Equipment & Tech

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — The press coverage of brands of heavy-duty electric vehicles is enough to confuse anyone who is currently driving an old fashioned truck with an internal combustion engine. While they have a place in the industry, electric trucks simply don’t have the range for long-haul operations and, even if they did, the infrastructure isn’t in place yet for charging them. Most of today’s truck drivers won’t drive one for a long time, if ever. One company, however, is using electric vehicle technology for a product that drivers might see sooner than an electric tractor. It’s an electric trailer. Based in Mountain View, California, Range Energy is working on something new and different. Their RA-01 dry van trailer, equipped with batteries, motor and drive axle, can provide enough extra horsepower to save the tractor owner 30-40% on fuel costs while increasing overall safety. Range CEO and founder Ali Javidan grew up around trucks and machinery, studying mechanical engineering and working in the racing field. He followed that experience with a stint at Tesla, then Google, and finally Zoox, helping to develop their robotaxi service. He brought those experiences to Range, along with a new idea. “All this pressure is being put on Class 8 fleets to decarbonize,” he said, “but when I look at the methods being presented, it’s like, the fleets aren’t going to use this. Are you kidding? Everybody’s talking about the tractor. Nobody’s talking about the trailer.” Javidan’s solution is a trailer that adds to the tractor’s power on the uphill roads and to the unit’s braking power on downgrades — all without any additional actions or input from the driver. The systems starts with the “smart” kingpin, which senses when the tractor is pulling or braking and relays the information to the electric motor that drives the front axle of the trailer bogie. The harder the pull, the more power is supplied, easing the strain on the tractor drive train on upgrades and when starting out in heavy traffic. On downgrades, the axle helps to slow the vehicle. In testing, the effect was enough to cause the driver to turn off the engine brake to keep the truck rolling at the targeted speed. While it’s slowing the truck, the system is generating electricity that’s used to prolong the charge in the batteries. “It’s a simple dry van or reefer trailer. We clip a battery pack to the bottom of it right under the skirt. We put a sensor in the king pin and then we replace a drive axle with a driven axle. And then all of a sudden we unlock this whole new world.” That battery power is available for other uses, too. It can be used to power lift gates, powered landing gear or other electrical devices, without hooking to a trailer. The drive axle can even be configured to generate electricity full time when the vehicle is moving to power an electric temperature-control unit, although the fuel savings would be impacted. Javidan says the system will be rolled out through a major trailer manufacturer, and customers will have the option of specifying the Range system. However, the system can also be installed locally on existing trailers. “We’ve developed the process for retrofit so that a single person with a small toolkit and a forklift can retrofit two trailers per day by himself,” Javidan explained. “We actually spend a whole day in the maintenance shops, and we’ve we basically have developed our retrofit procedure so it works in every one of these service shops. It will also work in a pop up tent that they may put on the side of their yard as a small assembly plant.” The Range Energy trailers will also be available through trailer leasing operations, providing carriers with the ability to try out the technology before investing in a purchase. Charging the powered trailers won’t require the construction of a bank of vehicle chargers or a change to the local grid. “An electric Freightliner eCascadia has somewhere around 600 kilowatt hours. Our trailer has about 200 kilowatt hours and that allows us not to impact the loaded weight very much,” Javidan said. “We’ve scaled our charging solution so it actually plugs right into the shore power that’s at the loading dock, or you can charge on a regular 220 volt, 70 amp circuit overnight, just like you would your electric car, and it works great.” The system also works with modern quick-charging systems used for larger vehicles. The unit is equipped with a driver interface that’s similar to the display panel on a refrigerated trailer. “You have some LEDs in the rearview mirror, you know if the system is working or if it’s in a fault state,” Javidan said. “When the system fails, however, the trailer can still be used like any standard trailer.” The Ranger power system, including batteries, adds about 4,000 pounds to the weight of the trailer, a drawback that won’t help carriers who frequently max out on weight. While electric trucks are granted an additional 2,000 pounds of gross vehicle weight, that exemption doesn’t apply to trailers — yet. That’s something Javidan and Range Energy are working to change. Driving with the Range package has produced some interesting comments. “On one run, our driver with a fully-loaded trailer stopped at an intersection with an uphill pull on the other side,” Javidan related. He said that the torque curve was so smooth that he could accelerate smoothly right on through. Another example involved the infamous “grapevine,” a six-mile section of I-5 in Southern California known for its dangerous grade. “It can be scary in a passenger car,” Javidan said, “and you’re either overheating on the way up or burning your brakes on the way down. Our driver, with a fully loaded trailer, throttled up the hill, passing everyone else and then didn’t touch the brakes at all on the way down. At the bottom of the hill, he had cold brakes, and all that energy went back into the battery.” A dry van trailer with the Ranger power system is expected to be priced in the range of a refrigerated trailer. With a recent point of sale incentive of $80,000 from the California Air Resources Board, that cost is reduced to that of a typical dry van trailer. With or without incentives, the trailer is expected to pay for itself in fuel savings. Because of the need for charging, Range equipped trailers are best suited for out-and back or local runs, although they can be pulled indefinitely without charging. Thanks to Range Energy, fuel conserving carriers will have one more product choice for their fleets.

