drivewyze customers, our agency can realize OGL’s full potential by offering even more bypasses to safe truck fleets and operators,” McKane said. “With fewer trucks pulling in, traffic congestion in and around our state’s busiest weigh stations and ports of entry will be reduced.” Agencies like the MCTD find that by reducing congestion at weigh stations, they can improve traffic safety, particularly in dense urban areas like Portland, Mofford said. Merging in and out of traffic to enter and exit a weigh station can create serious safety issues for drivers as they deal with changing lanes in bumper-to-bumper traffic or in traffic moving at widely varying speeds, he said. As traffic inside the weigh station piles up, a lineup of trucks can form. This can create even bigger problem for truck drivers and the motoring public when the lineup backs up into the highway or interstate before enforcement officers can temporarily close the station or wave trucks off. “By keeping their compliant trucks traveling on the mainline, safe fleets and operators avoid burning more fuel while waiting at the scale house for unnecessary inspections or merging into traffic and getting back up to highway speed,” Mofford said. “Plus, enforcement officers can keep the stations open without creating or contributing to more congestion.” With Drivewyze currently offering weigh station bypasses at more than 700 sites in 43 states and provinces, it operates the largest weigh station bypass network in the United States and Canada. To learn more about Drivewyze, please visit www.drivewyze.com.

CLEVELAND — TMW, a Trimble brand and provider of software, business intelligence and related solutions to the North American transportation industry, has revealed a new integration with DMSi, a business software provider for the lumber and building materials industry. TMW’s FinalMile solution now integrates with DMSi’s Agility enterprise resource planning (ERP) platform, both solutions designed specifically for private fleet customers who operate in the building supply industry. The integration decreases the time from order placement to the time the delivery is planned while strengthening the relationship between two industry-leading building materials vendors, according to Brian Larwig, vice president and general manager of FinalMile at TMW. With DMSi, every aspect of operations is covered – from production/procurement through distribution, delivery and back office accounting, he said, adding that more than 400 building material wholesalers, remanufacturers, dealers and distributors use Agility as their mission-critical inventory and order management platform. “We believe this integration will save both TMW and DMSi customers’ time and reduce their costs,” Larwig said. “Before, companies would have to invest a significant amount of time and resources into building out their own integrations, or the system updates would be at batched intervals. Neither option is ideal when moving an order through the system and into the route planning stage.” With the integration, TMW FinalMile can collect information directly from the DMSi Agility solution on a near real-time basis. The orders are then automatically updated within DRTrack whenever they are added, modified or deleted. “The integration between Agility and TMW FinalMile provides customers with enhanced control and efficiency from order entry through delivery,” said Holden Melia, vice president of product, sales and marketing at DMSi. “DMSi and TMW customers have the advantage of Agility’s robust inventory control and order processing logic, paired with the optimized route planning of FinalMile, to deliver superior service.”

DALLAS — Trucker Tools, which provides shipment visibility, carrier capacity management and predictive freight-matching solutions for the transportation industry, has made feature and function improvements for the Trucker Tools Mobile Driver App, and the introduction of Smart Capacity for Truckers and Small Fleets. The announcement came during the Great American Trucking Show under way here. Launched in 2013, the Trucker Tools Mobile Driver App has been downloaded by more than 500,000 truckers.  With some 16 different planning and information resource tools, the smart-phone based mobile app is deployed by truckers and small fleet operators to simplify and streamline many tasks involved in the day to day planning and operation of their trucks.  Last month, Trucker Tools also reached another milestone, surpassing 100,000 unique, connected carriers active on the network. “Response from the driver community to the Trucker Tools Mobile App has been tremendous, and we continue to see rising adoption,” said Prasad Gollapalli, founder and CEO of Trucker Tools. “This round of upgrades reflects feedback from truckers and small fleet operators for continued improvement in our time-saving, all-in-one app that gives them accurate, reliable information, and easy-to-use tools to better plan and manage the business of operating a truck.” Last fall, Trucker Tools introduced Smart Capacity for Brokers. A cloud-based application suite integrated with major TMS software providers, Smart Capacity streamlines how brokers operate, utilizing a next-generation, predictive freight-matching and capacity connectivity platform. Manual work of the broker to find and match available trucks with loads is dramatically reduced. Visibility to timely, reliable capacity, accuracy and quality of load-matches are improved. The result is higher broker productivity and enhanced revenues through compressed “book to load” time, and faster, more efficient workflow. With Smart Capacity, a process that once took up to 30 broker phone calls, now takes five or less. This week Trucker Tools introduced Smart Capacity for Truckers and Small Fleets.  The application suite mirrors and replicates much of the core predictive capacity and freight-matching functionality provided to brokers, but is designed specifically for the needs of owner-operators, and small-fleet dispatchers. Small fleets of 10 trucks or less make up some 80 percent of truckload market capacity. For drivers, they access the Smart Capacity tools through the Trucker Tools mobile app on their GPS-enabled smart-phone or tablet.  As the driver is en-route with a current load, the application proactively searches new loads that are available and in proximity to the driver’s delivery destination. The driver can then view multiple loads from various brokers, presented in ranking order with best on top. The driver then selects the load best suited for the current location and preferred future route. The app incorporates driver-selected lane, broker and load preferences, as well as specific business rules and algorithms to locate, present and rank optimum premium available loads. The application also has a “quick match” feature which pushes to the driver nearby “last-minute” loads available within 24 hours. Small fleet dispatchers use the tools in similar fashion, selecting and matching optimal loads for their drivers in multiple trucks.  The entire workflow and communication process is conducted over Trucker Tools’ confidential, private network and via the smart-phone based mobile driver app. “The old ways of truckers calling brokers for loads or scrolling through stale, obsolete data on load boards or spreadsheets are gone,” said Gollapalli. “We are bringing the power, convenience, accuracy and efficiency of predictive, digital load-matching to the fingertips of drivers and small fleet dispatchers.” He added that truckers and small fleets benefit from increased lane density, capacity utilization and more efficient operations, improving profitability through reduced downtime and higher quality loads. Key enhancements introduced for the Trucker Tools Mobile Driver App include: Route-planning and fuel optimization. Route planning received improvements in function, resource access and user interface to provide more flexibility, ease of use and complete results. Drivers use the route planning and fuel optimizer to set up turn-by-turn directions identifying the most cost-efficient route to destination. The app projects estimated fuel economy based on route, and recommends optimal, lowest price refueling stops along the route, taking advantage of real-time fuel pricing updated hourly. This feature of the app also links to weather and traffic sites and incorporates potential weather or traffic impacts into route planning, alternate route recommendations and updated ETAs. Truck stop, rest area and service locator. Based on the identified route, the app finds and displays to the driver accurate truck stop and rest area information, and projects time to arrival at each location, as well as parking spaces. This feature of the app also enables the driver to search for and identify other amenities, such as truck servicing locations, truck dealerships, collision repair, weigh scales and truck washes, Wal-Mart store locations and other useful driver resources.  Upgraded data sources were incorporated and process changes implemented to provide faster and more complete results. Load track. Utilizing a smart-phone’s GPS capability, provides fully automated shipment tracking along the route and updated, real-time ETAs including provisions for traffic and weather impacts. Improvements were made to maps and route displays, as well as automated processes to notify shippers and dispatchers of ETA updates and changes. This feature is a significant time-saver for drivers as it eliminates “check calls” where drivers manually call in with travel updates. Shippers also can call up an individual truck and view a map with the trucker’s selected route, real-time GPS-updated progress to destination, and potential delays – similar to point-to-point route displays on Google Maps. Document Scanning. The mobile app’s document scanning tool allows the trucker to take a picture of the bill of lading and, upon delivery and signature by the consignee, send a secured, confidential image to the shipper or broker. Improvements were made in overall functionality and usability. Built with fraud prevention features and transmitted over a private, confidential network, brokers receive a trusted, reliable document image from the Trucker Tools mobile app. This feature eliminates manual processing steps and speeds payment to the trucker. Gollapalli said that a key distinction of the mobile app was the ability to do lane-specific route search and planning.  Trucker Tools was the first to offer this feature.  “This is a key productivity advantage for the trucker that simplifies and speeds the process of finding and selecting the optimum route.”

