Latest Trucking Industry Headlines
Thursday, October 23, 2008
posted by benmcclanahan @ 9:30 AM,
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Daimler cutting jobs, closing Sterling Trucks plant
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Daimler closing Sterling, reshaping North American operations (Fleet Owner)In a major restructuring of Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA), its parent Daimler AG announced that it will end production of the Sterling brand, close its Portland, OR, and St. Thomas, Ontario, truck plants, and move production of Western Star trucks to a new plant in Saltillo, Mexico, which is already slated to take over some production of the Freightliner Cascadia next year. The moves will cost approximately $600 million and result in the loss of 1,200 salaried positions and as many as 2,300 plant jobs, according to the company.
Other Daimler job cuts, restructuring articles:
DTNA will shut Sterling Trucks, close plants, cut jobs (Bulk Transporter)
Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA) is taking dramatic steps to meet the challenges of the current depressed market for heavy-duty trucks. Company officials announced October 14 that DTNA would eliminate 3,500 jobs, drop the Sterling Trucks brand, and shut two North American plants.
DTNA's strategy brings an end to Sterling Trucks (Refrigerated Transporter)
Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA) announced a comprehensive plan to adjust and strengthen company operations in response to continuing depressed demand across the industry and structural changes in the company’s core markets.
Sterling Trucks Brand Discontinued (Trailer/Body Builders)
Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA) today announced that it will discontinue the Sterling Trucks brand in March and cease truck manufacturing operations at the St. Thomas, Ontario, plant.
Sterling Trucks comes to an end (Fleet Owner)
Other trucking industry headlines from Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2008:
Fleet Owner
BBTS truck and bus sales president to retire
Trailer/Body Builders
Medium and Heavy Truck Sales Down 15%
Navistar Expands Hybrid Truck Line
Kenworth of Pennsylvania Adds New Location in Clintonville
Blogs
The waters reach reality (Trucks At Work)
So it looks like the “intermodal-by-sea” concept to create “marine highways” for U.S. freight is going to become reality sooner rather than later.
posted by benmcclanahan @ 12:51 PM,
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FEMA to charge rent for Greensburg trailers
Friday, October 10, 2008
From the Associated Press:
GREENSBURG, Kan. | The Federal Emergency Management Agency plans to start charging rent for its trailers being used by Greensburg residents displaced by last year’s tornado.
Eighteen months after the massive twister all but wiped out the Kansas town, FEMA sent a letter saying that residents still living in agency trailers would pay $667 per month in rent.
Resident Jackie Scheuerman said Thursday she plans on moving out of her FEMA trailer to avoid having to pay an “outrageous” amount for rent because she needs the money to finish rebuilding her home. Instead she and her family will live in their half-finished house.
City Administrator Steve Hewitt questions whether $667 per month is fair market value for Kansas and Greensburg, and he’s trying to convince the agency to lower the price.
Hewitt said, “I just don’t want to lose citizens.”
posted by benmcclanahan @ 12:26 PM,
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ATA renews attack on port trucking plan
Top trucking, logistics news articles:ATA renews attack on port trucking plan (Fleet Owner)
The American Trucking Assns. (ATA) fired the latest salvo in the ongoing battle over the controversial truck replacement plan put into effect by the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach on Oct. 1.
Fuel, economy worry trucking executives (Bulk Transporter)
Carriers are worrying most about the cost of fuel and the nation’s economy as it impacts the trucking industry, according to an American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) survey.
Group Calls Airport Slot Auctions Illegal (Outsourced Logistics)
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) condemned the final rule issued by the Bush Administration, which allows the government to confiscate and auction airport take-off and landing slots at New York’s airports as an ineffective and illegal way to alleviate flight delays.
European Trailer Market ‘Brutal’ (Trailer/Body Builders)
Component manufacturers were reporting a massive decline in demand from heavy trailer manufacturers, with orders down by as much as 50%. There were rumors of 20,000 to 30,000 unsold trailers littering the fields of Europe.
Sun helps ease Fresh & Easy’s energy bills (Refrigerated Transporter)
Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market announced that the solar panel installation at its California distribution center is providing nearly three quarters of the facility’s energy. In a time of rising energy costs, solar power is helping ease the grocer’s energy bills.
