Mack Honors Fallen Military Members at Ride for Freedom Rally

Photo: Mack Trucks

Mack Trucks employees will participate in the Rolling Thunder Ride for Freedom Rally during Memorial Day weekend to pay tribute to America's fallen military members.

This year, Mack's Ride for Freedom truck is a custom-built crew cab called Jack Mack, named after John “Jack” M. Mack, one of the founders of Mack Trucks.

The 30th annual rally takes place in Washington D.C., and Mack Lehigh Valley Operations and Mack Customer Center employees will travel from Pennsylvania by truck and motorcycle to Hagerstown, Maryland for a special memorial ceremony at Mack's Powertrain Facility.

Hagerstown employees will then join their colleagues following the ceremony as they continue to the nation's capital for the Ride for Freedom event.

The Rolling Thunder Ride for Freedom Rally was started in 1987 by Artie Muller and Ray Manzo, two Vietnam veterans. Many participants are veterans and many ride motorcycles as a demonstration to honor the country's fallen military members and those captured or missing in action.

For more information on the rally, click here.

Related: House Bills Seek to Ease Veterans' Path into Trucking

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Inframe Engine Kit Designed for Navistar DT466 EGR

Reliance Power Parts' inframe engine kits and service components are designed for the Navistar DT466 EGR engines used in medium-duty trucks.

Reliance is offering four new engine kits and service components as an expansion of its Navistar engine parts offering. The inframe kits contain one-piece aluminum pistons and provide coverage for DT466 engines from model years 2004 to 2006 with serial numbers between 2,000,000 and 2,999,999.

This engine is referred to as the I-313, utilizes four valves per cylinder, G2.9 injectors, and an EGR exhaust system.

Cylinder kits feature:

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Economic Growth: GDP Not as Weak as First Estimated; Factory Activity Slows

Growth in the U.S. economy during the first quarter didn't slow as much as first estimated, according to government numbers released Friday, while separate reports showed weaker factory activity but continued high consumer sentiment.

The Commerce Department reported the nation's gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 1.2% in the first three months up the year, the weakest performance since the first quarter of 2016.

The latest reading is up from a pace of 0.7% that it reported a month earlier. but down from a rate of 2.1% in the final quarter of 2016.

Adding to this slightly better performance was higher growth in consumer spending while inventory investment slowed.

While this updated performance isn't as good as many were hoping, some analysts believe the Federal Reserve remains on track to push interest rates higher again.

“On balance, data to-date, [the numbers] remains consistent with our expectation that overall GDP growth bounced back to a solid 2.9% rate in the second quarter and, combined with further tightening in labor markets, is consistent with our expectation that the Fed will hike the fed funds target range by another 25 basis points (.25%) in June,” said Nathan Janzen, senior economist at RBC Economic Research.

Meantime, a separate Commerce Department report showed new orders for factory-made goods designed to last at least three years fell for the first time in five months during April along with a decline in shipments.

New orders for durable goods fell 0.7% from the month before, less than analysts expectations, and following a upwardly revised March increase of 2.3%. Shipments slipped 0.3% following a March drop of 0.1%.

Also, a key indicator of business investment, orders for non-defense capital goods minus aircraft, remained flat for the second straight month.

“The March factory orders report showed a 0.5% increase in core ...Read the rest of this story

Automakers Fear NAFTA Changes

Photo: Ford Motor Co.

U.S. automakers are pushing President Trump "not to make any changes to NAFTA that would jeopardize production ties with Canada and Mexico that have been built up over the last 25 years," according to a Politico.com ProTrade post.

Understandably, the car makers don't want to mess with success. They are now "performing at levels that really haven't been seen in decades," said Charles Uthus, vice president for international policy at the American Automotive Policy Council, stated the Politico report.

AAPC represents the common public policy interests of its member companies: FCA US LLC (Fiat-Chrysler) Ford Motor Company and General Motors Company.

Politico reported that Uthus credits NAFTA for much of that success and contends that hiking tariffs between the three NAFTA signatories would hurt the competitiveness of the North American region. The report also stated that parts manufacturers don't want any changes to the agreement that would “"upset the supply chain."

