New truck orders pause in May

Orders for new Class 8 trucks dropped in May from the previous month, but remained well above year-ago levels, two industry groups reported.

ACT Research said Class 8 orders were 16,800 units in May, down 30% from April and the lowest in the seven months. However, that was up 18% higher than May 2016.

The firm also reported overall Classes 5-8 net orders fell 11% in May to 38,100, the second consecutive monthly dip, but were 20% ahead of last year's pace.

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Pit Group to Evaluate Fuel Efficiency of 5 Tire Brands

Photo: Pit Group

Pit Group announced that its Spring Energotest in Blainville, Quebec, Canada, will focus on the fuel economy of tires, evaluating the efficiency of five brands. The test will take place on June 9 at the Transport Canada test track.

During Energotest, tires from BF Goodrich, Bridgestone, Continental, Goodyear, and Michelin will undergo a series of fuel economy tests using stringent protocols to measure the performance of each tire.

Pit Group is a research and engineering group focused on improving fleet maintenance and operations in the North American transportation industry.

“Pit Group fleet members met in March to identify testing and R&D priorities for the coming year,” said Yves Provencher, business development manager, intelligent transportation at Pit Group. “Each member lists issues they are facing and our engineers create a list of potential items to test. Members then vote to identify their top 10 priorities. This year, fleet members voted to focus on tire fuel economy.”

The tire tests planned for Energotest will be based on TMC Type II and Type III Fuel Consumption Test Procedures, according to Pit Group. The Type II test will compare each brand using a control tire brand. Type III testing will test each tire on several identical vehicles, by switching tires from one test vehicle to another between tests, to clearly measure the impact on fuel consumption.

Additional testing topics identified by fleet members for evaluation in the future by the PIT Group include:

Pit Group fleet members also identified important maintenance issues, including corrosion mitigation and DPF cleaning systems, and the impact of predictive cruise control, a topic on which Pit Group will run an operational study.

Pit Group also announced that Loblaw ...Read the rest of this story

Federal Signal Completes $270 Million Acquisition of TBEI

Federal Signal has completed its acquisition of Truck Bodies and Equipment International, a manufacturer of dump bodies and trailers, for a purchase price of $270 million.

TBEI represents a portfolio of six established brands: Travis Trailer & Body Company, Crysteel, Ox Bodies, Rugby Manufacturing, DuraClass, and J-Craft. TBEI will be combined with the businesses in Federal Signal's Environmental Solutions Group to create a single platform offering municipal and industrial customers a suite of maintenance and infrastructure equipment support.

In a release earlier this month, Federal Signal stated that as part of the deal, TBEI's president and CEO Robert Fines will be joining the company's management team.

“Their product offerings will allow us to further diversify into higher growth, maintenance and infrastructure markets while balancing the mix of revenue streams between municipal and industrial, and reduce our exposure to oil and gas,” said Jennifer L. Sherman, Federal Signal's president and CEO. “This acquisition represents a strong strategic fit for Federal Signal and will enhance our ability to achieve sustainable and profitable growth.”

Related: 6 Steps to Better Work Truck Body Upfits

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Proposed truck insurance hike to be tossed

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) said today that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) plans to withdraw its proposal – made three years ago – to increase mandated levels of insurance coverage both freight and passenger motor carriers from $750,000 to $4 million.

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Waymo Exploring Self-Driving Trucks

Waymo's fully self-driving Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid minivan. Photo: Waymo

Alphabet Inc.'s autonomous-driving unit Waymo is now also developing self-driving trucks, per published reports.

Reuters has reported that Waymo expects autonomous vehicles to be in a position eventually to take over long-haul trucking, although human drivers would still cover local P&D routes.

“Self-driving technology can transport people and things much more safely than we do today and reduce the thousands of trucking-related deaths each year,” a Waymo spokesperson told BuzzFeed News. “We're taking our eight years of experience in building self-driving hardware and software and conducting a technical exploration into how our technology can integrate into a truck.

According to its posted report, BuzzFeed News first learned of Waymo's truck work through a photograph. Waymo then confirmed that it was testing a truck by manually driving the semi on a public road to collect data. The Waymo spokesperson also confirmed that the company is currently testing only one truck.

Related: Uber Fires Self-Driving Head at Center of Legal Battle

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OOIDA: Proposed truck insurance hike to be tossed

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) said today that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) plans to withdraw its proposal – made three years ago – to increase mandated levels of insurance coverage both freight and passenger motor carriers from $750,000 to $4 million.

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Fumoto Engine Oil Drain Valve Approved for Trademark

Fumoto has announced that its Engine Oil Drain Valve was approved for a trademark for its visual appearance.

The Engine Oil Drain Valve was recognized as visually distinctive and was a source of identifying the product, according to Fumoto.

The Fumoto SX-series is comprised of two distinct but fully integrated parts: the through bolt and oil-flow control body. These features allow the valve to be positioned for more convenient and easy oil changes.

The SX-series valve allows installation without an adapter on some vehicles that may have previously required one. A larger body and quad channels allow for improved flow rates and faster oil changes in certain sizes.

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