FMCSA convenes medical board to review sleep apnea sentiment

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Fuel prices down yet again

National average retail pump prices for both diesel and gasoline dropped yet again this week, according to data tracked by the Energy Information Administration (EIA). And this continued decline in fuel prices – reflected an ongoing slump in global oil prices – is leading to reduced employment in the U.S. energy sector, the agency noted.

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Can Big Trucks be Hacked?

Photo by Jim Park

If you have read any of the headline stories about the trio of researchers from the University of Michigan who successfully hacked into the J1939 databus of a 2006-model-year truck, you might now believe that it's discouragingly easy. While the researchers did manage to seize control of the truck's throttle and engine brake controls, they used a laptop computer connected directly to the truck's dataport (OBD port) to pull off their experiment.

A YouTube video accompanied several of the online reports about the hacking attempt showing the vehicle lurching along a test track, the would-be hacker in the back seat of the club-cab truck with his laptop, while the driver and a passenger (presumably the trio or researchers) comment on the performance of the truck.

It's one thing to hack into the J1939 databus from onboard the vehicle. But the question the U of M researchers were keen to delve into is the likelihood of carrying out the same type of hack, or perhaps a more serious disruption of the vehicle controls, remotely via the telematics links now emerging as a popular maintenance management option.

The research paper is titled "Truck Hacking: An Experimental Analysis of the SAE J1939 Standard," published by Yelizaveta Burakova, Bill Hass, Leif Millar, and Andre Weimerskirch of the The University of Michigan. The paper was presented Monday in Austin, Texas at 10th Usenix Workshop on Offensive Technologies. It's available to download here.

It focuses on what an adversary could accomplish while physically connected to the truck's internal network, and analyzes the impact of insecure electronic control units in heavy vehicles by exploiting the inherent openness of the J1939 architecture -- which is something common to all heavy trucks in North America and a great deal more diesel-powered equipment as well.

According to the report, the motivation for J1939 stems primarily from a desire to electronically control drivetrain components of a vehicle. Because so many different organizations are involved in the building of heavy vehicles, a standard was needed to minimize engineering effort and the complications of integrating systems. While standardizing these communications has proven crucial in allowing various suppliers and manufacturers to work together and cut costs, it also means that all heavy vehicles currently on the road from tractor-trailers to garbage trucks and cement mixers to buses, utilize the same communication protocol on their internal networks.

By contrast, the authors say communications networks on consumer vehicles tend to be proprietary to the OEM that designed that particular vehicle and kept secret. For that reason, the authors note, "deciphering consumer vehicle network traffic involves the tedious process of reverse engineering any messages observed on the bus to determine their function."

Not so with J1939, and that's part of the vulnerability at least partially exposed by the report.

The SAE J1939 standard used across all U.S. heavy vehicle industries gives easy access for safety-critical attacks and these attacks aren't limited to one specific make, model, or industry," the authors point out.

The report also provides example of the sort of attack they were able to accomplish:

INSTRUMENT CLUSTER: By spoofing the status messages that originate in various ECUs of the truck, researchers were able to control all gauges on the instrument cluster, including oil temperature, oil pressure, coolant temperature, engine RPM, speed, fuel level, battery voltage, and air pressure.

Researchers indicated that it would be "possible" to spoof the air pressure indicator to read a normal operating pressure when in fact the pressure could be physically reduced initiating a spring parking-brake application while traveling at highway speed.

POWERTRAIN: Researchers were able to override the driver's input to the accelerator pedal and simultaneously cause either direct acceleration or remove the ability to provide torque to the wheels while the truck was in motion.

ENGINE BRAKE: Certain message could be configured to disable the truck's ability to use engine braking at speeds below 30 mph. Researchers acknowledged that the driver retained control of the service brakes, but noted that if they had been able to control the engine brake above 30 mph, it would could have implications for trucks operating on long downhill grades.

The story appeared on several technology publication websites whose authors are more familiar with pure technology that the current state of the trucking industry. They envisioned the potential for autonomously controlled trucks running pell-mell across the country leaving trails of destruction in their wake.

Insiders, on the other hand, would recognize the "attacks" described by the authors of the study as potentially risky, but generally not life threatening in every circumstance. But we should not be lulled into a false sense of security because this particular exercise didn't come up with a crash 'n burn scenario.