BRUSSELS, Belgium — WABCO Holdings, a global supplier of technologies to improve the safety, efficiency and connectivity of commercial vehicles, has entered into a strategic partnership with Hino Trucks, a commercial truck brand headquartered in Novi, Michigan. Under the agreement, WABCO will provide its latest generation braking control technology and a range of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) for Hino Trucks’ forthcoming heavy-duty truck debut in North America. WABCO will furnish Hino Trucks with a range of technologies from its portfolio of safety and vehicle control technologies to support Hino’s all-new XL Series line of Class 7 and 8 heavy-duty trucks which will begin series production in early 2019. The Class 8 portfolio will include a tractor with a 66,000 GCWR, according to Glenn Ellis, Hino senior vice president-customer experience. These include WABCO’s modular braking system platform mBSP to enable anti-lock braking (ABS), ESCsmart Electronic Stability Control and products from its suite of industry-leading ADAS technologies. Hino will offer their new XL7 and XL8 trucks with WABCO’s OnGuardACTIVE collision mitigation system onboard. With powerfully differentiating performance, particularly in low visibility conditions, OnGuardACTIVE assists truck drivers to recognize and respond to potentially dangerous traffic or weather conditions that could lead to a rear-end collision with moving or stationary vehicles ahead, according to Jon Morrison WABCO president, Americas. This radar-onlysystem provides acoustic, visual and haptic alerts to prompt the driver’s response to imminent collisions. If the driver does not take corrective action, OnGuardACTIVE can autonomously apply the brakes and can bring the vehicle to a complete stop, Morrison said. Hino will also offer this range of heavy-duty trucks with WABCO’s powerful OnLaneALERT Lane Departure Warning System (LDWS). Helping drivers to avoid unintentional lane drifting, the most common accident involving heavy-duty vehicles, OnLaneALERT utilizes a forward-looking, windshield-mounted camera to monitor the vehicle’s position within its highway lane. When the system detects the vehicle crossing its driving lane markings without a turn signal having been previously activated, OnLaneALERT provides an audible warning from the side of the vehicle affected. This alert prompts the driver to take corrective action to help prevent potential collisions or road run-offs. “WABCO’s global technology leadership in the commercial vehicle industry makes it the perfect partner to support our entry to the North American heavy-duty truck segment,” said Yoshinori Noguchi, President and CEO, Hino Trucks North America. “As we continue to expand Hino’s presence in the local Class 7 and 8 market, WABCO’s ADAS and innovative modular technologies offer distinct advantages that further differentiates the versatile and stylish Hino XL Series for fleet customers.” “WABCO’s pioneering ADAS and modular braking system platforms provide significant advantages for global original equipment manufacturers seeking to penetrate new markets,” Morrison said. “We are honored that Hino has selected WABCO to support the North American launch of its next-generation heavy-duty trucks, underlining our technology leadership and relentless focus on delivering value for our customers wherever they choose to operate.” PHOTO CAPTION WABCO has entered into a strategic partnership with Hino Trucks to supply industry-leading safety systems in support of its forthcoming heavy-duty truck debut in North America, including a Class 8 tractor with a 66,000 GCWR. (Courtesy: WABCO/HINO

RENTON, Wash. — Kenworth Truck Company’s assembly plant here recently celebrated its 25th anniversary of building Kenworth Trucks. Kenworth employees and their family members marked the anniversary in conjunction with Kenworth Family Day held at the plant. The event included antique Kenworth trucks, employee classic car show, face painters and caricaturists, plant tours, City of Renton fire truck, food truck, Page Ahead children’s literacy program booth, pit stop challenge, human foosball and a hearty barbecue lunch. “More than 1,300 people from across Paccar attended Kenworth Family Day, which was a great way to celebrate our employees and the plant’s 25th anniversary,” said Bart Hoemann, Kenworth- Renton plant manager. “Kenworth-Renton employees had an opportunity to showcase their workplace to their families, have some fun, and enjoy all the activities and food. Employees are critical to the plant’s success with the quality, innovation, technology and care they build into every Kenworth truck produced here.” In 1993, Kenworth opened the 300,000 square-foot plant on a 40-acre site in Renton. The plant’s first truck, a Kenworth T600B – a later version of Kenworth’s first aerodynamic truck that revolutionized the trucking industry – was presented to Stevens Transport. In 2000, Fortune magazine recognized the Renton plant as one of “America’s Elite Factories,” and the plant received Assembly Magazine’s inaugural “Assembly Plant of the Year Award” in 2004. A year later, Kenworth-Renton had the honor of producing the 700,000th Kenworth truck in company history. In the past 25 years, the Kenworth-Renton plant has produced more than 144,000 Kenworth trucks. The plant currently produces the T680, T880, T800, W900, C500, K500 and 963 models, along with medium duty Kenworth T370s and T440s. Nearly 20 percent of the plant’s current employees have been working for Kenworth since the plant opened. “Kenworth’s long-term success in the trucking industry can be traced back to a philosophy established early in the company’s history,” Hoemann said. “Build the right Kenworth truck for each customer’s application,and build that truck to last. That philosophy continues today at the Kenworth-Renton plant.” Kenworth-Renton has achieved the prestigious ISO 14001:2015 certification for its effective environmental management system, which supports the production of trucks in an environmentally responsible manner. Earlier this summer, Kenworth-Renton received a 2017 Gold Award from the King County (Wash.) Industrial Waste Program. Part of King County’s Wastewater Treatment Division, the Industrial Waste Program annually honors local facilities whose business practices contribute to protecting regional water quality. Kenworth – Renton has now earned the Gold award for its exemplary wastewater handling practices for four consecutive years, and 18 times in the past 19 years. This year marks Kenworth Truck Co.’s 95th anniversary. Kenworth has manufactured trucks in the Seattle area since its inception in 1923. The inaugural Seattle plant produced 78 six-cylinder, gasoline-powered trucks. That plant was in service until 1929, when a new plant was built at Yale Avenue and Mercer Street in Seattle and operated until 1946. The company moved its manufacturing to East Marginal Way in South Seattle, and built Kenworth trucks there for more than 50 years. “Kenworth-Renton continues the company’s amazing legacy of making excellent Kenworth trucks in the Seattle area for the past 95 years,” Hoemann said.   CAPTION FOR PHOTO Kenworth Family Day, part of the 25th anniversary celebration, included antique Kenworth trucks, employee classic car show, face painters and caricaturists, plant tours, City of Renton fire truck, food truck, Page Ahead children’s literacy program booth, pit stop challenge, human foosball and a hearty barbecue lunch. (Courtesy: KENWORTH TRUCK CO.)

