Shell’s New Oil Works for Mixed Diesel and Gas Fleets

Photos: Shell Rotella

Shell Rotella's T6 Multi-Vehicle 5W-30 full synthetic oil is designed for versatility, meeting the API CK-4 specification for Class 8 Trucks as well as API SN specification for gasoline trucks and vans.

The oil is aimed at owners of mixed fleets with Class 6-8 diesel trucks and gasoline powered pickup trucks and vans. To do this, Shell designed and tested the T6 MV 5W-30 for needed wear, oxidation and depsoit control needed in modern commercial diesel engines while also exceeding the requirements for the API SN performance category of gasoline engines.

“With Shell Rotella T6 Multi-Vehicle 5W-30, it is now possible for hard working fleets or businesses that run diesel and gasoline powered engines to carry a single oil that offers numerous benefits,” said Megan Pino, Shell Rotella global brand manager. “The full synthetic oil has been engineered to provide protection under the most severe engine conditions for both diesel and gasoline engines.”

The oil contains Shell's Triple Protection Plus technology, combining additives and synthetic base oils to protect against wear, deposits, and oil breakdown, while also offering better fuel economy with it's lower viscosity. T6 MV 5W-30 oil demonstrated strong oxidation resistance in the Volvo T-13 oxidation test, according to Shell, controlling acid build up, preventing oil thickening, and exceeding the API CK-4 limits for oxidation.

The T6 MV 5W-30 Full Synthetic oil is designed to work better at low temperature oil flow when compared to Shell's own T4 Triple Protection 15W-40. Through testing, Shell says the T6 MV 5W-30 oil had better cold cranking properties and low temperature pumpability than the T4 oil at -30 and -35 degrees Celcius, respectively.

"I think we've been able to demonstrate that there's no loss in performance, in durability, between having our 15W-40 T4 Triple Protection compared to our T6 MV 5W-30," ...Read the rest of this story

Truckload Linehaul, Intermodal Rates Growing Stronger

Newly released figures show the market for truckload freight shipments is improving and the intermodal sector has completed nearly a year of increasing rates while the outlook for both has improved.

After being negative for 13 months in a row, the Cass Truckload Linehaul Index has not only been positive now for five straight months, but it is also increasing in magnitude, according to Analyst Donald Broughton with Broughton Capital.

The August index improved by 2.6% from the same time a year ago to a reading of 124.6. While this is 0.6% below the reading from the month before, there is a belief it will get better.

In just the last 60 days, Broughton's pricing forecast has improved for 2017, from a range of a 1% decline to 2% improvement, to a newly expected 1% to 3% increase. That's because the current strength being reported in spot rates is leading him to believe contract pricing rates should keep truckload rates in positive territory through the end of the year.

The Cass Truckload Linehaul Index measures market fluctuations in per-mile truckload pricing that isolates the linehaul component of full truckload costs from others, such as fuel and accessorials, providing a reflection of trends in baseline truckload prices.

Meantime, the Cass Intermodal Price Index rose 1.3% in August from the same time a year ago to 127.1, which was a slight improvement from July's anemic 0.6% increase and is at its highest level since May.

This marked the 11th consecutive month of year-over year increases; however, pricing momentum continues to be relatively muted, according to Broughton.

The absolute nominal value of the index established its most recent peak in March at 135.4, as the national average cost of diesel fuel flirted with $2.60 a gallon, and has sequentially trended lower since, as ...Read the rest of this story

Spot Truckload Rates Hit 2-Year Highs, Hurricane Effects Continue

Hurricanes Harvey and Irma have come and gone but their effects on supply chains continue, according to the freight matching service provider DAT Solutions, with spot freight rates remaining at two-year highs.

The number of available loads on the spot truckload freight market increased 27% for the week ending Sept. 16, just slightly above normal for the first full workweek of the month following the Labor Day Holiday. However, the number of available trucks rose just 19% at a time when capacity is already tight.

Despite all this activity, national average rates, which include fuel surcharges, barely moved from the week before:

Load-to-truck ratios on the spot market are elevated as well, however, the van ratio was nearly unchanged from last week at 6.6 to 1 while the flatbed ratio improved 19% to 41.1 to 1. The reefer ratio gained 5% coming in at 11.9 to 1.

Nationally, van load posts and truck posts both increased 20% while the number of reefer load posts gained 18% and capacity was up 12%. The most substantial increase was in the flatbed segment, where the number of load posts was up 41% and truck posts increased 19%. At 41.1 to 1, the flatbed load-to-truck ratio is the highest since peak season in April.

