The retooled Volvo VNL family of highway tractors built by Volvo Trucks North America, which the OEM originally unveiled back in July, incorporates many subtle design changes indicative of a more driver-focused mentality by the truck manufacturing industry as whole.
read more
...Read the rest of this storyEven as Hurricane Irma was still working its way north through Florida, reports of widespread destruction were beginning to emerge, as were the initial recovery plans.
More than 3 million people were believed to be without power and thousands of fueling stations were shut as the monster storm moved through Florida on Sept. 10. Utilities were warning it could take weeks to restore power, and agricultural officials suggested more than $1 billion worth of crops could be lost be the time the storm ends.
read more
...Read the rest of this storyPaul Trombino III – formerly director of the Iowa department of transportation from 2011 to 2016 and president of the American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO) for its 2015-2016 term – has been nominated by the Trump administration to head up the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).
read more
...Read the rest of this storyFleets and natural-gas engine makers are already taking steps to address methane leakage. Photo: Frito-Lay
">Fleets and natural-gas engine makers are already taking steps to address methane leakage. Photo: Frito-Lay
">A recent study by West Virginia University's Center for Alternative Fuels, Engines, and Emissions found significant challenges for natural gas vehicles to deliver on their promise of emissions reductions, primarily due to the amount of methane they emit.
The study, Future Methane Emissions from the Heavy-Duty Natural Gas Transportation Sector for Stasis, High, Medium, and Low Scenarios in 2035, focused on NGVs currently in production, which researchers believe could significantly populate fleets by 2035.
Drawing on data gathered from a January 2017 study, WVU researchers looked at ways to reduce emissions during the pump-to-wheel process by using operational best practices.
Methane, which is more potent than carbon dioxide (CO2), contributes to 25% of manmade climate change, according to the Environmental Defense Fund. In 2015, the Environmental Protection Agency found that 31% of methane emissions came from petroleum and natural gas systems.
While methane has a shorter lifetime in the atmosphere — 12 years compared to CO2's 30 to 95 years — it traps more heat than CO2, according to EPA. However, lifetime in the atmosphere doesn't mean the time after which all the methane is gone, only that 63% of the initial amount of gas has been removed. Additionally, methane's global warming potential is 21, meaning it will trap 20 times more heat than CO2 over a 100-year period.
A 2015 study, published in Environmental Science & Technology, concluded that commercial fleets that converted from diesel to natural gas power could potentially accelerate the rate of climate change over the next 50 to 90 years before providing benefits to counteract it.
Similarly, the U.S. Energy Information Administration has reported that methane emissions grew by 27% from 1990 to 2009 due to natural gas consumption.
While methane leaks happen throughout ...Read the rest of this story
Photo: U.S. DOT
">Photo: U.S. DOT
">Suppose they had a rush hour and nobody came.
As strange as the concept sounds, this essentially describes the ultimate goal of off-peak deliveries – the route planning strategy that schedules shipments at times when there is less traffic on the road.
There are significant savings to be realized by those who embrace the idea. Fuel economy improves because of reduced idling in traffic; equipment is better utilized because of shorter transit times; Human Resources budgets can be eased when employees are not paid just to sit in traffic or wait for freight. Shippers, for their part, potentially realize savings through lower delivery costs. If enough companies embraced the strategy, congestion during other time periods would improve. The rush hours would ease.
Ontario's Peel Region wants to measure exactly how extensive the savings can be, and is in the midst of recruiting carriers and shippers to participate in a related six-month research project.
Carriers have a lot to gain by participating in the study. The battle against congestion is particularly relevant in this locale. Indeed, calling the region a transportation hub would be an understatement. Peel roads and highways handled 24.2 million truck trips in 2012, and four out of every nine jobs in the region are linked to industries that depend on moving goods. This is the home of Pearson International Airport, two intermodal yards, and some of the busiest highways in the nation.
The results of Peel's research will likely be positive, too, because off-peak deliveries have proven their worth before.
In 2009 and 2010, 25 New York City businesses and eight fleets embraced deliveries between 10 p.m. and 8 a.m. Trips during that period were twice as fast as those completed between 10 a.m. and 10 p.m. Trucks that traditionally faced $1,000 in parking fines per month were left without any ...Read the rest of this story
Photo: Jim Park
">Photo: Jim Park
">Canada has issued the final permit needed for the Ambassador Bridge expansion project to continue.
Matthew Moroun, with the Detroit International Bridge company, says the permit allows the company to proceed with the investment in international infrastructure.
The new Ambassador Bridge will be the longest cable stayed bridge in North America, and will be constructed next to the current Ambassador Bridge, which has connected Canada and the United States since 1929.
The privately-funded, billion-dollar bridge will have six lanes, three in each direction, including NEXUS, FAST, and bus lanes. It will also have new and expanded Canada Border Service Agency commercial inspection facilities, including 12 additional commercial inspection booths.
Moroun says the project has faced challenges in getting to this point.
“We know there are those who never thought our permit would be approved,” he said. “Hopefully, now we can all come together and take pride in watching a new bridge rise across the shared border between our great nations.”
U.S. permits were received more than a year ago, in the spring of 2016.
This article by the staff of award-winning Canadian publication Today's Trucking appears here via a cooperative editorial-sharing agreement between HDT and TT.
Related: State Department Issues Permit for New Bridge Between U.S. and Canada
Follow @HDTrucking on Twitter
...Read the rest of this story
Mahle Service Solutions' TechPro Diagnostic Systems VDS Combo Kit includes components to diagnose and repair commercial vehicles and is aimed at mixed fleets and municipalities that service a variety of vehicle sizes.
A one-year subscription for the VDS Combo Kit allows users to activate and use both the VDS1000 and VDS1000HD diagnostic software and includes regular software updates.
The TechPro Commercial Diagnostic System VDS1000HD from Mahle Service Solutions, powered by JPro, provides can help fleets analyze, diagnose and repair commercial vehicles.
The VDS1000HD provides more than 54,000 heavy- and medium-duty fault codes with detailed OEM level component and trailer descriptions. Users can view and print log files, obtain fault management information, store and save data, and review total vehicle health status.
The VCI1000HD adapter is fully RP1210c and J1939 type 2 compliant allowing technicians to connect with other original equipment diagnostic software systems. Additionally, the VDS1000HD offers expansive bi-directional testing capabilities such as manual DPF regens, cylinder cutout tests, and idle shutdown enable/disable - at an affordable price point.
The VDS1000HD can run diagnostics on the aftertreatment system, with graph interpretations, and checklists to aid technicians throughout the diagnostic process.
Mahle's TechPro Automotive Diagnostic System VDS1000 is designed to be a versatile, software-based tool to help analyze, diagnose and repair light vehicles to maximize technician productivity. The TechPro VDS1000 can decode a vehicle identification number with one click. A scan of vehicle-wide diagnostic trouble codes on all modules takes 30 seconds or less with the Bluetooth-enabled vehicle communication interface.
Follow @HDTrucking on Twitter
...Read the rest of this story