PORTLAND, Ore. — Freightliner Trucks Wednesday marked the delivery of the 50,000th new Cascadia since its start of production in January 2017. Fuel-efficient components such as the integrated Detroit powertrain, driver experience improvements inside and out, together with the proprietary Detroit Assurance suite of safety systems and powerful vehicle performance telematics from Detroit Connect have helped propel customer acceptance of the new Cascadia, according to Richard Howard, senior vice president of sales and marketing. He said demand for the new Cascadia, coupled with strong market conditions, have contributed to Daimler Trucks North America’s (DTNA) ongoing market leadership position. “Our goal was to develop a truck with our customers in mind and provide them with the very best in fuel efficiency, safety and driver-focused features,” Howard said. “We want to sincerely thank all of our customers for the continued trust and partnership, and we could have never reached this significant milestone without them.” By combining the global engineering expertise of parent company Daimler AG, hundreds of hours of testing in DTNA’s state-of-the-art research and development facilities and millions of miles of on-highway testing, Freightliner designed the new Cascadia, its most technologically advanced and aerodynamic truck, Howard said. Claremont, North Carolina-based Cargo Transporters recently added 128 new Cascadia trucks to its fleet. This week, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper visited DTNA’s truck manufacturing plant in Cleveland, North Carolina, to discuss local employment, DTNA’s footprint in the state and Cargo Transporters’ new Cascadia trucks with executives from both companies. More than 6,500 people work at DTNA facilities in North Carolina, and Cargo Transporters employs more than 700 in the state. “For more than 40 years, we’ve had the privilege of purchasing trucks from Freightliner. Knowing that we are getting a superior product and at the same time employing hardworking North Carolinians is very important to us,” said John R. Pope, chairman, Cargo Transporters. “We have a true partnership with Freightliner Trucks and know we can call upon one another when needed.” The Cargo Transporters team worked closely with the North Carolina-based West Carolina Freightliner dealership to spec the right solution for its interstate and intrastate truckload and drive van delivery business, Pope said. Cargo Transporters currently operates more than 550 Freightliner trucks produced by the Cleveland Truck Manufacturing Plant. “The collaborative process with West Carolina Freightliner together with its proven performance made adding new Cascadias to our fleet an easy decision,” said Dennis Dillinger, Cargo Transporters president. “Our drivers like how the truck is loaded with interior and technological updates that make their time on the road and off more comfortable, and we appreciate the performance and productivity advantages we’ve already seen with the new Cascadia.” For more information, go to www.freightliner.com. PHOTO INFORMATION Freightliner Trucks District Manager Kirk Gavaghan, left, hands over the keys to the first new Cascadia to Catawba Rental Co. President Danny Abernathy, center, and president of Cargo Transporters Dennis Dellinger at their headquarters in Claremont, North Carolina. Catawba Rental Company and Cargo Transporters are sister companies. (Courtesy: DAIMLER TRUCKS NORTH AMERICA)

By TOM KRISHER Associated Press Auto Writer What do you do when your CEO confesses that he’s cracking under the stress of his job? That’s the question that the nine board members of electric car and truck, and solar panel maker Tesla Inc. must answer after Elon Musk, the company’s impulsive leader, admitted to The New York Times that work is rattling his nerves in what he described as the most “difficult and painful year of my career.” The newspaper reported that during an hour-long telephone interview on Thursday, Musk alternated between laughter and tears, acknowledging that he was working up to 120 hours a week and sometimes takes Ambien to get to sleep. His comments confirmed what many in and out of the company had suspected as Musk conceded that exhaustion was affecting his personal health and that friends have come by “who are really concerned.” Yet he told the newspaper that he has no plans to give up his dual role as Tesla’s chairman and CEO. “If you have anyone who can do a better job, please let me know. They can have the job. Is there someone who can do the job better? They can have the reins right now,” he told the paper. The interview puts board members in a difficult position because Musk, who entered Tesla as a major investor and built the company into a force that has changed the perception of electric cars, is the company’s public identity. But Erik Gordon, a University of Michigan business and law professor, said Tesla’s board has a fiduciary duty to shareholders to take action. “If the board does not get him out of this slot at a minimum on a leave of absence basis, I think the board is going to be seen by a lot of people who love the company as being derelict in their duties,” Gordon said Friday. “You can love the company, you can love Musk and hate having him be the CEO at this point.” Shares of Tesla slumped more than 7 percent in early trading Friday. The board has stood behind Musk despite some bizarre behavior including a tweet labeling a diver who aided in the cave rescue of Thai soccer players as a pedophile. But Gordon said it has to act now or be open to shareholder lawsuits. He suggested replacing Musk as CEO and keeping him on as a visionary chief technical officer. The interview and other actions, Gordon said, are signs that Musk no longer can handle the CEO job. Musk spent nights at Tesla’s Fremont, California, factory working out production problems on its new Model 3 car that is supposed to take Tesla from niche luxury carmaker to a mass producer that competes with Detroit. But Gordon said a CEO wouldn’t live at the factory. Instead, he or she would form a team to work overnight and solve problems. In the interview, Musk stood by his August 7 tweet saying he had secured funding to take Tesla private in a deal that could be worth more than $20 billion. But he told the newspaper that he wrote the tweet inside a Tesla Model S while he was driving to the airport, and that no one else reviewed it. Asked if he regretted it, he said, “Why would I?” Musk, 47, has a reputation for being an eccentric visionary. But his out-of-the-blue go-private announcement raised a huge ruckus and pushed Tesla’s shares up 11 percent in a day, raising the company’s value by $6 billion. They’ve fallen back, including a 4 percent decline in premarket trading Friday to $323.50. There are multiple reports that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating the disclosure. Experts say regulators likely are investigating if Musk was truthful in the tweet about having the financing set for the deal. The company said the board formed a special committee to evaluate proposals to take the company private. It later disclosed that Musk had talked with the Saudi Arabia government investment fund about the deal. Tesla didn’t respond to requests for comment from The Associated Press early Friday. The New York Times said that in response to questions for its article on the interview, Tesla issued a statement from its board, excluding Musk, that stated: “We would like to make it clear that Elon’s commitment and dedication to Tesla is obvious.” Some of Musk’s stress comes from critical stock short-sellers who are betting against the company’s success. But much of it comes from Musk’s own statements issuing lofty goals for production of cars or turning a sustained profit starting this quarter. Tesla has never made money for a full year and has had only two profitable quarters since it went public in 2010. Musk told the newspaper that sometimes he did not leave the Tesla factory for three or four days straight, and that he had not taken off more than a week at a time since he was sick with malaria in 2001. The Times cited people familiar with the situation as saying Tesla has been trying to find another top level executive to help relieve some of the pressure on Musk. In a separate report, The Wall Street Journal said securities regulators have been investigating if Tesla misled investors about Model 3 production problems. The company could face sanctions if regulators find it did not accurately portray production delays to investors.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — At a time when big-box retailers are trying to offer the same conveniences as their online competitors, the biggest U.S. grocery chain is testing the use of driverless cars to deliver groceries in a Phoenix suburb. Kroger’s pilot program launched Thursday morning with a robotic vehicle parked outside one of its own Fry’s supermarkets in Scottsdale. A store clerk loaded the back seat with full grocery bags. A man was in the driver’s seat and another was in the front passenger seat with a laptop. Both were there to monitor the car’s performance. Under the self-driving service, shoppers can order same-day or next-day delivery online or on a mobile app for a flat rate of about $6. After the order is placed, a driverless vehicle will deliver the groceries curbside, requiring customers to be present to fetch them. The vehicles will probably be opened with a numeric code. Currently, Kroger is operating with Toyota Prius vehicles. During the next phase of testing in the fall, deliveries will be made by a completely autonomous vehicle with no human aboard. Cincinnati-based Kroger Co., is partnering with Nuro, a Silicon Valley startup founded by two engineers who worked on autonomous vehicles at Google. “Our goal is to save people time, while operating safely and learning how we can further improve the experience,” Nuro co-founder Dave Ferguson said in a statement. The Google autonomous vehicle project is called Waymo, which started a similar pilot program last month at Walmart stores in Phoenix. In that case, self-driving vehicles transport customers to and from their selected Walmart location to pick up online grocery orders. That is not the only venture Waymo has in metropolitan Phoenix. Waymo has been trying out a service where bus and light rail riders can order an autonomous car to their nearest transit stop. Employees with Valley Metro, the agency that manages Phoenix-area transit lines, are currently serving as test riders. The project, started earlier this month, has Waymo employees gathering data from test drives, the agency said. Arizona continues to be a testing ground for self-driving technology, despite a fatal crash involving an autonomous vehicle earlier this year. A self-driving Uber SUV struck and killed a woman in March in the Phoenix suburb of Tempe. The 49-year-old was crossing a darkened road outside of a crosswalk. But a National Transportation and Safety Board investigation showed the backup driver had been streaming a television show for more than 40 minutes before the accident, while the vehicle was in autonomous mode. Uber later ended the testing of self-driving cars in Arizona. But the company has since relaunched its autonomous vehicles in Pittsburgh.