Foremost on the authors' minds was the potential for remote access to the vehicle's internal electronic controls via some telematic interface wi-fi, cellular or satellite connectivity.

The paper makes for some interesting reading, as do a couple of other stories that appeared online following its release -- if you can forgive the doomsday scenarios.

Forbes.com: There's A Windows PC Helping Control Fleet Trucks -- Any Idiot Can Start Hacking It In 30 Seconds

Wired.com: Hackers Hijack a Big Rig Truck's Accelerator and Brakes

Salon.com: As era of autonomous trucking arrives, Michigan researchers prove how easy it is to hack trucks

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Wake up! 5 slides detail deadly impacts of drowsy driving

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Truck Groups take Issue with California Sustainable Freight Plan

Image: California State Transportation Agency

The release of the final version of California's Sustainable Freight Action Plan has been met with harsh criticism by two groups representing Golden State's truck-fleet operators.

According to the California Air Resources Board, the revised document is similar to the draft issued back in May. However, CARB claims it “reflects new input provided by industry, labor, regional and local government, and community and environmental group stakeholders.”

The plan is important to trucking as the agency regards it as a “blueprint” for making the state's freight transport system environmentally cleaner, more efficient, and more economically competitive.

However, key trucking stakeholder associations in the Golden State argue that the plan doesn't take into account the realities of the trucking industry, especially the billions truckers already spend to eliminate harmful emissions from the vehicles they operate in California.

“We listened to stakeholders, incorporated changes, and we will continue to consult with them as we put the Plan into action,” said California Air Resources Board Chair Mary D. Nichols. “This dialogue -- and a commitment to shared responsibility for and ownership of this plan-- is the underpinning for the successful transformation of our freight transport system and the multiple benefits it will bring to our environment, communities and our economy.”

Developed in response to an executive order issued by Governor Jerry Brown, the plan was prepared by no fewer than seven state agencies. Governor Brown's senior jobs adviser Mike Rossi noted that the plan “builds upon ongoing efforts to modernize the freight industry while reducing emissions and keeping it competitive through commercially viable and affordable technologies."

The ambitious plan includes “a long term-2050 vision and guiding principles for California's future freight transport system” along with these slightly more near-term, albeit arguably vague targets: I

• Improve freight system efficiency 25 percent by 2030
• Deploy over 100,000 zero-emission vehicles/equipment and “maximize near-zero” by 2020
• Foster future economic growth within the freight and goods movement industry

Per CARB, the plan also identifies opportunities to leverage freight transport system investments made by the State of California; “pinpoints actions to initiate over the next five years to meet goals and lists possible pilot projects to achieve concrete progress in the near term.”

The agency said the final plan also puts more focus on partnerships and includes a discussion of “toxic hot spots.”

Changes have also been made “to clarify and emphasize” collaboration between the responsible agencies and other regional planning efforts, including funding.

CARB said that, going forward, state agencies will continue working with federal, state, industry, labor, regional, local and environmental and community-based partners “to refine and prioritize the strategies and actions” outlined in the plan.

State agencies have also been charged with creating “collaborative stakeholder working groups on competitiveness, system efficiency, workforce developments, and regulatory and permitting process improvements.” All these efforts will lead to state agencies establishing work plans for “chosen pilot projects” by next July, CARB stated.

In statement on the finalized action plan, Shawn Yadon, CEO of the California Trucking Association, said that for California to “spur innovation” in zero and near-zero emission technologies, the state “must make a business case for new investment from the trucking industry, which is already spending $1 billion a year to bring about a more sustainable freight system. Broad expansion of regulations targeting freight facilities will impede this progress by discouraging the investment needed to achieve California's environmental and economic goals.”

Yadon told HDT that CARB and other air-quality agencies in the state “continue to signal that they intend to expand regulation to cap emissions at freight hubs, which they contend are [toxic] ‘hot spots' despite the billions the trucking industry is spending to eliminate emissions throughout the state

“If the true intent of this program is to advance zero and near-zero emission technology, then California must make the case for billions of dollars of new private investment in the state,” he added. “Continuing to signal that draconian new rules are on the horizon will only hurt this effort.”

