The DAT North American Freight Index edged downward in January as spot truckload freight settled into a typical post-holiday pattern, albeit at significantly elevated levels compared to this time last year.
read more
...Read the rest of this story
The American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) recently issued a report that analyzed the Department of Transportation's National Bridge Inventory database and determined that there are nearly 56,000 structurally compromised roadway bridges across the U.S., with 1,900 of them are on the interstate highway system.
read more
...Read the rest of this storyVolvo' SuperTruck owes more than a passing nod to current VNL styling with highly aggressive, full-length aerodynamics.
">Volvo' SuperTruck owes more than a passing nod to current VNL styling with highly aggressive, full-length aerodynamics.
">You'd be forgiven for being a little intimidated, frightened, even, driving a one-of-a-kind truck worth $2 million through heavy traffic around Greensboro, NC. But, in reality, the experience isn't nerve-racking, at all.
For starters, if you're a regular Joe, like me, $2 million is just an abstract number. I mean, I realize it's a lot of money. But I have no baseline comparison I can use to relate that sum to anything in my life. You know, it's not like I'll have to sell my 14th century Italian villa and vineyard in Tuscany to cover the damages if I wreck the thing.
Even more to the point, it turns out that driving a $2 million SuperTruck isn't really all that revolutionary an experience once you climb up inside the cab, turn the key and start heading down the road. That's because this truck, designed by Volvo Trucks North America in a joint product with significant funding courtesy of the United States government, is not a quantum leap forward as far as Class 8 long-haul tractors go.
For those who came in late, the SuperTruck Project is a holdover from the Obama Administration, which provided federal dollars to trucking OEMs to help them develop advanced technologies that can improve freight efficiency and fuel economy for the next generation of U.S.-built Class trucks. The federal dollars serve as a way to encourage OEMs to pursue new and emerging fuel efficiency technologies that real-world market forces wouldn't ordinarily allow them to spend private dollars researching on such a large scale – or actually put on the road in a concept truck.
Volvo's SuperTruck made its public debut in Washington at the Department of Energy last September. And earlier this week, ...Read the rest of this story
Denise Rondini
" >Denise Rondini
" width="185" height="209">Typically when we think of vending machines, we think of snack foods or beverages. More recently, however, they are being used in industrial applications.
Companies such as Fastenal and 1sourcevend are installing vending machines in industrial plants, where they vend things like tools, safety glasses, and even small parts. Fastenal has gone one step further with its Fast P.O.D, a shipping container that acts as a mini-store. The shipping containers have been altered to accommodate computer equipment, to improve security, and to include insulation and heating and air conditioning.
Whether a shipping container or a vending machine, the idea is to bring parts closer to the customer.
“I think it will fit [with trucking],” says Mark Hill, president of 1source vend. “As we say here, we manage widgets. We don't care what they are. It is about management and replenishment of [needed] items.” Initially, Hill thought the vending machines in industrial applications would be used for high-value items, but he says, “a lot of it has turned out to be low-cost items, and that has been driven by the customer.”
He says customers don't want to run out of things they need, and although places like Amazon and others say they can get a needed item delivered the next day, with a vending machine there is no need to wait.
Will vending machines work in the trucking industry? Bill Wade, managing partner, Wade & Partners, thinks so. “I think it would be especially good for the heavy truck business. You could put all the wear items like belts, hoses, seals, bearings, etc., in them.”
While you might not be able to put a whole suspension in a vending machine, “you definitely could carry rotors, drums, disc brake pads,” he adds. If a pod system was used, Wade believes it could also serve as ...Read the rest of this story
Two employees of the City of Detroit Department of Transportation have been charged with forgery and bribery related to a commercial driver's license fraud scheme.
The State of Michigan Attorney General's Office filed felony charges against Calvin Foulks, a current employee of the Detroit DOT, and Michelle Reed, a retired Detroit DOT employee.
