Truck Body Aimed at Landscaping Fleets

The ProscapeVan from Morgan Corporation is a truck body designed to meet the needs of lawn, landscape and nursery professionals.

The ProscapeVan is designed to transport, protect and secure professional landscaping tools and equipment. The open interior layout maximizes space for tools, materials and equipment and owners can choose custom options including lighting, flooring, tie-down, and rack systems to create a portable shop.

The ProscapeVan features an aluminum ramp is designed for loading and unloading. The ramp is corrosion resistant, light in weight and durable enough to daily use, offering up to 2,500 pounds of load capacity.

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Mitsubishi Fuso Offers Mobileye Safety System on FE and FG Trucks

Photo: Mobileye

For model year 2017, Mitsubishi Fuso Truck of America will offer optional Mobileye collision-avoidance systems on its FE and FG Series trucks.

For a limited time, MItsubishi Fuso will install the Mobileye system free of charge on all 2017 FE and FG Series trucks, normally a $1,000 option, the OEM said.

“We recognize that driver efficiency and safety have direct impact on the bottom line for all of our Fuso customers,” said Otto Schmid, MFTA director of product management. “The Mobileye Collision Avoidance System has proved itself in our testing to reduce the number of incidents that trigger warnings for tailgating, lane departure, urban collision, and rural or highway collision by an average of 50%.”

The study conducted by MFTA also showed that where drivers received specific training in system safety detection and operation, reductions were significantly higher. The Mobileye system is aimed at improving safe operation of the truck, particularly in densely populated urban areas where most Fuso trucks are in use.

The Mobileye system's forward-looking sensors can detect and warn of an imminent rear-end collision at any vehicle speed, with up to 2.7 seconds of advance notice. The Mobileye system identifies pedestrians and cyclists during daylight hours and alerts drivers in the event of a possible collision.

The headway monitor assists the driver in maintaining a safe following distance from the vehicle in front, displaying the amount of time, in seconds, to the vehicle in front when that time drops below 2.5 seconds. A green vehicle icon signifies safe headway, a red icon signifies unsafe and the system provides an alert if the time becomes dangerously short.

The lane departure warning alerts the driver when the vehicle departs from the driving lane without turn signals, by displaying a right- or left-lane icon, as appropriate.

The system also detects and classifies various speed limit signs ...Read the rest of this story

Atlas agents move to fight hunger

Inland Kenworth to Auction T680 to Fight Human Trafficking

Photo: Inland Kenworth

Truck dealer group Inland Kenworth has put together a special Everyday Heroes Kenworth T680 for auction and will donate the proceeds to Truckers Against Trafficking, a nonprofit devoted to fighting human trafficking.

The Everyday Heroes T680 features a distinctive paint scheme and signage and was produced in conjunction with Truckers Against Trafficking. It received significant support from platinum sponsors Kenworth Truck Company and Ritchie Bros., along with other industry suppliers.

The truck will make its first public appearance at ATA's Technology and Maintenance Council Conventio, taking palce in Nashville from Feb. 27-March 2. It will also be displayed at the Ritchie Bros. auctions in Las Vegas, Nev., from March 9-10, Phoenix, Ariz., from April 13-14, and finally, on June 20 in Phoenix where the truck will be auctioned for sale.

Proceeds from the sale of the T680, which has a retail value of $157,000 will go directly to Truckers Against Trafficking. The group combats human trafficking by educating, mobilizing, and empowering truck drivers and rest stop employees, teaching them about what to look for and how to respond it.

“This project has mobilized a group of caring industry suppliers, and together we are going to help save some lives,” said Don Blake, who spearheaded the effort and serves as Inland Kenworth's new truck sales manager in the Phoenix area. “I had to wipe the tears from my eyes after learning the horrors that TAT rescues people from today. I knew right then that I wanted to help our industry combat human trafficking.”

With the support of Inland Kenworth and Kenworth Truck Company, the Everyday Heroes truck was built by offsetting the cost through Kenworth and component sponsors. The special Kenworth T680 is equipped with a 76-inch sleeper, 485 horsepower Paccar MX-13 engine and Eaton Fuller Advantage 10-speed automated transmission.

“We will all share ...Read the rest of this story

Landstar to Participate in Stifel’s 2017 Transportation and Logistics Conference

Will Driver Misclassification Issues Ease Under Trump Administration?

Independent contractors operating at ports, like the Port of Long Beach, are challenging their status. Photo: Jim Park

In “The End of Employees,” the Wall Street Journal recently said, “Never before have American companies tried so hard to employ so few people.”

It points out, for instance, that “the men and women who unload shipping containers at Wal-Mart Stores Inc. warehouses are provided by trucking company Schneider National Inc.'s logistics operation, which in turn subcontracts with temporary-staffing agencies.”

In fact, the Journal reports, “the contractor model is so prevalent that Google parent Alphabet Inc., ranked by Fortune magazine as the best place to work for seven of the past 10 years, has roughly equal numbers of outsourced workers and full-time employees, according to people familiar with the matter.”

For many companies, the idea of focusing on your “core business” and outsourcing other tasks is a path to better efficiency and profitability.

However, while American companies may want to use more independent contractors, governments and workers who feel they are being improperly misclassified are pushing back. And that's not likely to change too drastically under the new Trump administration.

The Obama Administration, through the Labor Department and the IRS, worked to crack down on workers who were believed to have been “misclassified” as independent contractors when they really were treated as employees.

Meanwhile, in the courts, private class action lawsuits have targeted companies such as Uber and FedEx. Just last month, a court found that Swift contract drivers should have been employees.

Richard J. Reibstein, Pepper Hamilton LLP, writing for Law360, points out that during the Obama administration, the U.S. Congress did not pass a single bill to address the issue of independent contractor classification.

However, since the DOL announced its “Misclassification Initiative” in September 2011, 35 state labor departments have signed a memorandum ...Read the rest of this story

Bendix Brake Shoe Kits Reduce Installation Time

Bendix Brakes brand automotive brake shoe kits are designed to reduce installation time by including all of the necessary components for a complete brake shoe job.

The brake shoe kits include the brake shoes, wheel cylinders, spreader springs and installation hardware. This can save shop owners time that would be spent sourcing the different needed components, according to Bendix. Brake shoe kits also require less storage space since a number of products normally stocked separately are included in a single box.

Using the Bendix shoe kits, shops can replace all relevant components during a brake shoe job, reducing the likelihood of an old component breaking and reducing the need for additional maintenance. The brake shoe kits are offered as part of the Bendix Premium line that includes brake pads, discs, and shoes.

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