Solar-Powered Reefer Successfully Tested in California

The first solar-powered transport refrigeration unit on a city delivery truck has been successfully tested over five months in California's San Joachin Valley, according to eNow, which supplied solar panels for the test.

Compared to a diesel truck reefer unit, the "Rayfrigeration" reduced nitrous oxide by 98%, carbon dioxide by 86%, and particulate matter by 97%, said Jeff Flath, president & CEO of eNow.

The 1,800-watt eNow solar system provided more than enough energy to maintain proper temperature throughout a typical day of opening and closing the doors while the refrigerated truck delivered fresh dairy products in California's summer heat. The Rayfrigeration system worked on a Johnson Truck Bodies refrigeration unit and an Emerson high-efficency compressor.

The unit's cold plates and batteries are initially charged from utility power overnight, but while on a delivery route, power is provided by eNow's solar photovoltaic (PV) panels mounted on the truck's roof.

The eNow team calculated that average emissions of CO2 were reduced from 2,525 lbs/week to 159 lbs. Nitrous Oxide emissions were reduced from 7162 grams to 1. This is after adjusting for the emissions from the power plant supplying grid electricity overnight; missions from solar are 0.

In addition to eliminating emissions, the Rayfrigeration unit is projected to reduce operations costs by up to 90%, Flath said.. The savings are achieved through eliminating diesel fuel and maintenance costs, and an increased battery life thanks to consistent charge maintenance by eNow solar.

"Rayfrigeration is an important step forward in reducing emissions while maintaining the highest levels of efficiency and customer satisfaction for companies delivering perishable goods," he said. "eNow's solar technology is powerful, reliable, and efficient, and provides emissions-free energy for critical tasks such as refrigeration. We are proud to be part of this important project."

The San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District funded ...Read the rest of this story

FTR Reports September Trailer Orders Up 84% from 2016

Preliminary net trailer orders for September totaled approximately 21,500 units, up 47% from August and up an impressive 84% year over year, according to a report from FTR.

Orders met expectations and support the FTR forecast of another strong commercial trailer market in 2018. Trailer orders have now totaled 275,000 units over the past twelve months, much in line with 2017 production numbers.

“This is great news for the trailer market in 2018,” said Don Ake, FTR vice president of commercial vehicles. “When fleets begin ordering more trailers in September, it indicates the market should be robust the following year.

“We expect ordering activity to accelerate in October and stay elevated throughout Q4. Production rates should stay at higher levels, rolling right into 2018.

“Freight expansion early next year will severely strain industry capacity, and fleets will need to add trailers to handle the added loads,” he continued. “Both the manufacturing and consumer sectors of the economy are healthy right now, and this should lead to increased demand for most trailer segments. Things look very positive for trailers right now.”

More information about the report and FTR's research are at here. Follow on Twitter @ftrintel, or call (888) 988-1699 Ext. 1.

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CVSA’s Operation Safe Driver Week Is Right around the Bend

Photo: Virginia Tech Transportation Institute

The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance's Operation Safe Driver Week starts this Sunday, Oct. 15, and run through the following Saturday, Oct. 21. During that time, law enforcement personnel across the country will be focusing on identifying unsafe driving behavior by both truckers and motorists.

CVSA stated that because unsafe driver behaviors make up the leading cause of crashes, law enforcement will engage in “heightened traffic safety enforcement and educational outreach” during Operation Safe Driver Week, including issuing warnings and/or citations as warranted.

The Operation Safe Driver Program was created to help reduce the number of crashes, deaths, and injuries involving commercial vehicles due to unsafe driving behaviors. During the week, there will be increased commercial vehicle and passenger vehicle traffic enforcement.

Examples of dangerous driver behaviors that enforcement personnel will be tracking throughout Operation Safe Driver Week are speeding, distracted driving, texting, failure to use a seatbelt while operating a CMV or in a passenger vehicle, traveling too closely, improper lane changes, and failure to obey traffic control devices, as well as other offenses.

Operation Safe Driver Week is sponsored by CVSA in partnership with FMCSA. CVSA said the effort “to help improve the behavior of all drivers operating in an unsafe manner – either in or around a CMV – through educational and traffic enforcement strategies to address individuals exhibiting high-risk driving behaviors.”

