Omnitracs completes acquisition of Shaw Tracking

Omnitracs completed its acquisition of Shaw Tracking, a Shaw Communications subsidiary that provides fleet management solutions in Canada. This further expands Omnitracs' customer base in North America, the company noted.

Shaw Tracking will be integrated into the Omnitracs product and service portfolio. The combined organization is positioned to assist the Canadian market throughout an entire load lifecycle. Mike Ham will lead the organization as vice president and general manager of Omnitracs Canada.

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Baron introduces Weather API for fleets

Baron has introduced its Baron Weather API for Fleet, a range of weather data that can be integrated into network fleet platforms. According to the company, the Baron Weather API was developed for fleet management tracking platforms, transportation management systems for pre-planning, and mobile driver applications.

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BlackBerry, Fleet Complete partner for tracking deal

BlackBerry and Fleet Complete announced today that they have entered into a reselling partnership that will expand Fleet Complete's current fleet tracking and monitoring solution.

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ATA Truck Tonnage up 7.1% in August

American Trucking Assns.' advanced seasonally adjusted (SA) For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index increased 7.1% in August, following a 0.5% gain during July. In August, the index equaled 149 (2000=100), up from 139.1 in July.

Compared with August 2016, the SA index increased 8.2%. In July, the index rose 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Year-to-date, compared with the same eight months in 2016, the index is up 2.1%.

As part of this report, ATA also revised its July increase in the index upward to a 0.5% gain from the previously reported 0.1% increase.

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Demographics are changing truck driver management tactics

As the “traditional” make-up of the U.S. truck driver population is rapidly aging and heads for retirement new efforts must be made to attract younger and “non-traditional” candidates to the job of piloting commercial vehicles for a living, according to a panel of trucking executives at the McLeod Software 2017 User Conference in Atlanta this week.

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Massachusetts adds XL Hybrids tech to fleet

XL Hybrids' XL3 Hybrid Electric Drive System will be installed in 52 vehicles that serve five Massachusetts state agency fleets.

The hybrid-electric vehicles will be used by the state's Department of Conservation and Recreation, Environmental Police, Department of Correction, Department of Developmental Services, and Department of Youth Services. The XL Hybrids upgrades were made possible by support from the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources and the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center.

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FedEx Freight Dominates 2017 TMC SuperTech Competition

ORLANDO -- FedEx Freight technicians racked up 10 separate station victories at the Technology & Maintenance Council's 2017 SuperTech competition this week, as Mark McLean came away with an unprecedented third SuperTech title in five years.

FedEx Freight technician Mark McLean said he hopes to one day move into fleet management and share his knowledge and experience with young, up-and-coming technicians.

The Montgomery, New York-based technician won the Grand Championship title in 2013 and 2014, then took second place last year after sitting out 2015 due to a rule requiring repeat winners to take a break after back-to-back wins.

More than 1,000 TMC members, SuperTech competitors and their spouses were in attendance at a banquet held at the Marriott World Center Resort in Orlando, Florida, as TMC gave out over $100,000 in cash and prizes to technicians competing from all over the United States. As the evening wore on, the SuperTech Award Ceremony was dominated by numerous category victories by both FedEx Freight and Walmart Transport, with respectable showings also posted by Travel Centers of America and BASE Air Management. But McLean's multiple wins eventually put him solidly in first place.

Doug Nickels, also with FedEx Freight, took second place SuperTech honors, with Joseph Calaway with BASE Air Management taking third place overall. Despite its strong showing by individual technicians, Walmart did not have a Top 10 finalist at the end of the evening, while FedEx Freight technicians took 8 of the Top 10 finalist slots in the overall rankings.

McLean, who said he was first attracted to a career as a diesel technician by working on cars as a young boy, said he hoped his SuperTech wins would help him move into a fleet management role in the future in order to fulfill his dream of mentoring and helping young technicians grow ...Read the rest of this story