PHOENIX and LOWELL, Ark. — J.B. Hunt has entered into an agreement with electric truck manufacturer Nikola to purchase more than a dozen zero-emission Class 8 tractors. “It’s important for us to be at the forefront of new technologies and innovative solutions that have the potential to change the way we move freight,” said Nick Hobbs, chief operating officer and president of contract services at J.B. Hunt. “These zero-emission trucks from Nikola advance our progress towards achieving our ambitious goal to reduce carbon emission intensity through viable solutions.” The initial truck order will include 10 battery-electric and three hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles, with delivery of the first vehicles expected in August 2023, a news release stated. These trucks will be located at facilities servicing J.B. Hunt’s key routes, including in the greater Los Angeles and Phoenix areas. Nikola’s hydrogen arm, HYLA, will supply the hydrogen and fueling infrastructure. “We are thrilled that the industry leader for supply-chain solutions has chosen our Nikola Class 8 battery-electric and hydrogen fuel cell electric trucks to use for their operations,” said Nikola CEO Michael Lohscheller. “Their purchase and use of these zero-emissions trucks are a testament to the hard work of our engineering, development and manufacturing teams, who created a robust, highly-advanced truck lineup, as well as our HYLA hydrogen infrastructure solutions, that are designed to benefit companies such as J.B. Hunt.” J.B. Hunt officials have said they are “committed to helping drive the industry toward a low-carbon future and reducing its environmental impact.” In November 2022, the company set a goal to reduce carbon emission intensity 32% by 2034 (with a 2019 baseline), the news release noted. In the fourth quarter of 2022, the company took delivery of its first company-owned Class 8 electric vehicle. In 2017, J.B. Hunt was one of the first companies to place an order for an all-electric heavy-duty Class 8 truck and began incorporating electric vehicles into operations in 2023. “In addition to electric vehicles, J.B. Hunt is helping reduce carbon emissions through intermodal conversion,” the news release stated. “Over the past decade, J.B. Hunt’s intermodal service has helped avoid an estimated 30 million metric tons of CO2e emissions from over-the-road truck transportation.” These all-electric Nikola tractors will soon be part of J.B. Hunt’s fleet. (Courtesy: J.B. Hunt)

FORT WAYNE, Ind. — The North American Council for Freight Efficiency (NACFE) has posted a video of the first of 10 fleet profiles for its Run on Less – Electric DEPOT event. The event will be held from Sept. 11-30 and will track 21 different battery electric vans, step vans, medium-duty box trucks, terminal tractors and heavy-duty regional haul tractors, according to a news release. The first video profiles Schneider’s operation in South El Monte, California. Schneider says it will have 92 battery electric vehicles in operation at this site by September. On Aug. 3, NACFE will be posting the video from PepsiCo’s Sacramento, California, location, where they are using Tesla Semis in long-haul transport of heavy beverages. “We plan to post two videos a week highlighting each of the 10 fleet depots throughout August,” said Mike Roeth, NACFE’s executive director. “Each fleet depot was unique, and we encourage you to review the profiles and watch all the videos to gain a better understanding of what it takes to scale from one or two BEVs (battery electric vehicles) to 15 or more.” The other eight profile videos will include: OK Produce — The CEO of this fleet that delivers fruits and vegetables is committed to sustainability and improving air quality in his region. Performance Team — You’ll learn details of the quick ramp up with Volvo trucks for port short hauls. WattEV — Here you’ll learn about Trucking- and Charging-as-a-Service. Penske — This fleet has deployed EVs from multiple OEMs, so chargers require a high level of interoperability. Frito-Lay — In less than a year, Frito-Lay finished a complete facility revitalization including adding EVs. Purolator — This Canadian fleet uses Level 2 overhead chargers for its vans and step vans and is committed to quickly scaling up its deployment of battery electric delivery vehicles. UPS — Package delivery vans are charging inside the fleet’s facility while large trucks charge outside. One smart charging control system manages all charging. US Foods — Portable charging helped this fleet keep its EVs charged with each charger supporting three heavy-duty trucks.