WASHINGTON — Adoption of the newest, cleanest diesel truck technology has jumped by 6 percent in one year and now makes up more than one-third of all trucks on the road, with some states having new technology diesel in more than two-thirds of their fleets, says new research from the Diesel Technology Forum (DTF). According to analysis by DTF of 2017 U.S. vehicles in operation data (Classes 3 through 8) provided by IHS Markit, 36 percent of all commercial diesel trucks on U.S. roads – from the ubiquitous white box delivery trucks on up to the largest 18 wheelers – are now powered by the newest generation of diesel technologies (MY 2011 and newer), up from just 30 percent in 2016 and 25.7 percent in 2015. The DTF considers the newest generation of diesel power to be those technologies which incorporate selective catalytic reduction and particulate control technologies, which combine to achieve stringent new EPA emissions requirements for NOx emissions of no more than 0.20 grams per brake horsepower hour (g/BHP-hr.). This is in addition to particulate emissions levels of no more than 0.01 grams per brake horsepower hour (g/HP-hr.) established in 2007. In the case of heavy-duty trucks, such technologies were manufactured beginning in 2011. “Especially for the largest of trucks, no other fuel matches what the newest generation of diesel technology continues to improve upon: efficient performance, low-emissions, reliability, durability, low-cost operation, and maximum flexibility in utilization, routing and fueling,” said Allen Schaeffer, executive director of the Diesel Technology Forum. “In comparison, about 21 percent of all commercial trucks (Class 3-8) use gasoline and about 4 percent use other fuels, with those using natural gas amounting to less than 1 percent.” Schaeffer said just a 6 percent increase in the number of new-technology diesel trucks on the road has delivered important benefits in the form of cleaner air, fewer carbon dioxide emissions “The more than 4.9 million new-technology diesel trucks now on the road have removed more than 26 million tonnes of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and 59 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the air,” he said. “On average, truckers saved $2,600 in fuel, which adds up to 138 million barrels of crude oil – that’s 50 percent of the entire U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve, saved by just a few thousand trucks.” The U.S. trucking fleet is transitioning to newer diesel technology, which means immediate fuel savings, lower greenhouse gas emissions and cleaner air, Schaeffer said. With diesel costs rising and fuel representing 61 percent of total cost of ownership, transportation companies can realize a first-year savings of $26,687 when upgrading from a 2012 sleeper model-year truck to a 2019 model. This represents a 15.5 percent increase in savings compared with a similar analysis a year ago upgrading to a 2018 model when diesel prices registered $2.57. Based on data analytics from Fleet Advantage’s ATLAAS (Advanced Truck Lifecycle Administrative Analytics Software), these calculations remain a critical part of a fleet’s asset procurement strategy, which includes identifying the TIPPINGPOINT — the point at which a truck reaches economic obsolescence, and costs more to operate than to replace with newer equipment. The adoption rates of the newest diesel technologies in these states’ diesel fleets varies widely. Indiana (66 percent), Tennessee (60 percent) and the District of Columbia (48 percent) have the highest percentage of new-generation Class 8 diesel trucks. Meanwhile, between the years 2016-2017, Florida (81 percent), California (37 percent) and New Hampshire (35 percent) have the fastest-growing heavy duty clean diesel fleets. A full state-by-state breakdown is available on the Forum’s website at https://www.dieselforum.org/in-your-state “Over the last decade, truck and engine manufacturers and their suppliers have fundamentally transformed diesel technology to near-zero emissions performance while also increasing its fuel efficiency,” Schaeffer said. “Diesel’s continued dominance as the technology of choice for heavy-duty trucking reflects the technology’s proven record of continuous improvement and low-cost operation.” The Diesel Technology Forum is a non-profit organization dedicated to raising awareness about the importance of diesel engines, fuel and technology. Forum members are leaders in clean diesel technology and represent the three key elements of the modern clean-diesel system: advanced engines, vehicles and equipment, cleaner diesel fuel and emissions-control systems. For more information, visit http://www.dieselforum.org.