Both are charged with allegedly taking more than $4,000 in cash bribes for falsifying documents for a CDL fraud scheme.
Foulks and Reed are accused of forging documents stating that applicants had taken and passed the CDL skills test when they had not. As a result of the investigation, the state has invalidated 85 CDL tests.
Affected drivers were required to retest before their CDL driving privileges could be restored.
The DOT-OIG conducted the investigation with assistance from the Detroit Area Public Corruption Task Force, which includes the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Detroit Police Department-Internal Affairs, and an agent from the State of Michigan Attorney General's Office.
Related: Woman Indicted for Impersonating CDL Medical Examiner
Follow @HDTrucking on Twitter
...Read the rest of this storyPhoto via Arizona Department of Transportation
">Photo via Arizona Department of Transportation
">Sensors installed at three locations along Interstate 40 west of Flagstaff, Ariz., are helping the Arizona Department of Transportation detect and address icy road conditions before they are present.
The roadway sensors are connected to ADOT Road Weather Information System locations that use cameras and instruments to provide up-to-date conditions.
Each location has a sensor to measure the salt content of road surface moisture, which affects the freezing point. Another sensor is used to measure the temperature of the ground underneath the road.
The information is combined with data from the Road Weather Information System and National Weather Service to forecast the likelihood of ice forming. The program can also alert operators if the pavement temperature drops below a certain threshold. This helps ADOT determine whether to send crews out to spread deicing material.
“Technology can provide us with another way to keep motorists safe as they travel to Arizona's colder regions,” said Audra Merrick, district engineer for ADOT's north central district. “These sensors are another tool in ADOT's toolbox to help keep the highways clear of snow and ice during winter season.”
Interstate 40 between Ash Fork and Flagstaff is more susceptible to icy roads due to its high elevation and freezing overnight temperatures. The road is also a priority because it see's heavy traffic from commercial and passenger vehicles, according to ADOT.
So far, ADOT says that the data has been so helpful that it plans to install more sensors at additional high-country locations in the next few years. The three sensors cost $90,000 and were funded through ADOT maintenance funds.
Related: Safe Winter Driving Tips
Follow @HDTrucking on Twitter
...Read the rest of this storyThe American Road & Transportation Builders Association published an interactive map showing the states with the highest percentage of structurally deficient bridges. Source: ARTBA
">The American Road & Transportation Builders Association published an interactive map showing the states with the highest percentage of structurally deficient bridges. Source: ARTBA
">The U.S. Department of Transportation has released the 2016 National Bridge Inventory, which indicates that 55,710 bridges are structurally compromised-- including 13,000 that need replacement, widening, or major reconstruction.
The information was analyzed by the American Road & Transportation Builders Association. The information was compiled into ARTBA's 2017 Bridge Report.
The report is produced annually and by comparing 2016 to 2015's National Bridge Inventory, ARTBA found that progress has been slow in repairing bridges.
The inventory of structurally deficient bridges only decreased by 0.5% in a year's time. At that pace, it would take more than 20 years to address all of the problems structures.
“America's highway network is woefully underperforming. It is outdated, overused, underfunded and in desperate need of modernization,” said Alison Premo Black, chief economist of ARTBA. “State and local transportation departments haven't been provided the resources to keep pace with the nation's bridge needs.”
About 1,900 of the bridges are on the Interstate Highway System, affecting millions of Americans. The nation's cars, trucks, and buses cross the 55,710 bridges around 185 million times every day. While these bridges may not be imminently unsafe, their inclusion in the U.S. DOT report indicates that they are in need of attention.
The ARTBA report is presented through an interactive map of the United States, in which each state is color-coded based on the percentage of structurally deficient bridges it contains. By clicking on a state, a separate report on the state can be accessed, breaking down the breadth of the problem as well as the locations of each bridge.
Iowa was the state with the highest number of structurally deficient bridges at 4,968, while Rhode Island was the state with the highest percentage ...Read the rest of this story
