Diesel down but gasoline up for the week

The national average retail price for diesel dropped this week, according to data tracked by the Energy Information Administration (EIA), while gasoline prices ticked upward both nationally and regionally.

Diesel declined a penny this week to a national retail average of $2.389 per gallon, EIA noted, though that's 10.4 cents per gallon cheaper when compared to the same week in 2015.

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New federal policy for autonomous vehicles revealed

A newly-crafted “Federal Automated Vehicles Policy” is being unveiled today by the Obama administration, designed in its words to “help facilitate the responsible introduction” of autonomous vehicles to “make transportation safer, cleaner, more accessible, and more efficient.”

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Clough: Weaker used Class 8 prices ahead

Steve Clough, president of Arrow Truck Sales, projects that prices for used Class 8 tractors will continue weakening as the supply of such units continues to grow in the market; supply that is only poised only to increase down the road.

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Bringing Maintenance to the Truck

Lights, tires and the air system can all be inspected from a mobile maintenance truck at a customer's location. Photo: Transervice Lease Corp.

Fleets are constantly looking for ways to increase roll time of their trucks and trailers and cut down on CSA violations, says Jerry Bodkins, program manager at TA Truck Service OnSite. Mobile maintenance allows them to do that “without having to go through the logistical nightmare of going back to the shop and staffing technicians, which is not easy for anybody in this industry today,” he says.

There are economic advantages to fleets that have their own mobile maintenance trucks, because they do not have to invest in brick and mortar. Even if a fleet chooses to outsource mobile maintenance, it still can have economic advantages.

“With mobile service, we can reduce customer downtime for normal maintenance and repairs and get their trucks back up and running quickly,” explains Mike Besson, managing vice president, service and customer solutions for mega-dealer Rush Enterprises.

Taki Darakos, assistant vice president – Berkeley Division of Transervice Lease Corp., says transportation is a just-in-time business, and mobile maintenance allows fleets to operate with minimal disruptions or delays in their operations.

Mobile maintenance providers offer a range of services. Rush, for example, has two levels of preventive maintenance inspections: a 57-point one and a more comprehensive 105-point inspection, which includes changing oil and filters.

Transervice offers trailer PM service as well as working on lights, tires, air leaks, small repairs and providing mobile diagnostics. “We walk a fine line between customer service, safety and landlord requirements about what we can do on site. Safety becomes very important when operating in active, busy yards,” Darakos explains.

Jim Reed, vice president of new business and personnel development, TA Truck Service, says they do not currently offer oil changes as part of their ...Read the rest of this story

Commentary: Technician Training Alliance Aims to Improve Repair Process

Denise Rondini

Earlier this year, independent repair garages and fleets were given access to service information for model year 2010 and later trucks and buses over 10,000 pounds sold in the United States and Canada. Manufacturers had to make available — for a fee — as-built information that links to the vehicle's VIN, and they had to make available the specialty tools needed to fix vehicles.

But the memorandum of understanding did not mean that the truck makers had to provide training.

“We were left with a hole in how to deal with this issue,” says Marc Karon, chairman of the Commercial Vehicle Solutions Network. “We now had all this access to technology, but how were we going to be able to use it if nobody was going to teach us?”

So the CVSN formed an alliance with three companies that provide technician training: ProMech Learning Systems, Service Professionals Inc., and WheelTime University.

“We decided this needed to be an industry-wide effort, not just for CVSN members,” Karon says. “The whole industry is suffering from this problem, including dealers in many cases because they are only getting training on their own particular nameplate, yet many dealers are all makes so they don't know how to use software that applies to a truck they are not a franchise of.”

Mike Compisi, vice president of operations for ProMech Learning, explains, “There is a tremendous need for technical training, whether it is related to right to repair, ECM reflashing, etc. If you don't know how to use the tools and complete the repairs, it can be detrimental and ultimately cost the fleet more money.”

Each training company in the alliance offers different options. Training is available on site, regionally and via the internet. The training is modular and includes beginning courses, ASE certification and things like engine repair ...Read the rest of this story

Ford’s F-650/F-750 Sales Increase 59%

Photo courtesy of Ford.

Sales of Ford's medium-duty F-650 and F-750 trucks have increased 59% year-over-year through August, the best year-to-date sales through August since 1997, according to Ford.

So far this year, Ford has sold 10,160 F-650 and F-750s, including Regular Cab, SuperCab and Crew Cab body styles as well as straight-frame, kick-up frame Pro Loader and a new dedicated tractor model for heavy-towing applications.

“We're seeing growing interest in the new tractor from beverage and hauling fleets,” said Kevin Koester, Ford medium-duty truck and Super Duty fleet marketing manager. “Giving our customers the choice of two exclusive powertrains, available across all body styles and designed specifically for the unique needs of the vocational truck market, has really helped drive sales of our new trucks.”

Ford offers a gasoline engine option for both the F-650 and F-750 with its 6.8-liter V-10 with 320 horsepower and 460 lb.-ft. of torque, a unique offering in the medium-duty truck segment according to Ford. The engine can be factory-prepped for converting to compressed natural gas or liquid propane gas alternative fuels.

Ford also offers a 6.7-liter Power Stroke V-8 turbo diesel engine with 270 horsepower and 675 lb.-ft. of torque with available higher output options. The engines are paired with the company's TorqShift six-speed automatic transmission.

“Towing and rental customers have embraced the gas engine, and others are looking at this powertrain for more severe service applications,” Koester says. “Our diesel customers are praising the quietness of the 6.7-liter Power Stroke diesel engine.”

Related: Ford's New F-650 Looks, Feels Familiar

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Training military drivers for off-road work

Driving trucks on pavement is very different compared to piloting them across off-road, hard-scrabble, even sandy landscapes while under fire. That's why the U.S. military devotes serious training time to those soldiers and sailors tasked with operating big rigs – and we do mean “big” – in often unforgiving environments all over planet. (Photos courtesy of the U.S. Department of Defense)