WASHINGTON — Autonomous vehicles (AVs) promise to bring many mobility benefits and reduce traffic crashes enormously, as the federal government notes 94 percent of crashes are estimated to involve driver error. However, there will continue to be crashes, injuries and fatalities involving AVs, especially for the many years ahead when AVs share the road with vehicles driven by humans. The Governors Highway Safety Association’s (GHSA’s) new report, “Preparing for Automated Vehicles: Traffic Safety Issues for States,” funded by State Farm, analyzes market trends and finds that most AVs for the foreseeable future will share driving responsibility with humans, and are likely do so for many decades. Human operators will still exert significant control and will be able to change their vehicle’s AV level dynamically, just as drivers today can activate or deactivate cruise control, the report, authored by Dr. Jim Hedlund, a former senior official with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, said. “Imperfect human drivers aren’t disappearing anytime soon and even with self-driving technology, they will still be in a position to cause crashes, deaths, and injuries on our roads,” said Jonathan Adkins, GHSA executive director. “As autonomous vehicle technology advances, states still must invest in programs to prioritize safe travel behavior.” The report was developed with input from an advisory panel of experts representing the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, the Intelligent Transportation Society of America, the Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning, the New York State Police, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, the Self Driving Coalition for Safer Streets, State Farm and Waymo. Survey research aggregated for the report shows that many consumers are skeptical about AVs. “Many people are unconvinced of the safety benefits of AVs and unwilling to share the road or to ride in them,” said Ryan Gammelgard, counsel at State Farm. “However, research suggests that public enthusiasm and support will grow as people learn more about AVs and are able to experience them first-hand, and if there is objective proof that the technology operates better than humans.” The new report notes that autonomous technology short of full automation presents a number of important behavioral safety issues related to how operators and passengers use this technology. Inattention is of particular concern when operators expected to monitor driving may not do so as diligently as they should, and even an operator who does not need to monitor the road for long periods of time may not be able to quickly re-engage if distracted. Unlicensed operators also pose potential harm, as they may be able to activate an AV but be prevented from taking over control of the vehicle if needed. “States need to consider a number of new issues related to the practical deployment of this technology,”  Hedlund said. “One of the most important goals should be to educate the public about the benefits and risks of this technology, how to use it safely, and drive near AVs in traffic.” The report also recommends that states: Consider laws requiring or assuming that a licensed driver is present in each vehicle, especially for AVs in which a licensed driver may be called upon to take control. Update traffic laws to accommodate AVs and help to prepare state driver licensing agencies to identify and register AVs. Establish law enforcement policies and procedures regarding AV operations and train all patrol officers in these policies and procedures. Law enforcement will need to know how to handle AVs in traffic stops and crashes, and plan for how AVs might change the nature of traffic enforcement. The full report and accompanying infographics are available at ghsa.org/resources/AutomatedVehicles18. The Governors Highway Safety Association is a nonprofit association representing the highway safety offices of states, territories, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

DENTON, Texas — Peterbilt Motors Co. has certified the graduation of the Peterbilt Technician Institute’s (PTI) 50th graduating class. Since PTI opened its doors in November 2013 at the Universal Technical Institute campus in Dallas, more than 500 students have graduated from the program. PTI has placed more than 95 percent of graduates with a Peterbilt service location or directly with a Peterbilt customer. “The PTI program continues to be of significant value to the overall Peterbilt dealer network.  Our dealers see the benefit in having a consistent training message and bringing in much needed, new talent into the network,” said Brian Brooks, Peterbilt PTI director. “Many of our graduates have taken increased responsibilities within their hiring dealer, from lead technician, to service writer, to shop foreman, to training manager.” The PTI graduates boast a 90 percent retention rate once placed with a customer or service location.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today said Cummins Inc. is voluntarily recalling some 500,000 model year 2010-2015 medium- and heavy-duty trucks for a faulty emissions control component. The agency said it is the largest voluntary truck emissions recall to date and lauded Cummins for the move, noting that the recall is for a defective part, not illegal software such as emission “defeat devices.” The medium- and heavy-duty categories include vehicles ranging from larger pickup trucks to vocational vehicles to big rigs, according to EPA. Trucks subject to the recall have selective catalytic reduction (SCR) systems designed to control NOx (nitrogen oxides) emissions. The systems are supposed to last the useful life of the vehicle but are wearing out before that, according to an EPA news release. A Cummins spokesman told Reuters that the recall was in the best interests of its customers and the environment. The recall will be in two phases, starting in August with heavy-duty trucks and in March 2019 with medium-duty trucks.    

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — Toyota Monday said the company took “the next great leap” toward the future of zero-emission trucking, unveiling the second iteration of its hydrogen fuel cell electric Class 8 truck before a crowd of media and industry leaders during the Center for Automotive Research (CAR) Management Briefing Seminars in Northern Michigan. The new truck, known internally as “Beta,” expands on the capabilities of Toyota’s first Project Portal test vehicle by increasing the estimated range to more than 300 miles per fill according to Andrew Lund, chief engineer for the project. The truck also enhances versatility and maneuverability with the addition of a sleeper cab and a unique fuel cabinet combination that further increases cab space without increasing wheelbase, he said. Since it first began operation in April 2017, the Project Portal “Alpha” truck has logged nearly 10,000 miles of testing and real-world drayage operations in and around the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles while emitting nothing but water vapor. The Beta vehicle will begin drayage operations in the fall, increasing the Ports’ zero emission trucking capacity and further reducing the environmental impact of drayage operations. Lund said Project Portal 2.0 builds on the lessons learned from the launch of the Alpha vehicle in 2017. The first heavy-duty truck was the result of a true skunkworks effort within Toyota that moved from initial concept to a fully-capable drayage truck driving silently out of a Michigan garage in just over a year. Engineers and technicians worked long hours to reconfigure the wire harnesses, electronics and other components of two off-the-lot Mirai fuel cell electric cars to create one of the world’s first OEM-built zero-emission heavy trucks. The results of their work continue to impress, Lund said. With a gross combined weight capacity of 80,000 lbs. and a driving range of more than 200 miles per fill, the 670-plus horsepower Alpha truck produces 1325 pound-feet of torque from two Mirai fuel cell stacks and a 12kWh battery. Project Portal Beta maintains these torque and horsepower numbers while also extending the range of the vehicle and pushing forward on other key performance metrics. “By evaluating the first truck in our test facilities and on the actual roads in the LA area, we made a list of improvements for the Beta truck build process and performance enhancements,” Lund said. “We needed to move beyond a proof of concept, which the first truck accomplished, to something that is not only better than the original but is also more commercially viable.” Lund said the story of Project Portal’s inception and evolution follows the long tradition of Toyota innovation that dates to the company’s entry into the automotive space. The first Toyota (then Toyoda) sedan, the A1, was produced in much the same manner as the original Project Portal truck- through experimentation, trial and error, and a lot of sweat. Once completed in 1935, the A1 was tested by the company’s founder, Kiichiro Toyoda, and then refined into their first commercially available car, the Toyoda AA. Likewise, through the lessons learned with the first truck, Project Portal 2.0 is more refined, functional, and capable. Also, just as the AA started Toyota on a path as an automotive leader, Project Portal is expanding Toyota’s already robust environmental leadership to the next level. Going forward, Toyota remains committed to supporting the development of a consumer-facing hydrogen infrastructure to realize the potential of fuel cell vehicles. Over 16,000 pollution-emitting trucks are working in Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, a number that is estimated to balloon to 32,000 by 2030. More than 43,000 drayage trucks are in operation at ports across the United States, contributing significant amounts of carcinogens, diesel particulate matter (DPM) and other pollutants into the air of port communities and surrounding neighborhoods. “Our goal with the first truck was to see if it could be accomplished, and we did that,” said Craig Scott, senior manager for Toyota’s North American electrified vehicle and technologies Office. “This time we’re looking at commercial viability. We want to help make a difference — a significant difference when it comes to the air quality not only in the LA area, but across the U.S. and around the globe.” Lund said Monday’s announcement is a continuation of Toyota’s Environmental Challenge 2050 efforts to eliminate CO2 emissions from its Toyota Logistics facility at the Port of Long Beach. Toyota has previously announced the construction of the Tri-Gen facility which will be the first megawatt-sized carbonate fuel cell power generation plant with hydrogen fueling in the world. The 100  renewable plant will use agricultural waste to generate water, electricity, and hydrogen that will support Toyota Logistics Services’ (TLS) operations at the Port of Long Beach.

