Panel: Trailers Next Frontier in Telematics

“The trailer is very much increasing in importance.” says Wabco's Jon Morrison. Photo: Deborah Lockridge

ATLANTA, GA – The power of telematics continues to advance, and there are still plenty of opportunities to be realized – especially when it comes to the rolling assets seen in a rearview mirror.

It's why Utility Trailer's Intelligent Trailer Symposium, held during the North American Commercial Vehicle Show, gathered a panel of high-profile executives to explore the promises and challenges of collecting, sharing, and using trailer-related data.

“We do spend a lot of time talking about trucks,” said Jon Morrison, Wabco's president – Americas. “The trailer is very much increasing in importance.”

The interest in data clearly involves more than filling spreadsheets and completing reports. Wabco has a boat tail that deploys and retracts at specific speeds based on data from existing antilock braking systems. Retreading programs can track the condition of individual tires equipped with RFID tags. Reefer settings can be monitored and changed remotely. Those are just a few examples.

“The demand for data is increasing everywhere,” said Berend Bracht, president and CEO of Bendix.

While the traditional focus has been on collecting the data because of an exception or unusual situation, like a fault code or collision, the possibilities that can be realized by analyzing “big data” will require a continuous stream of bits and bytes.

More data can be a good thing, but it presents new challenges to address. Will information collected about a trailer, for example, come from wired or wireless sensors? How will it ultimately be packaged and transmitted to drivers and operation teams? “There's a lot of data, but who gets that data?” Bracht asked, referring to one fundamental question.

“One of the biggest issues that still exists for fleets is light outage(s),” explained Dominic Grote, president and CEO of Grote Industries. Drivers need to ...Read the rest of this story

Hino to open new WV plant, introduce new line of Class 7 and 8 trucks

Hino plans to strengthen its U.S. operations with the introduction of a new truck line and new facilities.

At a press conference yesterday, Hino announced its plan to purchase a former Coldwater Creek women's clothing distribution center and convert it into a new Hino truck assembly plant in Mineral Wells, WV, close to the current Hino plant.

The new facility is expected to open in early 2019 and will also house cab assembly, which is currently done in Japan.

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Hino to Move Into North American Heavy-Duty Market

Davey Jung, Executive Vice President, Hino Motors Manufacturing U.S.A. Inc. answers questions for the media at our press conference in West Virginia. Photo: Hino Trucks

Hino has announced that it will begin producing a new line of Class 7 and 8 trucks at a new truck assembly West Virginia that will be introduced in 2019.

The new larger trucks will be powered by Hino's A09 9-liter engine that is already sold in other markets globally. The engine will produce anywhere from 300-360 horsepower and the truck is scheduled to be publicly revealed at the NTEA Work Truck Show.

“These are truly exciting times for Hino in the U.S.,” stated Yoshinori Noguchi, CEO of Hino North America. “Our growth and customer acceptance in the Class 4-7 market are enabling us to introduce a wider variety of products.”

The new vehicles and facilities are part of a $100 million investment plan to strengthen its U.S. operations. Hino is purchasing the former Cold Water Creek distribution center and converting it into its new truck assembly plant in Mineral Wells, W.Va. The new plant is expected to be operational by 2019 and will also house cab assembly, an operation currently conducted in Japan.

As part of Hino's growth plan, the company broke ground on a new corporate office in Novi, Mich., and is consolidating all operations into its new corporate headquarters including sales, marketing, service, engineering, purchasing, and manufacturing. Hino's Insight Diagnostic Center, which monitors vehicle performance and uptime for all Hino trucks equipped with Insight, will also operate out of the Novi headquarters.

The new facility is expected to create 250 new jobs by early 2020.

“When a prominent international company such as Hino chooses to expand its operations here in West Virginia, with a $100 million investment, it really speaks volumes for our state, our workforce, and our ...Read the rest of this story

FMCSA to Host Two-Day ELD Implementation Event

Photo: Roehl Transport

As part of its Electronic Logging Device Implementation National Tour, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration will host an Electronic Logging Device implementation, two-day event at the Davis Travel Center in Stony Creek, Va.

The FMCSA event, Oct. 11-12, will provide ELD transition information to drivers and carriers in attendance.

FMCSA subject matter experts will be available from 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. on both days to discuss ELDs and answer questions. A driver-focused ELD presentation will also take place from 12:30 - 1:30 p.m. each day.

As required by federal law, all motor carriers subject to the ELD Rule must convert from paper logs or logging software to a registered ELD if they do not have an Automatic On-Board Recording Device by Dec. 18 of this year.

During the months of October and November, FMCSA will conduct nationwide training with its state partners to ensure that carriers are knowledgeable of compliance and enforcement requirements.

Experts representing other FMCSA programs including hours-of-service, commercial driver licenses, and medical programs, among others, will answer questions from drivers on a variety of CMV-related issues.

For those who are unable to visit the travel center, FMCSA will livestream the Oct. 11 presentation on its website beginning at 12:30 p.m.

The FMCSA event will coincide with the Davis Travel Center's annual “Driver Appreciation Days” event.

Related: What You Need to Know ABout ELD Mandate Enforcement

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Spot Truckload Freight Rates Continue Moving Higher Following Hurricanes

The number of available loads on the spot truckload freight market rose as freight rates moved higher again for the week ending Sept. 23, according to new figures from DAT Solutions and its network of load boards.

The number of available trucks increased 5% but load-to-truck ratios remained high with vans at 6.4 to 1, down 3% from last week. In contrast, flatbeds improved 5% to 43.2 to 1 and reefers ticked up 3% to 12.2 to 1.

National average spot truckload rates made gains with reefers posting the biggest gain from a week ago, 3 cents, for a national average of $2.18 per mile. Both vans and flatbeds improved by a penny to $1.94 per mile and $2.25 per mile, respectively. All reported rates include fuel surcharges.

A lot of this can be attributed to the supply chain disruptions caused by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, plus the uptick in fuel costs that followed, according to DAT. But so far, truckload capacity hasn't shown many signs of loosening, so prices have stayed elevated even after the initial spikes in rates caused by the storms.

Nationally, van load posts increased 4% and spot market volumes hit an all-time high on the top 100 van lanes. Rates rose on 66 of those lanes, and the national average van rate is 16 cents higher it was for the month of August.

Regionally, van volume soared 52% out of Atlanta due to emergency freight headed to Florida and pent-up demand from delayed shipments due to Hurricane Irma. Despite the higher demand from shippers, the average outbound van rate declined in Atlanta, down 9 cents to $2.49 per mile.

Rates out of Texas markets were also down, but outbound averages in both Dallas, at $1.78 per mile, and Houston, at $1.72 per mile, were higher than before Hurricane Harvey hit almost ...Read the rest of this story

SAF-Holland rolls out two new products

SAF-Holland unveiled two new offerings at the North American Commercial Vehicle (NACV) show this week; a new large-capacity 20,000-lbs. Neway LSZ auxiliary steerable lift axle suspension system and a new retrofit kit for its automatic fifth wheel lighting system, dubbed the Electronic Lock Indicator or “ELI-te,” introduced nearly two years ago.

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E-commerce focused cargo control offerings from Kinedyne

Cargo control system maker Kinedyne LLC noted that many of its latest products are going to be particularly well-tuned to dealing with the demands of e-commerce, according to Paul Wolford, the company's vice president of sales and marketing.

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