The market for new Class 8 trucks in the U.S. continued to defy expectations in June, with manufacturers reporting sales of 24,085 units for the month. Overall, June Class 8 sales on the U.S. market were just down 26 trucks from May sales of 24,111, according to data received from Wards Intelligence. Typically, the final month of a quarter is the strongest, but not this time. Regardless, if the current sales pace continues, it will top 271,600 for 2023, becoming the third-best year ever for Class 8 sales. Industry analysts have been predicting a slowdown in Class 8 sales in the second half of 2023. Earlier this year, those same analysts were predicting a recession. At this point, it appears neither will happen — at least not to the degree many were looking for. In its July “North American Commercial Vehicle Forecast,” ACT Research predicted higher sales and production volumes than in earlier reports. “The upward forecast revisions reflect our view that macroeconomic positives will increasingly outweigh negatives as the calendar advances into 2024,” said Kenny Vieth, president and senior analyst at ACT. He cited consumer durables and capital equipment spending as two segments of the economy that have not experienced the declines predicted earlier in the year. Another factor that has impacted freight levels and rates is “destocking.” Retailers and manufacturers tend to reduce their inventories of goods and parts to meet current sales numbers, and that’s been happening for the past six months or longer. The result is fewer orders to restock shelves and fewer trucks needed to haul the replacement products, contributing to rate declines. “Next year inventory accumulation should inflect to a freight tailwind, from the current destocking headwind,” Vieth said. That’s an indication that freight might soon begin increasing. One indicator of future Class 8 sales is the number of orders the industry is receiving. ACT reported 19,600 orders for new trucks in June, and that’s on the North American truck market. Obviously, if more than 24,000 trucks were sold on the U.S. market alone, orders aren’t keeping up. The backlog of trucks that were ordered and are yet to be built is steadily shrinking, but a large number of units remain to be built. There is also the closing of the books for the 2023 model year as manufacturers switch over to 2024 models. “The relatively few build slots still free in 2H’23 suggest order intake is unlikely to find meaningful traction until 2024 order boards open,” said Eric Crawford, vice president and senior analyst at ACT. Typically, order boards for the next model year open in August or thereabouts. Another truck sales factor looming on the horizon is the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) emissions mandate for 2027 model year trucks. Tighter emissions standards are expected to drive new truck costs higher; this happened when previous mandates took effect. The trucking industry tends to respond by over-buying trucks in the year or two before the new, more efficient models are produced. ACT’s Vieth predicts truck dealers may purchase more trucks for stock in anticipation of customer demand, beginning as early as the first quarter of 2024. FTR, another industry analyst, reported order activity for June was still below replacement demand. “FTR has been anticipating net Class 8 orders to drop over the last several months to below 10,000 units. This has not occurred, which is a positive sign that fleets still need equipment,” said Eric Starks, chairman of the board for FTR. “With the recent solid order totals, it is all but guaranteed that Q4 production will be strong. OEM build slots for 2024 are not expected to open until August at the earliest.” The slowdown in freight, without a commensurate slowdown in the production of new trucks, has also impacted the used Class 8 truck market. ACT reported used Class 8 retail sales in June were 24% higher than in June 2022, while the average price declined by 27% for the same period. That’s good news for truck shoppers on the used market. Those numbers are likely to continue for at least a few months, as freight levels and rates aren’t providing much incentive for buyers to part with their cash. As for the individual OEMs, International is making a splash by regaining some of its former market position. In 2009, Navistar briefly topped Freightliner as the No. 1-selling brand in the U.S. Class 8 market with 28% of sales. Hard times, emissions issues and leadership changes, among other factors, brought the company to 11.1% of Class 8 sales in 2016. With the acquisition of the company by the Traton Group, International’s share of the U.S. Class 8 market was up to 11.9% in 2021, grew to 12.5% in 2022 and currently sits at 14.1% for 2023, the second-highest share of the market of all manufacturers. June sales of 3,426 were up 6% from May’s 3,232 for Navistar and 17% from June 2022 sales of 2,927. Freightliner continues to be the “big dog” in the Class 8 sales arena, reporting 8,991 sold for June — a decline of 4% from May but still 10.6% better than June 2022. Kenworth sales of 3,512 were 9.8% better than 3,200 in May and 10% higher than June 2022. PACCAR sibling Peterbilt, with 3,243 reported trucks sold, saw a decline of 7.4% from May and a decline of 5.1% from June 2022. For the year to date, however, Peterbilt still holds the edge — 18,796 to Kenworth’s 18,719. Together, the companies are responsible for 27.6% of new Class 8 truck sales this year. Volvo sales of 2,403 were down 2.8% from May, while sibling Mack’s tally of 1,744 was 10.9% better than May and 11.8% higher than June 2022. Tesla is the new kid on the block, reporting sales of 30 Class 8 trucks in June. This brings Tesla’s 2023 total to 165. In addition, Hino reported sales of its first two Class 8 trucks of the year. If freight rates are truly at the bottom, as is speculated by numerous outlets, demand for trucks will pick up as market conditions become more favorable.