Regionally, supply chains adjusted to the aftermath of two major storms. In Florida, van freight volumes increased on lanes from Atlanta and Charlotte, as did average van rates:

Chicago and Columbus outbound van rates have risen 14% and 15% in the past month, since the Midwest hubs have been in position to facilitate rerouted freight from both Harvey and Irma.

Rates fell ...Read the rest of this story

Russia’s Comtrans Show Reflects Improving Truck Market

Russia's Comtrans exhibition is held every other year. Photo: Sven-Erik Lindstrand

Russia's Comtrans, the largest truck and transportation exhibition in Europe this year, showed nearly everything offered on the Russian market for five days earlier this month in Moscow.

The event took place at Moscow's most modern exhibition place, the Crocus Exhibition Center, which was completed just 10 years ago.

The Russian truck market fully follows the economy of the country. Much depends on world market prices for oil and gas, which is the country's most important source of export and revenue. After two weak years, the truck market has now stabilized, and the Russian market is making a comeback this year with increased volumes.

This was clearly evident at the Comtrans exhibition, which is held every other year. This was the 14th time the exhibition was organized. The exhibition space of 40,000 square meters was 5% more than the last show in 2015.

There are just over 8 million commercial vehicles registered in Russia. Since 2009, the number has increased by over 13%, or almost 1 million vehicles. Over half of these were manufactured before 2002. Thus, every other commercial vehicle in Russia is over 15 years old. Of these 8 million vehicles, about 50% are light trucks, about 45% are medium-heavy and heavy trucks and about 5% are tourist and city buses. After all-time high sales in 2012, the market fell dramatically and reached its bottom in 2015, which was as low as the crisis year 2009.

In January to July 2017, 31,100 trucks were manufactured in Russia, which is 47% more than in the same period last year.

The heavy truck market in Russia consists of 70% domestic brands such as Kamaz, Ural and GAZ. This also includes the Belarusian MAZ from Minsk. 10% consists of the Asian ...Read the rest of this story

AAA: Truck safety technology can prevent 63,000 crashes a year

Equipping large trucks with advanced safety technologies has the potential to prevent up to 63,000 truck related crashes each year, according to new research from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.

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Shell: New Engine Oil Categories Making the Grade

Since 2011 the company has amassed 60 million test miles on CK-4 formulations, and 50 million miles of tests involving the High Temperature High Shear (HTHS) formulas required by FA-4 specifications. Photo: Shell

SANTA BARBARA, CA – A new generation of engine oils is in the North American market, passing a battery of tests developed for specific engine brands. But the work of convincing buyers about related features and benefits continues.

The transition from CJ-4 to CK-4 and fuel-efficient FA-4 categories has essentially been seamless, said Dan Arcy, Shell Lubricants' global OEM technical manager, during a media briefing in California this week. The new formulas, which went by PC-11 during the development process, were officially released in December. The chemistry was driven by ongoing calls for longer drain intervals, better fuel economy, lower emissions, and increasing horsepower.

And these are hardly the engine oils that have flowed through pumps in years gone by.

Oxidation stability had to improve to handle higher under-hood temperatures. When oil oxidizes, it becomes acidic and thickens, Arcy explained. At the very least, that shortens potential oil drain intervals.

Tighter controls on aeration are especially welcome in off-highway applications, where trucks traveling up and down hills tend to suck air into the oil pump, breaking up the all-important layers of lubricant. Shear stability, meanwhile, had to improve to help keep oils from shearing out of grade into lower viscosities.

At this point, he said, manufacturers are all recommending CK-4 engine oils, and many have also increased maximum drain intervals in conjunctino with the new oil, Arcy said. “There's some caveats" when extending those drains, he noted. "There's fuel economy requirements. There's idle requirements.”

Cummins has increased standard drain intervals up to 50,000 miles with CK-4 or FA-4 formulas compared to the 40,000 miles with the CJ-4 that came before them, and will boost ...Read the rest of this story

KeepTruckin offers discount on ELDs to TQL carriers

Total Quality Logistics is partnering with KeepTruckin to provide a low-cost ELD solution for TQL-contracted carriers to help ensure compliance with the Electronic Logging Device mandate.

Through the TQL-KeepTruckin ELD promotion, drivers receive a 20% discount on the KeepTruckin ELD, which puts the starting price at $16 per month. The KeepTruckin ELD comes with no upfront hardware costs, making it affordable for carriers of all sizes, the company noted.

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