CarriersEdge course teaches drivers how to handle accident reporting

CarriersEdge, a provider of training for the trucking industry, announced it has added to its list of courses a topic that drivers hope they'll never need but will find hugely valuable if they do: Accident reporting.

CarriersEdge noted its new training module takes drivers through the legal and safety procedures and responsibilities following an accident to protect themselves, the carrier and other involved motorists and passengers.

read more

Spireon appoints new senior vice president of sales for fleet division

Spireon Inc. announced the appointment of Bob Burden as senior vice president of sales for Spireon's Fleet Division. An industry veteran with more than 12 years of experience in executive sales roles, Burden will spearhead sales to small and medium-sized businesses, as well as reseller and channel segments, with an eye toward continued market growth and executing industry-leading go-to-market strategies, the company noted.

read more

Daimler opens new Oregon test facility

MADRAS, OR. Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA) officially opened its new test facility here May 18, which the company said will speed the development of new vehicles and deployment of advanced technologies.

read more

Mack Trucks’ Slagle is Bullish on Class 8 Truck Market

Mack exectives (l-r) John Walsh, Jonathan Randall, and Denny Slagle. Photo: David Cullen

CHARLESTON, S.C. The head of Mack Trucks regards the state of the heavy-duty truck market as solid. “Everyone in the industry has succeeded in bringing inventory down to safe levels,” Dennis Slagle, president of Mack Trucks and Volvo Group executive vice president, said at a May 18 media briefing here.

“[Class 8] inventory industry-wide is now at a level that we can look forward to factories building for demand,” he continued. Slagle said the upshot is that this year Mack is forecasting North American truck sales of 215,000 units.

While he allowed that would be down from last year's total of 243,000, he said it reflects “the industry looking to adjust to true market conditions.” What's more, he said that "the underlying demand is healthier now than what we saw last year, so we see the market leaving 2017 in a stronger way.”

Along with the inventory correction, Slagle said he's pinning hope on President Trump holding true to his promise to foster policies favored by business interests. “We think, like everyone else, that the business-friendly environment of the Trump Administration— if he will get through the mismanagement he's done of the bureaucracy— could be helpful [to trucking], such as with infrastructure [spending] and reducing regulations.”

Slagle also hit on the importance of boosting customer uptime for the OEM. “Our greater focus will continue on the service side of the business,” he said, noting that when he entered the truck side of the business, coming from Volvo Construction Equipment, he was “surprised we were not talking as much about service as other things, such as fuel economy.”

He said Mack has in recent years “taken steps to really help customers manage and increase uptime,” including working “to harvest opportunities not just ...Read the rest of this story

Daimler Unveils New Oregon Proving Grounds

Photos: John G. Smith

MADRAS, Ore. – Daimler Trucks North America has officially opened its High Desert Proving Grounds, representing a $18.7-million investment that will put the company's trucks through their paces – including connected, platooning and autonomous vehicles of the future.

“Every mile on the track is equivalent of 200 miles on some normal road,” explains Wilfried Achenbach, senior vice president – engineering and technology. Freightliner designs its trucks to last 1.2 million miles, so this track can replicate that level of wear in just 6,000 miles.

“The entire track has 3.5 miles and covers multiple maneuvers,” he says. “It replicates most of any road surface you can find around the world.”

Work to clear the 87 acres of land began in June 2015, while construction launched in May 2016. Now there are nine test lanes overall, as well as a 32,000-square-foot facility with 14 service bays, and several video monitors connect teams to Portland and beyond.

“The opening of this facility will ensure the future reliability of our products, as well as expedite future technologies that enhance our customers' bottom line,” said Roger Nielsen, president and chief executive officer.

It represents a new way for Daimler engineering teams to share information, too. The site is far closer to the company's Portland headquarters than an Indiana track that Daimler had been leasing from Navistar. These proving grounds won't be open to any other Original Equipment Manufacturers, but future tests could include selected suppliers, Nielsen says.

The 120-mile trip between Portland and Madras itself will itself be part of ongoing validation tests including portions of interstate, rural roads, and mountainous terrain through the Mount Hood pass, the company notes. For example, the route was used to validate the potential gains through truck platooning.

And many members of the Portland team will now be making regular trips over the ...Read the rest of this story

Shell SuperRigs 2017: Day 1

The 35th annual Shell Rotella SuperRigs truck competition, held at the Exchange Center within Expo Square in Tulsa, OK, showcased some of sharpest iron you'll ever see in the trucking industry. Owner-operators from across the U.S. and Canada are competing for cash and prizes worth in excess of $25,000. At the end of three days' worth of judging, 12 drivers and their tractor-trailers will be selected to be featured in the 2018 Shell Rotella SuperRigs calendar. Here are a few sights from day one of this year's competition. (Photos: Shell)

Mack thinks Class 8 market will stay strong

CHARLESTON, SC. While Mack Trucks expects total Class 8 production volume will reach 215,000 units for 2017 – mirroring projections by other industry analysts – the OEM also believes that “underlying demand” for heavy trucks is stronger than many think, meaning that the market should exit 2017 stronger than when it entered the year, with manufacturers ramping up to build more equipment as time goes on.

read more