Samsara certifies ELD solution with FMCSA
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Meritor Looks to Electrified Future
Electrification will be the next big step for trucking companies, Meritor CEO says from CNBC.
Meritor, in the midst of a three-year push to unveil 20 significant new products as part of its growth strategy, is also looking to a not-so-distant future where electrification will be a major factor in commercial trucks.
Speaking this week on CNBC's "Mad Money," Meritor CEO Jay Craig talked about the company's history, the success of its three-year M2016 turnaround strategy, its current M2019 three-year strategy, and the importance of longer-term strategy.
"Mad Money" host Jim Cramer, who was interviewing Craig to find out more about not only Meritor but also why Class 8 orders are "on fire," pointed out that Meritor recently hired a chief strategy officer. Craig noted that Meritor's “very satisfied” with its M2016 strategy, a three-year plan it wrapped up last year that nearly doubled the profit margin of the company. It's in the midst of its next three-year plan, M2019. “But what I want to see us do is look more long term, make sure we're setting ourselves up for longer-term strategy as well.”
Speaking later more about those longer-term strategies, Craig noted that while there is work being done on autonomous truck technologies, specifically referencing Daimler's 2015 "Inspiration Truck," for Meritor, what's going on in the world of electrification is more significant.
“We have a big push on electrification right now, we think we're establishing a strong position in that marketplace, as we see the trend of commercial vehicles most likely moving where light vehicles are, more highly electrified.”
As HDT's Jack Roberts pointed out in a recent column, there have been a lot of advances in electrification in the past year or so. Much of it has been in Europe, but with the global nature of the truck ...Read the rest of this story
Equipment makers, freight rails not immune from ELD mandate
Planning for the electronic logging device (ELD) mandate is not limited to trucking fleets. During recent media events and quarterly earnings conference calls, equipment manufacturers and freight railroads were preparing for any possible effects on their businesses.
For example, Kenworth Truck Co. monitors the status of the mandate, and talks to customers to try to anticipate build rates, Kevin Baney, assistant general manager for sales and marketing, said in late July.
“It is more in terms of making sure we are ready with what they need,” he said.
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Paragon updates routing, scheduling software
Paragon Software Systems announced the company can now help logistics operations gain added visibility of sub-contracted loads through its advanced routing and scheduling software. Following enhancements to the company's Route Execution module, data can now be combined from as many as 35 different telematics systems, the company noted.
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Eco Flaps receives EPA approval to meet GHG regs
Eco Flaps announced the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) pre-approved its trailer splash guards to be used by vehicle manufacturers to meet GHG2 regulations through model year 2020 with a 1.25 percent reduction in fuel usage.
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TMW Systems appoints new senior director, product management
Jay Delaney has joined TMW Systems as senior director of product management. Delaney's primary area of responsibility will be the TMW.Suite transportation management software (TMS) platform, where he will direct product strategy and lead the company's Product Advisory Council (PAC).
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Chanje Brings Globally Scaled EV to US Medium-duty Market
<img width="150" src="http://www.automotive-fleet.com/fc_images/news/m-chanje-exterior-front-45-view-ddl-on-1.jpg" border="0" alt="
Chanje's first North American offering will be a Class 5, 16,500-lb GVW all-electric panel van with a 100-mile range.
" >Chanje's first North American offering will be a Class 5, 16,500-lb GVW all-electric panel van with a 100-mile range.
" width="640">A California-based electric vehicle and energy solutions company, Chanje, will bring to the U.S. market in the fourth quarter a Class 5 panel van that it says can be economically produced at a scale and price not previously possible. The company says it already has volume orders for Q4 delivery of its ground-up designed and purpose-built all-electric vehicle.
Chanje is a privately held, U.S. registered corporation with initial strategic investment from Hong Kong-based FDG Electric Vehicles Limited (HKEX:00729). FDG brings an investment more than $1 billion in medium-duty EV R&D to the partnership. Chanje provides global expertise from the transportation sector through a deep understanding of clean-energy vehicle engineering and adoption.
Chanje says it chose to partner with FDG in order to leverage the economies of scale found in the Central Asian markets.
Chanje CEO, Bryan Hansel, told Heavy Duty Trucking the vehicle was designed from the start as a long-life, global-platform vehicle that could leverage not only U.S. domestic volume but also to capture significant market share in Europe as well as Asia.
"We have designed a vehicle that will play well in several different markets so that we can leverage the supply chain and get that volume," he says. "For the first time, the North American fleet market has an opportunity to access a world-class, high quality and cost effective commercial electric truck."
The first model to be released in the U.S. is a Class 5 commercial panel van equipped to haul a payload of up to 6,000 pounds on an "average" urban delivery route of about 70 miles a day. Hansel says the truck will be a high-roof model with roughly double the cubic capacity of current EV offerings and a ...Read the rest of this story