Joe Rajkovacz, director of governmental affairs and communications for the Western States Trucking Association, reacted even more vehemently to the final plan. “Despite what the news release from CARB states about the ‘inclusive' nature of the process, as usual it is nothing but gross hyperbole,” he told HDT. “The whole document is really a manifesto outlining future interference in the goods-movement marketplace by bureaucrats intent on maintaining their command and control over a sector of the economy. It's newsworthy to the point that it telegraphs the direction of future policy decisions by CARB.”

Rajkovacz also said that WSTA has known for “quite some time” that California move forward with “inducements” towards the adoption of zero-emissions technology in heavy duty trucks. “I have been told by CARB bureaucrats they never wanted a repeat of ‘forced' mandates similar to what occurred with the Statewide Truck and Bus rule. The roadmap here will be financial inducements to adopt zero- emissions trucks in specific market segments.”

That being said, he added that “all the news of Class 8 electric trucks ‘possibly' entering the marketplace in some commercially viable way is going to be interesting if it really happens. Those as yet ‘fantasy trucks—I haven't seen any being beta-tested on highway yet, just concepts-- will be exactly what CARB wants in the California marketplace. At least until some public researcher comes up with a theory that even those trucks somehow are contaminating the environment.”

Related: California Aims to Regulate Sustainability into Freight System

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Average Diesel Prices Slide, Crude Oil Gains

Source: EIA

The average price of diesel fuel in the United States fell again last week, dropping to levels last seen in mid-May, according to the latest numbers from the Energy Department.

The price of a gallon of on-highway diesel fuel fell 3.2 cents from the previous week's price, settling at $2.316. Compared to the same week in 2015, the price is 30.1 cents cheaper.

Diesel prices were down in all regions of the U.S. with the largest decrease occurring in the Gulf Coast region, falling by 4 cents. The smallest change in prices was in the New England region where diesel fell by 1.8 cents.

The average price of regular gasoline was mostly flat last week, dropping only 0.9-cents to $2.15 per gallon. The price is 47.9 cents cheaper than it was a year ago.

Prices fluctuated depending on the region with the largest decrease occurring in New England with a drop of 4.3 cents per gallon. Prices were actually up in the Midwest where there was a 4-cent increase.

Crude oil prices have been falling in the past few months but were up around as of Aug. 8 due to renewed speculation that oil production may decrease to offset the lack of demand, according to MarketWatch.

Member countries of OPEC like Venezuela and Kuwait have indicated recently that they would like to reduce production to offset the lower global demand that has plagued the oil market since 2015. However, earlier this year OPEC countries failed to come to an agreement after similar speculation.

Related: A Different Approach to Fuel Efficiency Coaching

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ATA Report Breaks Down Trucking’s Big 2015

The American Trucking Associations has released the latest edition of its almanac of trucking, ATA American Trucking Trends 2016, which showcases industry trends over the last decade.

The new report reveals that trucking last year posted gains in employment, number of truck drivers, and truck sales. Trucking revenues in 2015 also set a new record high for the industry.

“In many ways, 2015 was a good year for our industry, and Trends clearly demonstrates that,” said Chris Spear, ATA president and CEO. “Trends provides indispensable information to trucking companies, industry suppliers, logistics providers, analysts, public policy decision makers, investors and many others. Information that is crucial to making sound decisions about the future.”

In the new edition of Trucking Trends, ATA found that trucking collected a record $726.4 billion in gross freight revenues, or 81.5% of the nation's freight bill in 2015. Trucks carried 10.49 tons of freight in 2015, accounting for 70.1% of domestic freight tonnage. The report also found that 3.63 million Class 8 trucks are in operation.

“According to our data, trucking revenues topped $700 billion for a second straight year, setting an all-time record of $726.4 billion in 2015, while trucks moved more than 10 billion tons of freight,” said Bob Costello, ATA chief economist.

“While the first half of 2016 has been challenging for the industry, trucking is coming off two very strong years and we are optimistic about the future," he added.

The American Trucking Trends 2016 report also includes data on key points like the amount of taxes the industry paid, the number of miles combination trucks traveled and what fuel they consumed, key employment data, and the number of trucking companies by company size.

The report is available for purchase here. For more on the American Trucking Trends, watch ATA chief economist Costello discuss the report here.

Related: Trucking Tops $700 Billion for First Time

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