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SAF-Holland Offers Severe-Duty Slider

SAF-Holland has introduced the Severe-Duty Slider System for use with Holland fifth wheels in heavy- and severe-duty hauling operations.

The Severe-Duty Slider System has an 80,000-pound vertical load and 200,000-pound drawbar pull capacity. Designed to work with Holland FW35, FW33, and FW0070 fifth wheel models, inboard and outboard mounting systems are adaptable to all fifth wheel configurations including Holland Kompensator and No-Tilt wheels.

Kompensator mounting systems provide fifth wheel top plate side-to-side cradle movement on uneven terrain, relieving torsional stress and twist for high CG rigid trailers. No-Tilt mounting systems provide for seamless conversion to a rigid No-Tilt fifth wheel for applications where articulation is provided on the trailer.

The severe-duty slider's modular, service-friendly design allows fifth wheel heights to be easily changed. Available bracket-mounting heights range from 8- to 11-inches, and can be changed to meet all OEM and heavy-haul customer configurations.

The severe-duty slider system provides slide travels of 12-, 24-, 36-, 48-, 60- and 72-inches to accommodate a wide range of weight distribution and clearance needs. Two-inch slide increments enable versatile positioning to meet any payload distribution requirement.

Visual plunger lock indicators are located toward the front of the slide bracket for easy visibility so drivers can quickly ensure that the slide bracket is securely locked in place. Additionally, the in-cab air slide release control allows drivers to reposition the fifth wheel when required.

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Economic Watch: Latest Readings Full of Positives

A gauge of the health of the American economy has increased again, hitting its highest level in more than a decade. Meanwhile, manufacturing activity outpaced overall industrial output, consumer sentiment hit its highest level in over a decade, and homebuilding continues to trend up, according to a basket of reports issued Friday and Thursday.

The Conference Board's Leading Economic Index (LEI) for the U.S. increased 0.6% in February to 126.2. That follows a 0.6% improvement in January and a 0.6% hike in December. The latest performance is the best since March 2006.

“After six consecutive monthly gains, the U.S. LEI is at its highest level in over a decade,” said Ataman Ozyildirim, director of business cycles and growth research at the private research group. “Widespread gains across a majority of the leading indicators point to an improving economic outlook for 2017, although GDP growth is likely to remain moderate.”

The LEI is made up of 10 components. Only housing permits contributed negatively to the LEI in February, reversing gains over the previous two months.

The gauge in February was helped out the most by strength in new orders for manufactured goods, according to analysis from Wells Fargo Securities, as well as an improving interest rate spread, which is the difference between the average yield a financial institution receives from loans and other interest-accruing activities and the average rate it pays on deposits and borrowings.

A separate report released Friday by the Federal Reserve showed the total output from the nation's factories, mines and utilities was unchanged in February, lower than an advance consensus estimate from analysts.

This measure of industrial production follows a January level that showed a 0.1% decline. But the manufacturing sector improved in February for the sixth straight month, posting a 0.5% jump from January and it ...Read the rest of this story

Q&A: Old Dominion Freight Line Exec on Scope, Scale, and Growth

Chip Overbey. Photo: Old Dominion Freight Line

Old Dominion Freight Line recently posted a short animated video highlighting the scope and scale of the less-than-truckload carrier. We spoke with Chip Overbey, senior vice president of strategic planning, to learn more about OD's impressive growth strategy. (This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.)

HDT: The freight climate was soft last year, yet you continued to invest in building, remodeling and expanding service centers. Why is that important?

Overbey: This is nothing new for us. We've been reinvesting in this company and this business for many, many years. Between 2006 and 2015 we've invested over $900 million in our service centers network. If you count equipment and technology, since 2012 we've invested a billion and a half or more. Even during the recession we were investing in the business. We believe we have a premium service. Our value proposition is a high-quality service for a fair an equitable price. Even when economic conditions are somewhat off, in a just-in-time, online economy, if it's not available to sell, there is no sale. So people need their goods, they need them on time, they need them in good condition, and the best way to do that is to have the capacity available to them when they need it.

If you look at [our] service center count from 2005 to the end of 2014 compared against other publicly traded LTLs, their terminal parity is down 27%; ours is up 42%. That means we've got the capacity to move [customers'] goods though our network in a time-sensitive manner, over 99% on time, around 0.3% claims ratio.

With tractors and trailers, against those same carriers, our tractor count is up 30% and trailers the same; the nearest competitor is about half that. At the end ...Read the rest of this story