Vehicle Tracking Solutions offers module to improve driver safety

Vehicle Tracking Solutions (VTS) has recently deployed an additional module to its Silent Passenger Fleet Management GPS platform: SP Driver Score Card.

The enhanced SP Driver Score Card is specifically designed to help fleet operators increase their profit, improve driver safety and reduce vehicle maintenance costs. Through the SP Driver Score Card configuration wizard, a proprietary algorithm allows fleet managers to monitor what they deem most important within their specific organization.

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Chanje’s Medium-Duty Electric Van

Chanje Energy, Inc. unveiled its Class 5 battery-electric commercial van at an Oct. 18 event in Fullerton, Calif. The vehicle provides 100 miles of electric range with 3,000 pounds of payload, and can reach a top speed of 80 mph. Read more here. Photos by Chris Brown, Paul Clinton, and Amy Hercher.

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Driver iQ Offers Training Records for New Drivers

Photo: Driver iQ

Background screening provider Driver iQ has announced that it is offering access to Truck Driving School Records, allowing carriers to access driving school records as part of the pre-employment process.

As of the launch of the service, Driver iQ has more than 57,000 graduation records and says its database is growing. Driver iQ customers can access records by indicating that they want a school record when requesting a pre-employment screening through the company's customer portal. Other interested parties can obtain training records by utilizing the company's SingleCheck Verification online service for processing individual school record requests on driver graduates.

“Motor carriers need the ability to quickly and efficiently verify graduation records for CDL driver applicants,” said Amy Bricken, manager of client development at Driver iQ. “Currently, to obtain records, carriers need to contact each school and request a record. With this new capability from Driver iQ, carriers can conveniently access training records as part of their verification of an applicant's credentials rather than using administrative time to contact schools to obtain reports.”

The service can also benefit driving schools, according to Driver iQ. Schools that store their records with Driver iQ save time and money by eliminating the need to respond to requests for student records. In addition, each time a stored school record is accessed and reported to a carrier over the lifetime of the record in the system, the school receives credits towards Driver iQ screening services that they use for incoming student background checks.

“The benefit to driving schools that store graduation records in our database goes beyond the administrative time they save not responding to record requests or the cost savings they can realize by using credits when they need a background check on a new student,” said Bricken. “The schools can also use the database to see ...Read the rest of this story

Strong Production Reduces Class 8 Backlogs

Strong Class 8 production in the Month of September has impacted the backlog and build rate, according to an ACT Research report. With steady production levels, backlogs have contracted for the fifth consecutive month.

“Backlogs typically decline in September. When we seasonally adjust the data, the Class 8 backlog actually rose slightly from August,” said Kenny Vieth, ACT Research's president and senior analyst. “The month's smaller backlog along with stronger production reduced the Class 8 backlog/build ratio to 78 days, the skinniest backlog cushion for the industry since late 2013.”

September also saw a lower Class 8 backlog to build ratio, driven by an increased build rate.

“The Class 8 build rate rose to 1,208 units per day, the strongest rate of production in nearly two years,” said Vieth. “Through year-to-date, Class 8 build is up 4.5% compared to the same period last year.”

ACT Research has also been tracking the impact of the recent hurricanes on freight. Through previous analysis of the effects of hurricanes, ACT found that there is a 3-4 month pop in freight following the storms before volumes return to the pre-storm trend.

“Given the timing, the hurricane surge and the seasonal fall freight peak are lining up into the end of 2017,” said Vieth. “Freight and rate data clearly show the convergence of improving economic activity, hurricanes, and ELD adoption on trucking industry capacity relative to freight activity.”

Related: Class 8 Orders Increase in Healthy, Growing Market

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Commentary: The Remanufacturing World’s Problem With Cores

Denise Rondini

The biggest pain point for everyone involved in remanufacturing is cores. Things such as core management traceability, identifying cores, accounting for cores, space to store cores, and even the transportation of cores all add complexity to remanufacturing, says Tim Shaw, national sales and product manager for remanufacturing at Haldex.

No single one of these issues is more of a concern than the others, making it harder to address the core issue.