WASHINGTON  — The Environmental Protection Agency has reversed an order issued by Scott Pruitt in his last days as agency administrator that allowed manufacturers to equip new semi-trucks with old, super-polluting diesel engines. New EPA acting chief Andrew Wheeler concluded Pruitt improperly issued the rule for so-called “glider trucks,” the EPA said in a statement early Friday.The rule allowed truck manufacturers to rig new tractor-trailer trucks with older, dirtier diesel engines built before tighter pollution rules. The EPA’s own calculations estimated the glider trucks would cause an extra 1,600 premature deaths yearly because of pollutants.Pruitt’s order, issued in his last days at the agency before resigning earlier this month amid ethics scandals, prompted lawsuits by more than a dozen states.”After consulting within EPA and in light of the pending administrative and judicial petitions and motions…Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler found that the application of current regulations to the glider industry do not represent the kind of extremely unusual circumstances that support EPA’s exercise of enforcement discretion,” the EPA statement said. The agency said it would work with glider-truck makers to prevent “inadvertent economic harm” from the reversal, while protecting air quality.

ELYRIA, Ohio — Every day, the global commercial vehicle industry makes new technological strides toward improving truck, driver, and roadway safety – and none of this progress takes place in a vacuum. Developments in active safety technology, the science of brake performance and advanced systems’ interactions with the professional men and women at the wheel are just a few of the interconnected aspects that Bendix continually addresses in its research, development and industry conversations across North America. Recently, the company shared its latest insights on the rapidly evolving world of advanced safety technologies. What’s happening in the cab? Whether they’re providing alerts or warnings about speed over the posted limit, following distance, lane departure or objects in the blind spot, today’s collision mitigation systems communicate with drivers in a variety of ways. These include audible, visual and haptic feedback, such as a “rumble strip” vibration in the steering wheel. On the surface, they seem uncomplicated – a beep, a blink, or a buzz – but these Human-Machine Interfaces (HMI) are increasingly important as technology advances. “Ultimately, an HMI has a single goal: To quickly and simply get a driver’s attention and engagement,” said Fred Andersky, Bendix director of marketing and customer solutions – controls, who addressed the topic during the American Trucking Associations’ 2018 Technology Maintenance Council (TMC) Annual Meeting and Transportation Technology Exhibition in Atlanta. “While today’s systems – and those for the foreseeable future – provide advanced driver assistance and even interventions like braking, they’re still far from driver replacement, which means ensuring they work effectively with drivers is just as important as the actions they can take on their own.” Integrated driver assistance systems like Bendix Wingman Fusion use an integrated approach to HMI. Based on the most critical event, a warning indication icon and tones give the driver the most critical warnings and suppress the least critical. The HMI can also convey other information, including distance to a forward object, speed, and system intervention status. Some vehicle manufacturers offering advanced driver assistance systems as standard have incorporated the HMI into their dashboards to accommodate the wide range of alerts and information. As the industry moves toward increasing vehicle automation, Andersky observed, it’s worth considering whether HMI should be a competitive differentiator or become more standardized. More uniform interfaces could help lower the possibility for issues as drivers move between vehicles equipped with these systems and simplify the delivery of vital information. One example of future simplification and standardization on this front is the Bendix Intellipark automatic electronic parking brake. The technology replaces the familiar manual air parking brake with easy-to-apply electronic switches, and works through interlocks installed in critical areas, such as the seat, seat belt, or cab door to engage the brake if the driver leaves the seat or opens the door without setting it first. Intellipark also brings HMI elements to the parking brake system, delivering visual alerts to the driver through lights on the switch and a trailer air warning that indicates the status of the trailer’s air supply. What’s going on at the wheel-ends? The effectiveness of current and future active safety systems relies in large part on the performance of a vehicle’s foundation brakes: Stopping power, consistency, and – in the not-too-distant future – steering will all be impacted by the selection and combination of wheel-end components. “For decades, Bendix has emphasized the importance of balance in air-braked systems, because safety and performance depend on precise and equal brake activation,” said Joey Campbell, product manager of air disc brakes at Bendix Spicer Foundation Brake LLC, who also presented at the TMC meeting, as well as the 2018 CVSA Brake Safety Symposium in Illinois. “In the age of electronically controlled braking – from antilock brakes to full-stability and collision mitigation – making sure each wheel-end is performing optimally takes on even greater importance.” While air disc brakes (ADB) are recognized as providing better stopping power than traditional drum brakes – and adoption is increasing – the large majority of North American tractor and trailer wheels are equipped with drums. This means that as fleets and drivers encounter mixed-and-matched combinations of discs and drums on tractors and trailers, they need to know what to expect from these “hybrid” braking solutions. Under normal brake operations, all the wheel-ends in a properly balanced brake system take on an equal amount of the workload, no matter whether they are discs or drums, or on the tractor or trailer. In heavy braking operation, however – descending mountains, for instance – drum brakes can heat up and exhibit decreased performance known as brake fade. This has the effect of shifting extra work onto the disc brakes to maintain the stopping power, and could mean shorter ADB pad life. While it is possible to deliberately imbalance the air system to compensate for drum brake fade, Campbell stresses that Bendix doesn’t recommend it. “For one thing, that brake fade situation is temporary, and it only exists for a small percentage of a vehicle’s operating time,” he said. “So this approach means you’ve created a work imbalance between the discs and drums during normal operation to fix a problem that only exists during a small percentage of application. And the majority of your time on the road, you want that air system balanced to optimize the performance of not just the brakes, but the advanced safety systems they’re ultimately supporting.” What’s around the next bend? Bendix’s current flagship advanced driver assistance system is Bendix® Wingman® Fusion™. The technology uses forward-facing camera and radar, as well as wheel-end sensors to combine and cross-check information from multiple sources, delivering enhanced rear-end collision mitigation, alerts when speeding, and braking on stationary vehicles. And since it’s built on the foundational full-stability technology of Bendix ESP, Fusion also helps drivers avoid additional crash situations, including rollovers and loss-of-control. Fusion’s camera is powered by the Mobileye System-on-Chip EyeQ processor with state-of-the-art vision algorithms. With Fusion already providing a road-tested and reliable suite of safety technologies, the stage is set for its next steps forward. Speaking at the series of Great West Casualty Company’s Trucking Leadership Symposiums, and to the Iowa Motor Truck Association, Andersky offered a look around the next bend of the road to highly automated driving, discussing features of the forthcoming next-generation Fusion system. “Multi-lane Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) will be another example of how the deep integration of different sensor technologies enables more advanced capabilities,” Andersky said. “Say your truck is in the center lane and approaching a slow or stopped vehicle in its lane: If the system also detects that there is no clear route available in the adjacent lanes, it will use this information to continue autonomous emergency braking through any lane changes. Additionally, enhancements to the AEB capabilities enable speed reductions up to 50 mph on moving, as well as stationary vehicles.” Other advances include highway departure braking, which builds upon the existing lane departure warning to alert the driver and activate the brakes if the vehicle leaves the roadway, and stop-and-go with driver release capabilities added to automatic cruise control (ACC). The latter will increase the usable speed range of ACC for maintaining distance in high-traffic congestion, plus bring the vehicle to a complete stop. Forthcoming Fusion advancements will also lead to linking the next generation of Bendix™ BlindSpotter® Side Object Detection System, integrating data from the side-radar unit to help drivers mitigate side-swipe and blind spot crashes. “Advancements like these also point to the importance of strong foundational sensor technologies, because they’re achieved solely through software and computing power enhancements,” Andersky said. “The next generation won’t involve any hardware replacements or upgrades – the building blocks are already in place for the future. In the future, however, both hardware and software will continue to evolve to drive even more automation.” Why do these things matter? Even as technology advances, there’s no replacement for skilled, alert drivers practicing safe driving habits, and supported by proactive, ongoing training programs. And no advanced driver assistance system is intended to enable or encourage aggressive driving. The men and women behind the wheel today and tomorrow are the standard-bearers of vehicle and highway safety, and responsibility for safe vehicle operation remains with them at all times. However, this doesn’t mean that there aren’t significant and far-reaching benefits of increasingly automated driving technologies. In a keynote presentation during this year’s Canadian Fleet Maintenance Summit during the Truck World trade show in Ontario, Andersky discussed the positive impacts for society, fleets, and commercial vehicle drivers. “Driver assistance does not equal driver replacement – not by a long shot,” said Andersky, who holds a Class A CDL and often drives demonstrations of Bendix systems. “And these technologies can make a real difference in the safety, productivity, wellness, and growth of truck drivers. They can help keep good drivers from having a bad day, reduce fatigue, and encourage skill maintenance and improvement through the information they provide on driving habits.” Fleets equipping advanced driver assistance systems are seeing reduced accident rates, less severe collisions, and increased driver retention. Bendix has heard from customer fleets using Wingman Fusion that they’ve seen as much as a 90 percent reduction in rear-end collisions, and significant reduction in severity of those that did occur. And drivers both experienced and new have quickly embraced the technologies, describing them as invaluable tools that have changed their behind-the-wheel experiences for the better. Benefits beyond the trucking industry extend to reduced emissions – since aspects like cruise control help engines work more efficiently – and ultimately, safer roads for all travelers. A recent Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration report showed that from 2015 to 2016, the number of fatal crashes involving large trucks or buses increased by 6 percent – but also noted that for 73 percent of the large trucks in fatal crashes, the “critical pre-crash event” was another vehicle, person, animal, or object in the large truck’s lane or encroaching into it. “The most experienced, highly skilled driver out there still can’t control everything else on the road; and we all share the same human limitations when it comes to things like reaction time,” Andersky said. “But what we can do as an industry is equip vehicles that are driver-supportive and proven to be safer for everyone sharing the highways.” Bendix delivers on areas critical to fleets – including safety, vehicle performance, and efficiency – through its ever-growing portfolio of technology developments and unparalleled post-sales support. The company has worked for nearly 90 years to make travel safer for everyone by helping to lower the total cost of commercial vehicle ownership and strengthening return on investment in safety technologies. For more information about Bendix safety systems and technologies, call 1-800-AIR-BRAKE (1-800-247-2725) or visit www.bendix.com or safertrucks.com/solutions. Visit the Bendix multimedia center at knowledge-dock.com for further insight on advanced safety technology development, driver assistance systems, and commercial vehicle safety regulations.

