Camions Excellence honored for engine excellence

Central Freight Lines plans to buy Wilson Trucking

LTL carrier Central Freight Lines (CFL) signed a “letter of intent” this week to buy certain assets of Virginia-based Wilson Trucking, a 91-year old LTL carrier with 29 terminals that serves the southeastern U.S.

Monetary terms of the proposed deal were not disclosed.

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UPS Team Tackles Complex Cross-Border Logistics

UPS has operated in Mexico for 25 years. Photo: UPS

Every day, some $1.4 billion is exchanged in commercial trade between the U.S. and Mexico, according to UPS. In fact, the U.S. is Mexico's largest trading partner, and Mexico is the United States second-largest export market (after Canada) and its third-largest trading partner.

Growth in manufacturing and the middle class in Mexico, increases in e-commerce shipments, and the rise in intermodal cross-border shipments between the U.S. and Mexico drove UPS's renewed focus on the trade lane.

In 2014, UPS established a center of excellence for U.S.-Mexico trade. A team of experts evaluated and improved offerings, focusing on shippers' needs. Then early last year, UPS announced it had strengthened those cross-border services.

“UPS has seen nearly a 20% increase in customer requests for U.S.-Mexico cross-border movements,” says Carlos Cubias, vice president of the UPS center of excellence. “We reengineered and aligned our capabilities for more flexibility, reliability, visibility and simplicity. Shippers now have the same service options – express, expedited or standard – for all shipments regardless of size. In addition, UPS is the only carrier with delivery guarantees for LTL and package shipments when we are the customs broker.”

Automotive, manufacturing, aerospace and high-tech are the priority industries UPS serves out of Mexico. U.S.-to-Mexico trade includes the same industries, and growth of the Mexican middle class means in the future more volume will go from the U.S. to Mexico from the healthcare and retail industries.

Familiar with that automotive freight is Darryl Barber, automotive segment marketing manager for UPS. He points out that the automotive industry has been expanding beyond the typical Detroit and rust belt states, both to southern states such as Alabama and Kentucky, as well as across the southern border to Mexico.

“You'll see the same parts kind of crisscrossing the border multiple ...Read the rest of this story

See Much?: We need better headlamps, period.

Heavy Duty Trucking Named Finalist for Two Journalism Awards

Heavy Duty Trucking magazine is happy to announce that it has been named a finalist in two categories for the 63rd Jesse H. Neal Awards, which honors excellence in business journalism.

The four-part series on The Modern Maintenance Manager was named a finalist for Best Series. The series examined what the trucking industry's most forward-looking maintenance and equipment executives are doing to hire and keep technicians, manage employees, increase efficiency and productivity as well as to meet other demands placed on the modern maintenance manager.

The series consisted of feature articles by editor in chief Deborah Lockridge, executive editor David Cullen and technology contributing editor Jim Beach.

HDT was also named a finalist in the Best News Coverage category for its coverage of the EPA's GHG Phase 2 Rule. Through news, articles, and analysis, HDT's editors examined many aspects of the rule as proposed and as issued in its final form last summer. The coverage included contributions by editor in chief Deborah Lockridge, executive editor David Cullen, senior contributing editor Tom Berg and senior editor Jack Roberts.

Finalists for this year's Neal Awards include 128 nominations covering a range of categories, including best content, blogs, social media and best use of data, infographics and art direction. A total of 42 winners will be announced, culminating in the Grand Neal Award, which honors the most outstanding entry from among the winners in all categories.

A panel of 14 judges will review the finalists to select winners in the 17 editorial categories. Winners will be announced during a special awards ceremony on March 31 at Pier Sixty in New York City.

The Neal Awards were created by the American Business Media association (now named Connectiv) in 1955 to recognize and reward editorial excellence in business-to-business publications that cover such fields as agriculture, ...Read the rest of this story

ATA supporting NACV trade show

UPS Tests Drone Launched From Atop Package Car

Photo: UPS

UPS announced that it has successfully tested a drone that launches from atop one of its package cars. The system is designed to autonomously deliver a package while the truck is driven on a route.

The drone can autonomously deliver a package to a home and return to the truck while a delivery driver continues along the route to make a separate delivery.

The test was conducted in Tampa, Fla., with Ohio-based Workhorse Group, a battery-electric truck and drone developer. Workhorse built the drone and the electric UPS delivery truck used in the test.

“This test is different than anything we've done with drones so far,” said Mark Wallace, UPS senior vice president of global engineering and sustainability. “It has implications for future deliveries, especially in rural locations where our package cars often have to travel miles to make a single delivery.”

Rural delivery routes are the most expensive to serve for UPS due to the time and vehicle expenses required to complete each delivery. A reduction of just one mile per driver per day could save UPS up to $50 million in a single year, according to the company.

If implemented, the drone can aid drivers at various points along a route to help save time and reduce costs. The drone docks on the roof of the delivery truck. A UPS driver can load a package into a cage suspended beneath the drone through a hatch built into the truck. The driver can then direct the drone along a preset autonomous route to the address.

The done in the test was a Workhorse HorseFly UAV Delivery system model. It has a 30-minute flight time and can carry a package weighing up to 10 pounds. The drone recharges in between flights while it is docked.

“Imagine a triangular delivery route where the stops are miles apart ...Read the rest of this story