Luber-finer University Offers Quick Online Filtration Courses

Luber-finer University, an interactive online training program from the filtration manufacturer, is available for distributors and point-of-sale associates who work in the heavy-duty equipment industry.

The comprehensive training tool, which can be accessed from any internet-connected device, educates users about Luber-finer filters, the filters' competitive advantages and describes the science behind filtration technologies.

“This one-of-a-kind, user-friendly training tool allows Luber-finer to make our extensive expertise in the filtration market easily accessible to our partners,” said Layne Gobrogge, director of heavy-duty marketing for Champion Laboratories, Luber-finer's parent.

“In addition to providing users with a solid foundation about the basics of filtration, the training simplifies the more technical aspects of filtration technology.”

Luber-finer University was designed to be approachable, engaging and interactive, he said. The training modules educate users about heavy duty filtration and Luber-finer's filtration products; teach users about the science of filtration; debunk industry myths; and provide actionable sales tools

Interactive content os presented in media-rich formats including videos, 3-D product viewers, "click-to-flip" presentations and more. They organized in short 15- to 30-minute units, allowing users to pace their learning at a speed that works for them

More than 1,000 people have already enrolled in Luber-finer University training since its launch in July. Requests to enroll in Luber-finer University should be submitted to Luber-finer's team of regional sales managers. Visit luber-finer.com/contact/regional-manager-locator.aspx to obtain contact information.

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The case for speed limiters: More political than technical?

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Orange EV Approved for Calif. Incentives

Orange EV Class 8 pure-electric heavy-duty terminal truck. (PHOTO: Orange EV)

Orange EV announced that California fleets can save at least $95,000 per truck on the purchase of brand new T-Series pure electric terminal trucks with the extended-duty battery pack.

Orange EV electric terminal trucks have been operating up to 24-plus hours per charge at sites from single-shifts to 24x7 use in railroad intermodal, LTL freight, manufacturing, retail distribution, waste management, and warehouse container handling. Businesses and organizations with fleets in California can get a preliminary voucher amount of $95,000 per truck, increasable up to $120,000 and stackable with other incentive programs to lower initial purchase price.

Businesses and organizations with fleets in California can get a preliminary voucher amount of $95,000 per truck, increasable up to $120,000 and stackable with other incentive programs to lower initial purchase price.

“California HVIP vouchers dramatically simplify and speed up the process of obtaining funds, thereby accelerating vehicle deployment,” said Mike Saxton, Orange EV chief commercial officer. “Orange EV's T-series and the corresponding voucher amount are all pre-approved, eliminating uncertainty and enabling fleets to execute deployment plans without having to go out-of-pocket for the additional capital.”

The voucher request including purchase terms & conditions is a total of four pages long; vouchers can be approved within days. Participating fleets commit to operating trucks in California for a minimum of three years, after which they may redeploy vehicles as needed. HVIP funds are paid directly to Orange EV thus directly reducing the capital fleets need to purchase T-Series trucks.

Orange EV has consistently been the first OEM approved, funded and delivering commercially available terminal trucks under incentive programs that can pay more than half of vehicle purchase price. The balance can be financed, further reducing initial cash outlay and helping fleets pay the balance from savings in large expense ...Read the rest of this story

Efficiency Starts With Spec’ing

I recently saw a press release about an online tool from Mack that allows fleets to play “what if” with a variety of components on a truck to see their impact on fuel efficiency.

I know other truck makers have something similar, but this particular tool was in the news recently. It got me thinking about the importance of spec'ing in the fuel efficiency equation.

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MiX Telematics Announces Free Add-On

MiX Telematics, a global provider of fleet and mobile asset management solutions, announced a new, free add-on to its MiX Fleet Manager solution: MiX Insight Agility.

The new solution creates a data cube that's accessible via Microsoft Excel and automatically updated with fresh fleet data. By enabling fleet managers to pull together multiple data sources in one place, MiX Insight Agility helps:

“MiX customers asked for more ways to analyze their fleet data, and we delivered,” said Skip Kinford, president and CEO at MiX Telematics Americas. “Feedback on MiX Insight Agility from our fleet customers around the world has been enormously positive, with customers reporting that it saves their teams hours of work each month.”

To learn more about MiX solutions, including MiX Fleet Manager and MiX Insight Agility, visit www.mixtelematics.com.

MiX Telematics Launches MiX Fleet Manager

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TomTom delivers truck-specific navigation to North America

DALLAS. -TomTom, a global provider of navigation devices, has now created a GPS designed for professional truckers in North America. The TomTom TRUCKER 600 features accurate, vehicle-relevant navigation, map updates and traffic analysis— for the lifetime of the device—all in one package, as company representatives demonstrated at the Great American Trucking Show here.

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3 Trends in the Spot Freight Market

As FTR and Truckstop.com apply "big data" analysis to spot market pricing, Noel Perry, FTR transportation economist, offers some insights into the volatility of spot pricing and how spot prices correlate with contract pricing.

The data being analyzed starts in the first quarter of 2008, just before the big downturn. Since the bottom of that recession, contract prices have averaged a 1% quarter over quarter growth (annualized). Even with the big decline last year, spot prices have averaged 2%. This is consistent with the big move of random freight from the edges of contracts into the spot market, Perry notes. Volume has built, and so have rates.

"I expect this trend to peak in 2019 with the coming crisis in regulatory drag," Perry says. "After that is unclear."

2. Spot prices are way more volatile.

This is no surprise, Perry says. The spot market is defined as the home of swings in random demand. The capacity pressure indices calculated by Truckstop.com and DAT both swing widely in almost lockstep. It follows that price changes swing widely.

The standard deviation of spot rate changes since the bottom of the last recession is five times larger than that of contract rates. "In case you have forgotten your college stat definitions, that means spot rate growth varies five times more than contract rate growth," he says.

With spot prices, the lags between market events and price response are short, perhaps up to a quarter, Perry says. The response is not instantaneous because truckers and shippers take time to realize that a change is required. There are also some small delays in the statistics. As big data (and forecasting tools) emerge, this lag should be shortened because market decision makers will ...Read the rest of this story