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has removed ALL TRUCKERS ELD, GOLDEN ELD, PRIMELD and SECURE ELD devices from the list of registered electronic logging devices (ELD), the agency announced on Tuesday, July 25. FMCSA has placed these ELDs on the revoked devices list due to the companies’ failure to meet the minimum requirements established in 49 CFR part 395, subpart B, appendix A, effective July 25, 2023. FMCSA will send an industry email to let motor carriers know that all who use these revoked ELDs must take the following steps: Discontinue using the revoked ELDs and revert to paper logs or logging software to record required hours of service data. Replace the revoked ELDs with compliant ELDs from the Registered Devices list before September 23, 2023. Motor carriers have up to 60 days to replace the revoked ELDs with compliant ELDs. If the ELD providers correct all identified deficiencies, FMCSA will place the ELDs back on the list of registered devices and inform the industry and the field. During this time, safety officials are encouraged not to cite drivers using these revoked ELDs for 395.8(a)(1) – “No record of duty status” or 395.22(a) – “Failing to use a registered ELD.” Safety officials should request the driver’s paper logs, logging software or use the ELD display as a back-up method to review the hours of service data. Beginning Sept. 23, motor carriers who continue to use the revoked devices listed above would be considered to be operating without an ELD. Safety officials who encounter a driver using a revoked device on or after that date should cite 395.8(a)(1) and place the driver out-of-service (OOS) in accordance with the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance OOS Criteria. FMCSA strongly encourages motor carriers to take the actions listed above now to avoid compliance issues in the event that the deficiencies are not addressed in time. For more information on ELDs, visit FMCSA’s ELD implementation website by clicking here.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — Self-driving trucking company Kodiak Robotics says it is the first company to pilot the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) Enhanced Commercial Motor Vehicle (CMV) Inspection Standard (Enhanced Inspections) program, which allows autonomous trucks to pre-clear roadside inspections. Elements of this new program, which is designed to streamline interactions between autonomous trucks and law enforcement at fixed inspection sites, were approved by CVSA at its September 2022 board meeting, according to a news release. Enhanced Inspections require that a CVSA-certified inspector, who has completed a 40-hour CVSA training course and passed a corresponding exam, conduct a thorough inspection of an autonomous truck combination, which is valid for a 24-hour period. Autonomous trucks then communicate the outcome of that inspection, as well as other relevant safety information, to roadside enforcement officers, the news release notes. “Since law enforcement will have a high level of certainty about the roadworthiness of vehicles participating in the Enhanced Inspection program, autonomous trucks which follow the approved process will not be subject to routine inspections at weigh stations and other inspection sites,” according to the news release. Kodiak is working with connected truck service Drivewyze and the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) to launch the initiative on Texas interstates. As part of the pilot program, Kodiak inputs the results of each Enhanced Inspection into the Drivewyze system, which then communicates a sample Safety Data Message Set to roadside enforcement officials in Texas at participating inspection sites. The Enhanced Inspection pilot program demonstrates a solution to a critical hurdle in the commercial deployment of autonomous trucks. Kodiak is working with regulators and Drivewyze to expand the pilot program to other states. “Traditional roadside inspections rely on assistance from the driver, and a common question we get is how autonomous trucks will handle highway weigh station inspections,” said Don Burnette, founder and CEO, Kodiak. “This program shows how law enforcement and autonomous vehicle developers can partner to ensure extremely high safety and maintenance standards for self-driving trucks. We are thankful to the Texas Department of Public Safety, Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance, and Drivewyze for demonstrating that the recently developed commercial vehicle inspections solution for autonomous trucks can be implemented using existing frameworks and infrastructure.” Brian Heath, CEO of Drivewyze, praised Kodiak and its efforts to further autonomous trucking. “Kodiak has always had an eye on the future, and we congratulate them on this major step forward as the first autonomous truck company to pilot the Enhanced Inspections concept in Texas,” he said. “Autonomous vehicles represent a significant change to roadside enforcement, and we are proud to support Texas DPS and Kodiak in rising to the challenge. To maximize future adoption, it is important that state agencies continue to leverage their existing roadside systems to meet the needs of the emerging autonomous vehicle market.”