FTR: Future Transportation Will Require a Whole New Playbook

FTR's Noël Perry and Larry Gross talk about the future of trucking and other freight transportation modes on the final day of the FTR Transportation Conference in Indiana. Photo: Evan Lockridge

INDIANAPOLIS -- If you intend to be in business 10 to 15 years from now, there are some big issues you'll face, as trucking and the rest of the surface transportation industry will see big changes – and that will mean companies will have to rewrite their playbooks.

And the danger of ignoring what's to come, according to Noël Perry, truck and transportation expert and economist for FTR, could be catastrophic. For example, speaking at the final session of the FTR Transportation Conference in Indianapolis on Thursday, he noted that trucking deregulation more than 35 years ago eliminated most of the carriers that were operating at the time.

In other words, they were not prepared for the sweeping changes that took place.

“This change are even larger,” he said. “This change is as big as the invention of the Interstate Highway System.”

So what are these possible changes that Perry, along with Larry Gross, FTR's intermodal truck and bus expert, detailed as they peered into the future?

One is the possibility that there may be a bubble out there that is unsustainable. Think the dot-com bubble of the 1990s or the housing bubble of the early 2000s. The next one Perry fears is the federal government's debt.

Perry presented one slide in which he forecasts federal interest payments as a percentage of the federal budget ballooning from an average of around 12% now to between 43% to 75% of the federal government's revenue by the year 2030.

“It's clear that over the next 30 years, the borrowing habits of us as a nation are unsustainable, and at some point we are going to have to fix this ...Read the rest of this story

Navistar’s Clarke peers into the future

Troy Clarke, president and CEO of Navistar, provided his view of trucking's future – and that of his company, following its alliance with the truck and bus division of Germany's Volkswagen – during a presentation at annual three-day transport

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Ridewell offers new low ride height trailer suspensions

Ridewell Suspensions has released 20K and 25K Low Mount Trailer Suspensions for the RAR-266 product family. Both systems are available in drum or disc brake axle configurations with standard or custom axle widths.

The RAR-266 Low Mount 20K Trailer Suspension utilizes a narrow bushing design to achieve a lightweight, durable system that fits applications with limited space, according to the company. The 20K suspension can be configured for use with 19.5” and 22.5” tires at a 7” ride height.

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DAT: Spot market freight volume rises 11% in August

Truckload freight availability climbed last month as the number of loads on the spot market surpassed same-month levels from the previous year for the first time since December 2014, according to the DAT North American Freight Index.

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Trucks on Autopilot

Navistar President and CEO Troy Clarke recently sat down with Eric Starks, president and CEO of research firm FTR, at FTR's annual transportation conference to discuss the future of trucking; in particular, how autonomous and semi-autonomous trucks may function in society down the road.

Doonan engineers new flatbed coil haul trailer

Doonan Specialized Trailer announced it has designed and manufactured a new ‘Series 2' V-channel trough flatbed coil haul trailer for special loading applications where coils cannot be transferred into and from a recessed trailer well, but still require safe securement on the flatbed.

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Bendix Offers Air Disc Brake Made For Trailers

The Bendix ADB22X-LT is the first Bendix air disc brake engineered specifically for trailers and is now available in North America.

The ADB22X-LT has a 23,000-pound brake rating and is 40 pounds per tandem axle lighter than its companion ADB22X air disc brake making it the lightest air disc brake in Bendix's lineup. Lighter wheel-ends deliver increased payload capacity and can be a value for trailers that are particularly sensitive to brake weight. Lighter weight can also improve overall fuel efficiency.

Utility Trailer Manufacturing Company will be the first trailer builder to offer the new air disc brake.

“Though the ADB22X-LT has been specifically designed for trailer use, it's built on the same proven, successful platform as the ADB22X brake,” McComsey said. “The two brakes share replacement wear items, which helps to streamline maintenance and training plus reduce inventory requirements. In addition, the same skill sets fleet technicians use for installing and maintaining the ADB22X are equally applicable to the ADB22X-LT, making it a great candidate for installation by trailer builders.”

The ADB22X-LT brake features a new pad with 8% more wearable volume and up to a 40% improvement in wear rate, according to Bendix. The new pad also meets the EPA's 2021 copper-free brake initiative requirements.

A new adjustment mechanism also supports longer service life by improving pad life and further reducing the risk of brake drag. Air disc brakes like the ADB22X-LT offer quicker pad replacement than foundation drum brakes, combined with longer brake lining life and straight, stable stops. Since air disc brake pad friction is not riveted like drum brake friction, rust jacking is not an issue. A reduction of brake fade or degradation of stopping power increases reliability, and the brake's internal self-adjustment mechanism can help lower the risk of brakes being found out of adjustment during inspection

The Bendix ADB22X-LT ...Read the rest of this story