Logistical twist: New supply chain angle for drones and delivery vans

read more

Gear Oil: The Lubricant You Need to Think About

If you're a fleet manager, your equipment's performance is directly connected to the success of your business.

Many of the fleet customers we talk with understand the importance of proper, routine equipment maintenance. In fact, many of them know their equipment's OEM-recommended engine oil change intervals or have them within an arm's reach at the shop.

read more

MetTel Offers Connected Workforce Management Product

New York City-based MetTel will offer a mobile workforce solution called Fleet Management Solutions to help companies and municipal governments connect their workforce and vehicle fleet assets to the internet.

The telematics product enables organizations to send, receive, retrieve, and store information about vehicles, telecommunication devices, and employees through MetTel's network of 650 carriers in more than 170 countries. The system allows iPhones and other devices or workforce apps to connect to the network.

"As transportation functions become digitized, MetTel Fleet will ensure your fleet assets and mobile workers aren't just isolated dots on a map," said Ryan Crandell, director of MetTel Fleet Management. "We have the power to connect the dots and activate your mobile workforce as one cohesive, productive and efficient unit that drives the business forward."

The telematics platform provides six core areas of focus, including a Software as a Service (SaaS)-based management portal, mobile worker apps, mobile management apps, remote camera, dispatch and route planning, and motor carrier services.

A national transportation company has already adopted MetTel's Fleet Management Solutions to deliver more packages with fewer resources in less time, according to the company. The product also helps the company automate, monitor and manage regulatory and compliance needs, including ELD, HOS, IFTA, DVIR and FMCSA regulations.

Follow @HDTrucking on Twitter

Cross-Border Freight Value Increases for 9th Straight Month

U.S.-NAFTA freight value percent change from previous year, July 2017. Graphic: U.S. DOT

Trucking along with the other four major freight modes moved more cargo by value with North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) partners Canada and Mexico in July when compared to a year ago, according to new Transportation Department figures.

The 6.5% overall rise from July 2016 is the ninth consecutive month in which the year-over-year value in current dollars of U.S.-NAFTA freight increased from the same month of the previous year, but it also marked the slowest improvement since April.

The value of commodities moved by truck increased 4%, less than the 24% gain by vessel, the 23.1% improvement by pipeline, and slightly higher than the 4.4% gain by rail. However, it was better than air, which rose just 2.3%

The large percentage increase in the value of goods moving by vessel and pipeline was due in part to an increase in the volume of mineral fuel imports, according to the report.

Trucks carried 63.2% of U.S.-NAFTA freight and continued to be the most utilized mode for moving goods to and from both U.S.-NAFTA partners. They accounted for $28.9 billion of the $47.6 billion of imports, or 60.7%, and $27.5 billion of the $41.6 billion of exports, or 66.2%.

Rail remained the second largest mode by value, moving 15.1% of all U.S.-NAFTA freight, followed by vessel, 7.1%; pipeline, 5.6%; and air, 3.9%. The surface transportation modes of truck, rail and pipeline carried 84% of the total value of U.S.-NAFTA freight flows.

From July 2016 to July 2017, the value of U.S.-Canada freight flows increased by 5.6% to $44.8 billion as the value of freight on four major modes increased from a year earlier. The value of freight carried on vessel increased by 29.7%, pipeline by 26.7%, rail by 4.7%, and ...Read the rest of this story

Effort to include trucks fails before Senate panel advances autonomous bill

A Senate panel has excluded commercial trucks from legislation it approved on Oct. 4 to assist the development and deployment of autonomous cars.

Unanimous passage by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation sends the AV Start Act (S. 1885) to the full Senate. Similar legislation that also excludes vehicles over 10,000 lbs. was passed by the House of Representatives last month.

read more

Leading Transportation Strategist to Keynote Fleet Forward Conference

Dr. Stefan Heck, a globally-recognized business strategist, entrepreneur, and author, will deliver the keynote address for the inaugural Fleet Forward Conference, convening Nov. 7-8 in Miami.

In his address, “The Future of Fleet is ACES: Autonomy, Connectivity, Electrification, and Sharing,” Heck will outline the fleet industry's important role in each of the four disciplines shaping the future of transportation.

Within these disciplines, Heck will discuss the role fleets are playing in shaping self-driving technology, how fleets are harnessing data and technology to create safer roads, which electrification technologies will deliver the biggest payoffs, and how vehicle sharing can create greater fleet efficiencies.

Heck is the founder and CEO of Nauto, an autonomous vehicle software company.

Previously, Heck was a consulting professor at the Precourt Institute for Energy at Stanford University, where he also directed the Energy Transformation Collaborative and was a research fellow at the Steyer Taylor Center at the Stanford business and law school.

Heck founded and led McKinsey & Co.'s clean tech and sustainability practice and consulted extensively with global 100 companies in related industries. He is on the board of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group and authored a critically-acclaimed book, “Resource Revolution: How to Capture the Biggest Business Opportunity in a Century.”

The inaugural Fleet Forward Conference will be held at Hilton Miami Downtown. For more information, visit www.fleetforwardconference.com.

Follow @HDTrucking on Twitter

Should the pickup truck be the official vehicle of the United States?

read more