COLUMBUS, Ind. — While orders have been extremely strong, the industry’s long string of year-over-year net order gains came to an end in June. According to this month’s issue of ACT Research’s State of the Industry: U.S. Trailer Report, net orders of 20,048 trailers were down 1.3 percent years-over-year and 13 percent off month-over-month. “Dry vans were the driving force in the last two months’ performances and solid volume kept that year-over-year improvement streak alive in May,” said Frank Maly, director–CV transportation analysis and research at ACT Research. “It was dry van weakness in June that was responsible for the total industry’s negative y/y posting, while the other nine trailer categories were all in the black year-over year.” Maly said production surged sequentially in June. “While build usually increases in an end-of-quarter month, there were also extenuating circumstances last month,” he said. “Reports of red-tagged units being moved to completion were heard and that shift from work-in-progress to completion artificially increases calculated build rates.” Additionally, the report noted that fleets are experiencing a catch-22 in that they are too busy to retrieve completed units, but having those trailers could help ease their capacity challenges, a trend ACT Research has noted for the past several months.    

ROCHESTER HILL, Mich. — WABCO Holdings, a global supplier of technologies that improve the safety, efficiency and connectivity of commercial vehicles, has opened its first North America Customer Care Center, providing full support for the comprehensive portfolio of industry-leading WABCO products sold in the region. WABCO has significantly expanded its product offering following the acquisition of four high-tech manufacturing businesses since April 2016 in North America, according to Jon Morrison, president. He said the Customer Care Center will provide first-rate customer support for well-established WABCO technologies in addition to Sheppard steering gears, MICO off-highway systems, aerodynamic solutions tied to the acquisition of Laydon Composites, and products associated with Meritor WABCO, the former 50-50 joint venture. The Customer Care Center combines the technical service teams of WABCO and acquired companies, creating a powerful organization with more than 40 highly knowledgeable professionals based in the U.S. The operation will also include a dedicated Aftermarket Sales Desk for seamless and efficient part order processing. The Customer Care Center employees currently located at facilities in Troy and Rochester Hills, Michigan, will relocate to WABCO’s new Americas headquarters in Auburn Hills, Michigan, when it opens in the third quarter 2018. WABCO’s Customer Care Center is now open from Mondays through Fridays from 7:30 a.m.- to 12 midnight EST and on Saturdays from 9 a.m.-6 p.m. EST. WABCO customers can reach Customer Care team members via phone at (855) 228-3203 or by email at [email protected] for technical service questions or [email protected] for service parts ordering support. “Over the past years, WABCO has greatly expanded its commitment to the North American market place and our industry,” Morrison said. “We are driven by a relentless focus on customer-centricity benefiting commercial vehicle manufacturers, fleet operators, dealers, and distributors in the region. Our new Customer Care Center is yet another sign that we put our customers first and is, thereby, another differentiator for WABCO in North America.”

