Fifth-wheel lock sensors

Chassis alignment

Extreme-duty belt

Ram Truck at the 2017 Washington Auto Show

Ram Truck, a division of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA), brought an assortment of its pickup trucks and vans to the 2017 Washington Auto Show - including several specialty models sporting performance packages. (All photos by Sean Kilcarr for Fleet Owner)

ATA Seeks to Quantify Trucking’s Charitable Efforts

ATA's Chris Spear Photo: Evan Lockridge

The American Trucking Associations has commissioned the American Transportation Research Institute to examine and quantify the trucking industry's various charitable efforts.

During his first State of the Industry address back in October, ATA President and CEO Chris Spear announced that the organization would be launching a charitable foundation aimed at the industry's "top priority." But to accomplish this task, ATA first needs to identify which charities the industry is already involved in. The results from the survey will help ATA to launch a focused campaign and foundation.

“From disaster relief efforts to community programs and from disease awareness to schools and youth organizations, we know trucking already supports a vast array of worthy causes,” said Spear. “This survey will helps us narrow that list down so we can focus our soon-to-be-launched foundation's efforts.”

The survey can be taken online at www.atri-online.org or by clicking here. It asks respondents to break down their charitable efforts by individual or corporate, state, and value of contributions.

“As I said in October, I am certain our total charitable giving is in the billions of dollars, but in order to effectively tell the story of our industry's generosity, we need to really understand all that trucking does to make our community better,” said Spear. “I'm looking forward to the results of ATRI's survey and to the launch of our Foundation later this year.”

Related: Truckers Among Volunteers for Wreaths Across America

Follow @HDTrucking on Twitter

Schönes Auto, Mein Freund

Saying "nice car, my friend" to someone piloting the new 2018 Mercedes-Maybach S 650 Cabriolet would be something of an understatement, especially as only 300 of these luxury cars are going to be made this year, at $300,000 a pop, with only 75 slated to be sold in the U.S. Fleet Owner got a chance to get up close and personal with one of these soon-to-be-produced limited edition models at the 2017 Washington Auto Show and found that it could serve as the definition of "high-end" luxury as each car comes with its own custom-made leather luggage set.

read more

Aftermarket Parts: What Does “Private Label” Mean?

The further we get from the engine, the greater the likelihood that fleets will use private label parts, contended Stu MacKay, president of market-research firm MacKay & Co., during a talk at the recent Heavy Duty Aftermarket Dialogue event in Las Vegas.

McKay's remarks, given ahead of a panel titled “The Current Architecture of the Private Label,” were based on a MacKay survey in which 16% of the respondents said they use private-label parts.

Hugh Charvat, CEO of AP Exhaust and panel moderator, said, “This will always be a branded industry, but private label has carved a niche.” He said private-label parts account for 20% to 25% of the $30 billion truck parts aftermarket.

Image: Mack Trucks

Terri Roseman, director of category management and marketing at FleetPride said, “Private label does not always mean cheaper. We can define features and benefits of [our private-label products]."

Regardless of the reason, Carlos Junquera, vice president of North American sales for Navistar, said that quality has to be there when it comes to private label. He said that Navistar uses the same quality standard for its branded and private-label parts.

David Danforth, general manager and vice president of Paccar Parts, explained that when the company launched TRP parts, its private-label line, “We validated and tested products.”

Charvat asked the OEMs on the panel why they created private-label parts lines. “We have vehicles that last 25 years and [private-label] parts allow me to do business at a price point. I want to be relevant for 25 years and allow the customer to ...Read the rest of this story