Related: CVSA Releases Results from Unannounced Brake Safety Day

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WM Loading Ramps Stow Vertically Inside

National Fleet Products is offering a series of loading ramps that fold up vertically inside truck bodies and trailers, then swing out and down for use in pick-up and delivery operations. Called WM System Loading Ramps, the product is said to be a low-cost, maintenance-free alternative to hydraulic liftgates.

The ramps stow vertically just inside a van's rear- and side doors, and take up approximately 8.5 inches of depth when folded and locked. With a built-in spring assist and sturdy side handles, a ramp requires only about 20 pounds of force and five seconds to unfold or be folded back into its low-profile vertical storage position. From there it can be lowered for use, then raised again for storage.

“The ergonomic ease and simplicity of our WM System Loading Ramps is quite simply unparalleled within the commercial vehicle industry,” said Steven Peterson, president of National Fleet Products. “Compared to hydraulic liftgates, our WM System ramps require little training, are far faster, more reliable, and operate for years with virtually no maintenance, not to mention our equivalent load capacities.”

If a ramp is not needed for loading or unloading, a swivel-action mechanism enables it to swing 90 degrees in and out like a door, allowing unfettered access to the vehicle's interior. Vehicle-specific mounting plates are available for all major platform makes and models, and installation can take as little as two hours.

“By storing inside the vehicle until deployment, WM System Loading Ramps remain cleaner and drier than exterior-mounted hydraulic liftgates” and do not interfere with a vehicle's tow hitch, Peterson said. “The aluminum WM System ramps come in both ridged and shot-blast anti-slip surface textures that significantly improve traction on inclined surfaces, while reducing the risk of injury from a loss of footing.”

When required, a WM System ramp can also function as ...Read the rest of this story

ZF and DHL Form Autonomous Vehicle Partnership

DHL will deploy a fleet of StreetScooter electric delivery vans equipped with ZF autonomous vehicle technology beginning next year. Photo: ZF

Automotive component supplier ZF and the Deutsche Post DHL Group (DPDHL) have announced the companies will work together to deploy a test fleet of autonomous delivery trucks beginning next year.

A prototype delivery vehicle, equipped with six cameras, one radar system and lidar systems, was unveiled to coincide with the announcement.

According to details released by ZF, DHL, one of the world's largest mail delivery and logistics companies, will outfit a fleet of electric light trucks using ZF's ProAl autonomous driving technology for package transportation and delivery, including “last mile” applications. ProAI is based on NVIDIA Drive PX automated driving technology.

DPDHL currently operates a fleet of 3,400 StreetScooter electric delivery vehicles that can be equipped with ZF's autonomous driving sensors, which include cameras, lidar and radar. These sensors feed critical information on a vehicle's environment into the ProAI system, which then analyses the data to plan a safe path forward or even park itself.

ZF said the system allows parcel delivery companies like DHL to deliver goods with greater accuracy and safety at lower costs.

In preparation for next year's autonomous van deployment, DPHL has already configured its central data center with the NVDIA DGX-1 AI supercomputer, which will run deep-learning models on the trucks' NVIDIA Drive PX platform.

“Research and development of ecological, economical and efficient transportation will bring dramatic changes to the logistics industry,” said Jurgen Gerdes, member of the board of management of Deutsche Post AG. “Partnering with NVIDIA and ZF will enable us to responsibly support this development, benefit from it and to reinforce our position as the industry's innovation leader.”

“In its StreetScooter fleet, Deutsche Post DHL is taking its next step with our current and future generation of ...Read the rest of this story

PacLease: Truck rental market shows 20% growth

The heavy and medium-duty truck rental market is running on all cylinders with rental utilization in the PacLease system increasing markedly over the past four months. That's the word from Chachi Hernandez, PacLease's national director of rental operations.

“In Class 8 rentals, we've seen a 20 percent jump across the country, with the West Coast being the hottest market – with a 25 percent increase over the past four months,” Hernandez said.

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Ryder acquires Dallas Service Center

Ryder System announced it has completed the acquisition of all outstanding equity of Dallas Service Center Inc. (DSC), an independent truck repair facility located in Dallas, TX.

The acquisition, completed on Sept. 29, is expected to be nominally accretive to earnings in 2017. Ryder anticipates additional earnings in future years due to implementation of best practices leading to synergies, as well as improved productivity and safety as part of the Ryder network.

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