The first line of defense for well maintained trucks are your drivers. They are required to do pre- and post-trip inspections and submit DVIRs, but the way those inspections are completed varies widely.
There are things you can do to make sure that all inspections are done in a thorough, consistent manner. If you are still using paper forms for pre- and post-trip inspections, you are unwittingly part of the problem.
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...Read the rest of this storyAs 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.
1. Spot prices have been rising more than contract prices.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.
3. Both spot and contract pricing lag changes in capacity utilization.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
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Raybestos Truck & Medium Duty brakes can be used for truck fleets of all sizes using disc brakes from Class 1 hydraulics through Class 8 air disc, the company said.
According to the company, the line features:
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...Read the rest of this storyStemco announced it is “strengthening the support, engineering and training capabilities” of its Wheel End division through the creation of three new area manager positions.
These new area managers will be responsible for bolstering the wheel end division with technical training and sales support at the fleet, distributor and OEM levels, and marketing and engineering initiatives through field testing and end user interactions, the company said.
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...Read the rest of this storyThe trade groups NGVAmerica and the Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA) recently released a white paper to provide refuse and recycling fleets with the latest information regarding the safe operation of natural gas-powered vehicles and refueling equipment, and maintenance facilities.
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Volvo is again using high-profile stunts and viral video to highlight its engineering skills, and the latest is The Iron Knight, the world's fastest truck, breaking the record set by a previous special Volvo truck.
The record-breaker, which has the DNA of Volvo's FH on steroids, is custom-built in every respect – except for a modified Volvo D13 engine and the series-manufactured I-Shift Dual Clutch transmission. The engine has 2,400 hp and the truck can accelerate from zero to 100 km/h in 4.6 seconds.
Nigel Atterbury, Volvo Trucks Senior Designer, explains in the video, “We've pretty much taken a standard gearbox and packaged it into this fantastic beast behind us.”
On a closed-off airfield in Falifors, Sweden, the Iron Knight set two FIA world land speed records. Its two one-kilometer runs averaged 21.290 seconds or 169.083 km/hour (or about 105 mph), and the half-kilometer average was 13.710 seconds and 131.291 km/hour (about 82 mph).
The truck was piloted by Boije Ovebrink, who has more than 30 years' experience of both car and truck racing. He has previously beaten five speed records and in 1994 was European Truck Racing Champion.
“Volvo Trucks' The Iron Knight can be summarized in one single word: perfection,” said Ovebrink. “It's beautiful to look at and is an unparalleled powerhouse when you floor the accelerator. This is the third record-breaking truck I've driven, and I can't think of a better follow-up to Wild Viking and Mean Green,” says Ovebrink.
The last time we reported on Ovebrink, back in 2012, he was driving Mean Green, said to be the world's fastest hybrid truck. Nigel Atterbury, Volvo Trucks Senior Designer, explains that compared to Mean Green, the Iron Knight is 1,000 kilos lighter and puts out 600 horsepower more.
Of course, the point was to demonstrate the I-Shift Dual Clutch, which allowed the ...Read the rest of this story