Other trucking, logistic industry headlines from Friday, Oct. 10, 2008:
Outsourced Logistics
Much Work Ahead For YRC Says Analyst
SubTropolis Hosts Education Initiative
Lowry To Supply Government RFID Solutions
Deloitte and Sterling Commerce Enter Strategic Alliance
State of the Port Highlights Savannah Achievements
Group Calls Airport Slot Auctions Illegal
Fleet Owner
Eaton promotes John Sczesny
Circadian and Sleep Pointe to jointly battle apnea
Roadranger widens synthetic gear lube availability
SmartWay recognizes 27 for green efforts
Bulk Transporter
Freight Index falls in August
Mack, Volvo to continue ATA safety sponsorship
Schneider wins SmartWay award
Mack wins environmental award
SBA offers hurricane disaster loans
OSHA holds PPE proposal hearing
Michigan posts licensing information
Several situations impact natural gas prices
Trailer/Body Builders
NTEA Receives Three Prestigious Diamond Awards
NTEA Recognizes 13 New MVP Companies
Blogs
The human element (Trucks At Work)
"We tend to forget at times that trucking is, at its heart, all about people. The steel, chrome, and ribbons of asphalt, along with terms such as asset utilization, cost per mile, and lane optimization work to obscure the human element inexorably interwoven throughout this industry – the drivers, maintenance techs, dispatchers, load planners, warehouse workers, etc."
The General speaks (Reading Between the Lines)
"Time was when the saying “As goes General Motors, so goes the nation” held much sway. The days when that one corporation–or any one corporation for that metter– could have such inlfuence on our country’s well-being may be long gone but that doesn ‘t mean the disappearance of GM would not have a horrible impact not only on our fragile economy directly but also on the national pysche– which in the end drives our economy more than anything else."
posted by benmcclanahan @ 12:11 PM,
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Bailout's impact on trucking industry
Monday, October 6, 2008
What the bailout could mean to trucking (Fleet Owner)
According to trucking industry analysts, it is difficult to forecast exactly what impact the $700 billion financial-market bailout signed into law on Friday will have on credit availability and the trucking industry in general.
Passed by a 263 to 171 vote in the House of Representatives, the bill was signed into law by President Bush two hours later. There is hope that this measure will keep the financial crisis from getting worse, although there is disagreement on whether we’ve hit bottom yet.
“It’s not just the truckers and the fleets that will have trouble getting credit—it’s all businesses,” Eric Starks, president of FTR Associates, told FleetOwner. “Smaller guys will be hit the hardest because they will have so much trouble getting financing.”
posted by benmcclanahan @ 3:02 PM,
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Ford launches redesigned F-150 pickup, built at Claycomo
Friday, October 3, 2008
Ford launches redesigned F-150 pickup, built at Claycomo (KC Star)
"As speakers inside Ford Motor Co.’s Claycomo plant touted the 2009 F-150 pickup Thursday, new trucks slowly moved along the assembly line behind them.
There was no shutdown of production during the ceremonial launch of the redesigned F-150.
“Consumers want this great truck, so we couldn’t stop the line,” Ford executive Joe Hinrichs told a cheering crowd of plant workers, Ford dealers and local politicians.
Even in a depressed automotive industry in which high gasoline prices have crippled the truck and big-SUV market, the F-series remains the best-selling vehicle in the country. Sales of the F-series were off 27 percent through September, but the 392,698 F-series trucks sold still make it the top seller.
Still, local Ford workers have been concerned after the automaker cut F-150 production to one shift at Claycomo and eliminated a third F-150 shift at its Dearborn, Mich., plant. In the past two years, Ford also has stopped making F-150s at two other plants as several truck and SUV factories are being converted to produce smaller vehicles.
At Claycomo, Ford added a third shift to build Ford Escape/Mercury Mariner compact SUVs when it dropped the second truck shift.
For them, Hinrichs had some reassuring words.
“There’s been a lot of talk about the truck business,” said Hinrichs, group vice president of global manufacturing and labor relations. “The truck business is strong, and the truck business is important for this plant.”
Last month on a visit to Kansas City, Hinrichs reiterated that Ford planned to continue building F-150s at two plants, noting the shipping advantages of the Claycomo plant being in the middle of the country for markets to the west and south.
“We like having the truck in two plants,” he said at a forum of journalists. “Logistically, it’s better for us.”
Given how much truck capacity the domestic automakers already are taking out of their operations, Ford can be expected to continue to build the F-150 at two plants, said David Cole, chairman of the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Mich. Both plants will be needed to produce more trucks once the construction industry and overall economy recover, he said.
“I would say it’s hard to imagine Ford without two significant F-series plants building light-duty trucks,” he said. “I think Ford’s competitors would love it if the company went down to one plant.”
Ford executives and engineers say the new F-150 has industry-leading features such as the highest towing and hauling capability as well as an 8 percent improvement in fuel economy across its various versions. The F-150 SFE will get 15 miles to the gallon in the city and 21 on the highway."
posted by benmcclanahan @ 10:21 AM,
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