The Big Three auto makers' concern reflects the advantages it has reaped from operating in the common U.S.-Canada-Mexico market since the NAFTA agreement went into effective on January 1, 1994— over 23 years ago.

Perhaps in recognition of the inevitability of Trump pursuing some reforms of NAFTA, AAPC President Matt Blunt issued a statement on May 18 that seeks to avoid breaking eggs by whipping NAFTA into a tastier omelette. “NAFTA has helped to boost the global competitiveness of the U.S. auto industry sector and we support modernizing the agreement in ways that will further strengthen North America as a manufacturing powerhouse, stimulate economic growth and drive job creation,” he stated.

Blunt said that AAPC encourages administration “to seize this opportunity” to work with Canada and Mexico “to support strong and enforceable currency manipulation disciplines in trade agreements and encourage the global acceptance of vehicles built to U.S. auto ...Read the rest of this story

Air Compressor Offers Lightweight Option for Ford Transit

VMAC has launched the Underhood 30 Air Compressor for the Ford Transit EcoBoost commercial van. This Van Series air compressor offers up to 30 CFM at 100% duty cycle, designed for operators using air tools for light-duty applications, according to the manufacturer.

Weighing 62 pounds, the VMAC Underhood 30 rotary screw air compressor is lightweight and compact. Made for light-duty applications, the compressor provides 50% more output than a bulkier standalone air compressor at a fraction of the weight, according to VMAC.

It can be installed quickly as there is minimal vehicle modification required, with the air compressor running off the van's own belt. VMAC works closely with van manufacturers to ensure vehicle warranties remain intact with the installation of Underhood air compressors.

The VMAC Underhood 30 Van Series air compressor also addresses several unique safety challenges that traditional standalone air compressors present. With the Van Series air compressor safely stored under the hood of the vehicle, operators aren't exposed to toxic exhaust in the cargo area, or at risk of gas fires.

"We've seen tremendous growth in the commercial van industry in North America, as businesses introduce vans into their fleets", said Mike Pettigrew, VMAC's Marketing Manager. "VMAC has responded to our customers' evolving demands by producing the Van Series of Underhood 30 Air Compressors for Ford, GMC, Chevrolet, RAM, and Mercedes-Benz models. The Underhood 30 Air Compressor for the 2013-2017 Ford Transit EcoBoost is the latest addition to this popular Van Series."

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Lawsuit alleges GM cheated on diesel emissions tests

A lawsuit filed in a U.S. District Court in Detroit alleges that automaker General Motors cheated on government diesel emissions tests.

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Fleets Bear the Pain in Bull Market for Used Trucks

A classic glut has created a buyer's market for good quality, low-mileage Class 8 tractors. Photo: Ritchie Bros.

A used truck market that has been unusually soft for months is showing signs of leveling off, industry experts say. However, a glut of used trucks remains on the market and, in extreme cases, some fleets actually owe more for equipment than it is now worth on the secondary market.

The roots of this soft secondary market date from late 2015. Large fleets had placed large orders for trucks as the U.S. economy began to rally in the 2013-2014 timeframe. But the economic upsurge didn't last. By the 3rd quarter of 2015, retail orders were lagging and manufacturing levels fell off as a result. As freight volumes dropped in response, fleets began to shed suddenly excess equipment, resulting in high volumes of relatively low-mileage trucks, in excellent condition landing on dealer lots all over the country.

“Yes. It's a classic truck glut,” said Chris Visser, senior analyst and product manager, commercial vehicle valuation services for J.D. Power and Associates. “Supply in the used truck market still outstrips demand, although we have tracked a gradual trend since January or February of this year indicating more retain buyers are purchasing – which of course goes hand-in-hand with the excess inventory and the overall quality of the used equipment available today.”

Citing J.D. Power's Commercial Truck Guidelines Industry Update, released earlier this month, Visser noted that the average sleeper tractor sold wholesale in March was 70 months old, had 535,833 miles, and brought $29,314. Compared to February, trucks sold in March were one month newer, had 1,515 (0.3%) fewer miles, and brought $85 (0.3%) more money. Compared to March 2016, the average sleeper sold this month was 12 months newer, had 85,719 (13.8%) fewer miles, and brought $4,385 (13%) less ...Read the rest of this story