“If you conducted a poll of 10 different customers, they are all going to have a different opinion about what is most difficult for them,” Shaw says. “Some do a really good job at the traceability and tracking of cores, but on the flip side they might not be identifying cores correctly or they might not correctly determine core condition.” Even if you solve one of the problems, you are still left with several others.

Haldex is looking at a more flexible core program that tries to alleviate some of the issues customers have. While Shaw was not at liberty to go into great detail, he did mention speeding up the core process. “We are trying to make sure that the cores are processed in a quick and timely manner.” He also says the company is looking into things like longer time frames to return cores.

There are a couple of other areas where Shaw thinks manufacturers can help make the core process more user-friendly. One is in the area of core identification. Shaw thinks better tools will help fleets and distributors do a better job of identifying cores and understanding core condition to better assess core value.

“For our business model and for us to be in business, we have to have cores, and we have to have good cores,” Shaw says. Damage to the core can render ...Read the rest of this story

2018 Medium-Duty Report

A new future, with new operational realities for fleets, looms just around the corner — although getting any two experts to agree on just what that future will look like is largely impossible. What is clear is that trucking will be a vital cog in the newly emerging economic and retail realities taking shape today, with efficient urban delivery and last-mile delivery emerging as hugely important enablers for retailers large and small worldwide.

The impact of some of these trends are already showing up in medium-duty specs, according to Kevin Koester, Ford medium-duty truck and Super Duty fleet manager, who says the demands of urbanized deliveries are becoming increasingly apparent. “We're seeing a lot more medium-duty fleets — particularly in the P&D markets — cubing out now before they weigh out,” he says. “I think that is a reflection of more people skipping a trip to the grocery store and ordering items like paper towels online. So we're seeing an increase in moving goods like that, particularly in Classes 6 and 7 — simple, smaller items that weigh less.”

One of the more headline-grabbing trends affecting the medium-duty truck market is a move toward all-electric vans and trucks optimized for delivery routes in urban settings. Although reports are still sketchy as of press time for this article, it appears Tesla's much-touted debut electric truck will be a Class 7 model, optimized for urban and light regional routes with a daily charge range of between 200 and 300 miles. And other OEMs, such as Mitsubishi Fuso, Mercedes-Benz and Hino, are actively pursuing their own electric vehicle technology paths as well.

Opinions are divided as to how electric technology will be deployed in medium-duty trucks in North America. Koester thinks that instead of fleets of electric vans running routes, it's more likely to be the ...Read the rest of this story

Electric Axle for Trucks Saves Up to 15% in Fuel, Hyliion Says

Mesilla Valley, PAM and Ryder are each testing a Hyliion electric-powered axle. The device supplies supplemental power and saves up to 15% in fuel, its maker says. Photos: Hyliion Inc.

An electric-powered axle for highway truck-tractors has been announced by Hyliion, a startup technology company that has been developing a similar product for semitrailers. The truck version is now being tested by three major fleets, the company said.

Hyliion's 6X4HE system generates electric power on downgrades or while coasting, and supplies supplemental power during launch and on upgrades, explained Thomas Healy, founder and CEO. He said the system delivers substantial fuel savings, lowers exhaust emissions, and eases work for the driver.

A Hyliion axle replaces a 6x2 truck's non-driven dead axle or is added to a 4x2 truck, turning either into a 6x4. Existing 6x4 tractors can be converted by removing one mechanically driven axle and replacing it with a Hyliion axle.

The system includes a motorized axle, lithium-ion battery pack, and electronic controls. The battery pack also runs an auxiliary power unit during rest periods. It can be installed on a new or existing truck in about three hours.

Mesilla Valley Transportation, PAM Transport, and Ryder System all participated in testing and refining the 6X4HE, and each has one tractor running with it, Healy said.

Hyliion first announced a powered trailer axle last year, but switched its focus to a truck system at the request of fleet executives. The axle's hybrid action alone will save 15% in fuel, the company claimed.

“Fleets said they'd see a faster payback if it could be put on a truck because it would be used more often than on a trailer,” Healy told HDT. “We listened and focused our efforts to first deliver the 6X4HE System with an innovative APU” that uses the battery pack.

The APU ...Read the rest of this story