California, Cummins to Develop Natural Gas Heavy-Duty Engine

The California Energy Commission (CEC) approved a $1 million grant to develop a 12-liter natural gas engine for heavy-duty vehicles that produces near-zero nitrogen oxide tailpipe emissions, the commission has announced.

The grant focuses on existing engine research and consists of engine development and on-road vehicle demonstration. The engine will be offered as an option for fleets with larger vehicles, according to CEC.

The South Coast Air Quality Management District will work with Cummins Westport, Inc., to develop the engine. The development of the natural gas engine will help meet the California Air Resources Board's (CARB) 2010 emissions standards and support efforts to improve air quality in the South Coast and San Joaquin Valley air basins.

Related: California's Zero Emissions Vehicle Dreams

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August Sees Boost in Trailer Orders

The final numbers on August net trailer orders show a significant increase over the previous month that still fell slightly below expectations.

Transportation industry analyst FTR reported a total of 14,000 units ordered for the month which was up 48% from July. However, July was a terrible month for orders and compared to August 2015, orders were actually down 48%.

“Overall, it was not too bad for a month of August for the trailer industry,” said Don Ake, FTR vice president of commercial vehicles. “New orders were at the highest level in six months.”

New orders were at the highest level of the past six months however, the impact was mitigated by a high number of cancellations as OEMs clean placeholder orders out of the backlog.

While fleets were expected to start placing orders for 2017 in August, lower than expected numbers seem to indicate that next year will be slow. In its own analysis of August's trailer orders, ACT Research remarked that there seemed to be a lack of enthusiasm for new orders than previously expected.

“Overcapacity, lackluster year-over-year fleet financials for Q2, and minimal expectations for improvement in freight rates are generating investment plan headwinds,” said Frank Maly, director of commercial vehicle transportation analysis and research at ACT Research. “After several years of solid and ever-earlier order placement, expect this order cycle to be less robust and straggling.”

Related: The 2016 Trailers Update

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ATA: Tonnage up for August

The American Trucking Associations (ATA) reported a 5.7% increase in its for-hire truck tonnage index for August, making up for a 2.1% tonnage decline for July.

Compared to August 2015, the index is up 5.9%; the largest year-over-year tonnage gain since May, the ATA noted, which was also up 5.9%. Year-to-date, compared with the same 8-month stretch in 2015, tonnage is up 3.5%.

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Kenworth adds set-forward axle configuration to T880

Kenworth expanded its T880 with a set-forward front axle configuration at the ConcreteWorks show hosted by the National Ready Mix Concrete Association (NRMCA).

The new configuration, named the T880S, is designed for fleet and truck operators in ready-mix, dump and mobile crane applications, the company said.

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ExxonMobil Unveils PC-11 Specification Lineup of Mobil Delvac Oils

Image via ExxonMobil

ExxonMobil unveiled its lineup of enhanced Mobil Delvac diesel engine oils that are designed to meet or exceed the CK-4 and FA-4 categories of API Proposed Category 11, known as PC-11, specification.

The new lineup includes improved versions of current Mobil Delvac offerings, including Mobil Delvac 1300 Super and fully synthetic Mobil Delvac 1 ESP 5W-40, as well as new additions to the Mobil Delvac family, such as low viscosity Mobil Delvac Extreme semi-synthetic oils.

Results from more than 30 million miles of on-road testing, conducted with major commercial vehicle manufacturers, engine builders and fleets, show how ExxonMobil's new CK-4 and FA-4 formulations can deliver significant performance improvements over today's comparable CJ-4 oils, including:

“As these results indicate, fleets that have been testing our CK-4 and FA-4 formulations have consistently reported exceptional results,” said Michael Smith, commercial vehicle lubricants global brand manager, ExxonMobil Fuels and Lubricants. “Because we started the advanced research and testing programs for our CK-4 and FA-4 formulations in 2011, ExxonMobil is well prepared to help fleets and owner-operators have an easy transition when the PC-11 lubricant specification goes into effect on Dec. 1.”

CK-4 oils will serve as direct replacements for today's CJ-4 oils and be backwards compatible with nearly all current diesel engine types. ExxonMobil will offer a range of lubricants that meet or exceed the requirements of the CK-4 category, including synthetic Mobil Delvac 1 ESP 5W-40, Mobil Delvac Extreme - premium synthetic blend, and Mobil Delvac 1300 ...Read the rest of this story

Blue Bird displays commercial buses at BusCon 2016

Commercial bus fleet operators will find a full range of small- and medium-sized buses options at the Blue Bird booth at BusCon 2016, the company announced.

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New Orleans Port Offers Incentive to Get Rid of Older Trucks

Image via Clean Trip

The Port of New Orleans has launched its Clean Truck Replacement Incentive Program, providing incentives for local, short-haul truck owners to voluntarily replace 20 Class 8 drayage trucks with from model years 1993-2006 with 2012 and newer models.

The cost-share program will provide 50% of the vehicle sale cost of up to $35,000 and a maximum of two trucks per owner or fleet. The program is open to those who service cargo terminals and warehouses along the Mississippi River and the Industrial Canal.

Applications for the program are on Oct. 12, 2016. If more than 20 complete and eligible applications are received by the due date, the port will hold a public lottery at the Port Administration Building on Oct. 19.

“This program is a win-win,” said Gary LaGrange port president and CEO. “Local trucking companies can replace inefficient vehicles cost-effectively with commensurate emissions reductions and we have the opportunity to start a conversation about air quality.”

The Clean TRIP program is part of a $727,000 Clean Diesel competitive grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency awarded to the Port of New Orleans. The grant supports the local port trucking community helping to reduce local air emissions and increase reliability and efficiency of on-road goods movement.

The total Clean TRIP project cost is $1.537 million, with $700,000 coming from mandatory cost-share with eligible truck owners and $110,636 coming from the Port for administrative costs.

Related: California's Zero Emissions Vehicle Dreams

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