Federal-Mogul Boosts Air Disc Brake Production Capacity

Abex ADBHD1369 also comes with a complete installation hardware kit and meets global ISO performance and wear standards.

Photo: Federal-Mogul

Federal-Mogul Motorparts is expanding product capabilities for its line of commercial vehicle air disc brake products. The company's Abex ADBHD1369 air disc brake pads will now be produced at Federal-Mogul Motorparts' ISO/TS 16949:2009-certified manufacturing facility in Glasgow, Kentucky.

The company has also given the ABEX ADBHD1369 new, reengineered packaging featuring eye-catching graphics and design. The new packaging was constructed to offer better protection to the product, which could reduce damage often incurred during shipping.

"As more fleets begin to purchase air disc brakes, we have seen an increased demand for our products, namely Abex ADBHD1369," said Bill Nunnery, vice president, Commercial Vehicles and Business Development, Federal-Mogul Motorparts. "In addition to being manufactured in the U.S. at our Glasgow facility, which has the highest level of quality certification available to friction manufacturers, these brakes also feature an OE-quality formulation for enhanced stopping power with extended disc pad and rotor life."

Federal-Mogul said the Abex ADBHD1369 is equipped with OE-style green coat stripes, which provide consistent performance both out of the box and throughout the life of the pad. This green coat is a proprietary, engineered material that is applied to the friction surface to aid the initial effectiveness of the brake friction material. Additionally, these pads also come with a mechanical retention system that supports the friction material from shearing from the back plate.

Abex ADBHD1369 also comes with a complete installation hardware kit and meets global ISO performance and wear standards. It conforms to 2025 copper-free requirements of less than 0.05 percent by weight, with no copper added to this advanced OE-quality formulation.

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Childersburg Truck Service Joins Power Heavy Duty

Image: Power Heavy Duty

Heavy-duty distributor Childersburg Truck Service has joined the Power Heavy Duty buying group.

Started in 1975, Childersburg offers a wide selection of heavy-duty truck parts and shop services, including hydraulic hose repair. In addition, the company has a body shop that installs dump bodies and lift axles.

Childersburg Truck Service primarily serves central Alabama. Its customer base consists mainly of small fleets, owner-operators, loggers, and school bus shops. “We are pleased to welcome Childersburg Truck Service to the growing Power Heavy Duty family,” said Mark Iasiello, general manager, Power Heavy Duty.

“From their strategic location in central Alabama," he added, "Childersburg Truck Service carries a wide variety of products from leading manufacturers to help customers with all their truck repair and maintenance needs.”

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Canadian Trucking Lobby Submits Wish List for NAFTA Talks

Image: Global Affairs Canada

The Canadian Trucking Alliance has officially submitted comments on cross-border trade to Global Affairs Canada, as governments prepare to renegotiate aspects of the North American Free Trade Agreement.

The association's submission covers 11 related areas of interest including: in-transit truck moves, cargo pre-clearance, government investment at ports of entry, harmonization of security programs, the trend in rising cross-border fees, the movement of food products and related inspections, and e-commerce, among other topics.

“Many of the comments by the carrier community contained in our submission are longstanding issues that have been impeding cross-border trade,” said CTA President Stephen Laskowski. “CTA is eager to work with Ottawa, Washington, and the business communities on both sides of the border to try and resolve these issues for the betterment of the economies in the U.S. and Canada.”

For its part, the U.S. has already indicated an interest in automating and streamlining customs and border procedures. Those were among negotiation objectives released on July 17 by the Office of the United States Trade Representative. That 18-page document asks for “automation of import, export, and transit processes” as well as “reduced import, export, and transit forms, documents, and formalities [and] enhanced harmonization of customs data requirements” for goods crossing the border.

Now, on to the wish list linked specifically to trucking:

Repositioning trailers

Existing cabotage rules govern how foreign motor carriers reposition trailers. “This is inconsistent with modern-day logistics practices,” the CTA brief reads, noting how shippers, receivers and freight forwarders control when freight is loaded and unloaded. “Motor carriers must therefore maintain larger trailer pools, allowing them to drop off a loaded trailer at the consignee so the driver and truck don't need to wait.” Along with the American Trucking Association, it wants foreign drivers to be able to reposition empty foreign trailers as part of ...Read the rest of this story

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Bendix-Based Safety System Standard on Volvo VNL and VNR Models

Bendix Wingman Fusion-based safety system is now standard on Volvo VNR and VNL trucks. Photo via Bendix

The paint is hardly dry on the new trucks, but Volvo continues to push the technology envelope with its new VNL and VNR tractor models. Bendix has announced that for the first time in North America, the camera- and radar-based collision mitigation technology of its Wingman Fusion vehicle safety system is now standard equipment on these heavy-duty trucks. Both the VNR and VNL series feature Volvo Active Driver Assist, which the company said integrates Fusion to create a comprehensive, leading-edge system.

Introduced in fall 2016, Volvo Active Driver Assist uses Bendix's flagship collision mitigation technology, integrating radar, camera, and the vehicle's brake system into a driver assistance system that delivers driver alerts and interventions to help them mitigate rear-end collisions, rollovers, and loss-of-control situations.

Unlike systems that only use radar, Volvo said its Active Driver Assist creates a highly detailed and accurate data picture using deep, multisystem integration of the input gathered through radar, video, and the vehicle's brakes working together. The system's camera is powered by the Mobileye System-on-Chip EyeQ processor with state-of-the-art vision algorithms.

Volvo engineers said these technologies – working together and not just in parallel – along with powerful next-generation computing, create a system that typically assesses situations faster and reacts earlier, while also significantly reducing false alerts and false interventions.

Volvo Active Driver Assist offers as standard alert prioritization, enhanced collision mitigation, stationary vehicle braking, and an optional integrated lane departure warning system with data capture capability. Other options include blind spot detection.

While not integrated into the Volvo Active Driver Assist system, the blind spot technology offers an additional feature to help drivers detect vehicles that may not be visible in their mirrors. And because it is built on the Volvo Enhanced Stability Technology ...Read the rest of this story

Truckload Linehaul Rates Firm Up, Intermodal Rate Momentum Slows

Truckload linehaul rates appear to be stabilizing while intermodal rates continue moving higher but at a slower pace, according to two new reports.

The Cass Truckload Linehaul Index increased 1.5% in June compared to the same time a year ago, hitting a level of 123. This marks the third straight month of year-over-year gains following downturns for 13 consecutive months.

The June performance was up only 0.2% from the month before while the May level declined 1.5% from April.

Analyst Donald Broughton of Broughton Capital has revised his pricing forecast for this year from a range of a 1% decline to a 2% gain to a slightly better level of no improvement to a 2% increase as the current strength being reported in spot rates is leading him to believe contract pricing rates should keep rates in positive territory through the end of the year.

The Cass Truckload Linehaul Index measures market fluctuations in per-mile truckload pricing that isolates the linehaul component of full truckload costs from others, such as fuel and accessorials, providing a reflection of trends in baseline truckload prices.

Meantime, the Cass Intermodal Price Index rose 1.8% in June from the same time a year ago to 123.3 following May's 2.2% increase and hitting its lowest level since August 2016.

This marked the ninth consecutive month of increases, however, pricing momentum has slowed with the measure falling for month-over-month for the third straight time.

“As the price of oil has recovered from the oversold lows of February 2016 and established a price more consistent with the marginal cost of production from domestic sources, said he expects intermodal rates to show better strength in 2017 than were achieved in 2016.

“The current level of demand and pricing will produce a positive year-over-year comparison for the next 3 to 6 months,” he said.

The Cass Intermodal Price Index ...Read the rest of this story