SPOKANE, Wash. — Technology is rapidly changing all aspects of public and private sector operations, according to Matthew Garrett, director of the Oregon Department of Transportation. And the pace of change is only going to accelerate in the near future, so state DOTs need to ready themselves for both the “challenges and opportunities” that level of change will present them and their constituents. Speaking at the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) 2018 Joint Policy Committee meeting here on July 17, Garrett said that “this is the most interesting and creative time in the human world; a time of rapid accelerating change, and we need look no farther than technology” to see its impact, according to a report in the AASHTO Journal. “Technology threatens to remake every aspect of every company and industry that we deal with,” he stressed.” So you must ask yourself these questions – what do you foresee the most significant challenge to retraining workers for the new jobs of this brave new world? Is the private sector focused on that challenge? Is our educational system, which is built around four-year degrees up to the challenge in a world that needs continuous training?” Garrett said that this movement forward “can be exciting and refreshing” and lead to new ways of doing business. “But it also demands that we must adapt and support a culture that’s reimagining our work structure and learning platforms, that’s moving to continual education training and retraining across all portfolios within a state DOT.” Garrett serves as the chair for AASHTO’s committee on environment and sustainability and noted that a survey being conducted of his committee’s members, which is still open at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/aashtofastact. The survey seeks to gather details on “roadblocks, slowdowns, or other frustrations” in state DOT environmental work that the committee can address as reauthorization of the federal transportation bill – last reauthorized in 2015 as the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation or FAST Act – begins in earnest. Tim Hill, environmental services administrator for the Ohio Department of Transportation and vice chair of the committee added that “there is huge amount of change going on across the board” in the environmental sector. “It’s a very exciting time to be in environmental and change is coming from every angle,” Hill said. “Our view is, if one state having an issue, most likely other states are as well. So now we need to decide, is this the right time to push forward a change? Do we have the right examples and support in Congress to make a push for a change?” While he stressed that “this is a long process to go through to make change across the board where environmental issues are concerned,” Hill pointed out that “streamlining is the goal because we’re still having continued growth in environmental documentation requirements. We want to ‘get back to the basics’ for more reader-friendly formats.” Oregon DOT’s Garrett noted in his remarks that the use of more sophisticated technological tools “potentially offers an opportunity to refine, but not dismantle,” environmental regulatory safeguards. “We seek efficiency and improve outcomes at lowest possible burden – that is our charge,” he stressed. “The ‘simple push’ is that we support the environment and also support streamline regulation processes and that a focus on balancing the environment with the needs to streamline the regulatory process are not mutually exclusive.” Garrett also emphasized that in facing this “brave new world of change” it is time for state DOTs to “lace up, lean in, and know you are advancing the practice of transportation for this nation.”

YOUNTVILLE, Calif. – Daimler Trucks North America on Wednesday revealed what the OEM called “several significant updates that will positively impact the customer experience.” Enhanced digital solutions, a new parts distribution center and a new retail strategy will benefit customers at every touch point and will help Daimler realize its vision of achieving 24-hour or less repair time, a Daimler official said. “Our customers have diverse products and businesses, and we want to help them be successful by providing solutions that create efficiencies and value,” said Stefan Kurschner, senior vice president of aftermarket for Daimler Trucks North America. “Our goals are ambitious. At the heart of everything we do is communication, speed and transparency, and our evolution positions us to achieve our goals.” Kurschner said Daimler and its network have collaborated to develop new systems and processes to create the ideal customer experience, noting that recently, Daimler’s Elite Support network – which has more than 280-certified dealers – spearheaded an effort to narrow the repair-time window to 24 hours. “Raising the customer experience bar is clearly part of our culture. Our Elite Support initiative has been in place for nearly 10 years, and those dealers are laser-focused on continuous improvement,” Kurschner said. “The commitment to excellence is standard at Daimler, and our vision will push that commitment forward.” Digital solutions that enhance customer communications Maximizing uptime and creating a superior customer experience starts with clear and timely communications. “Keeping customers informed every step of the way during a service event is one of the most important things we can do,” Kurschner said. The new Daimler Service Tracker is a web-based, mobile-compatible application that enables customers to track their service in real time, on demand. Customers can opt to receive notifications about the repair status of their vehicle, review and approve estimates, and communicate in real time with the service location. “The flow of accurate and timely information throughout the repair process is essential, and our team wants to use digital tools and available data to cultivate communications,” Kurschner said. Service Tracker provides customers real-time information so they can make the best decisions for their truck, driver and load.” Service Tracker is a component of Daimler’s suite of uptime management tools that streamline communications between customers and the dealer network. Express Write-Up, UptimePro and Uptime Performance are among the data-driven applications that work together to help dealers initiate, execute and manage their service processes. Enhanced supply chain In early 2019, Daimler will open its 10th parts distribution center in Maricopa County, Arizona, which encompasses the greater Phoenix area. Phoenix was selected because, together with the other parts distribution centers, it supports Daimler’s ability to provide next-day delivery to more than 90 percent of its U.S. dealer order volume. Daimler’s existing network already reaches more than 80 percent of the U.S. “Selecting the Phoenix area as a PDC location was more than just picking a dot on a map. Parts availability and quickly delivering those parts to dealers as well as fleets who have their own service shops is crucial to keep the technicians at work and getting vehicles back on the road faster,” Kurschner said. “Phoenix’s ideal location will improve service for many of those dealers and fleets.” The facility in Phoenix will be the fourth parts distribution center opened by Daimler in just over two years. Daimler has also recently opened new parts distribution center in Des Moines, Indianapolis and Dallas. “Having and delivering the right parts for our customers when and where they need them, as quickly as possible, is essential to uptime and achieving the 24-hour or less repair turnaround time,” Kurschner said. “Our expansive service network and strategically located parts distribution centers are critical to that goal.” New parts, retail strategy for Alliance Truck Parts With more than 15 new product lines from Alliance Truck Parts scheduled to launch over the next several months, as well as new retail locations both in dealerships and at stand-alone locations, Daimler’s product strategy is positioned for growth in the all-makes parts segment. “We already have a strong product portfolio that extends over 50 lines. Now, between the new product lines and our strategically-architected retail approach, Alliance will not only be the all-makes brand of choice but will provide an exceptional retail experience that meets customers where they are and when they need us the most,” Kurschner said. Kurschner noted that by 2020, Alliance will launch more than 80 product lines, many new stand-alone retail stores will open, and several dealer storefronts will be established. “We have the industry’s largest network, and we have an impressive depth of products and service capabilities, but we’re just getting started,” Kurschner said. “Our commitment to all of our customers, especially Freightliner, Western Star, Detroit, Thomas Built Bus, and Freightliner Custom Chassis, drives us to keep raising the bar. And that will never end.”