MacKay: Emissions-Related Is Fastest-Growing Aftermarket Segment

Photo: Jim Park

This probably will not come as a big surprise to most fleets, but emissions-related components are the fastest growing sector of the heavy-duty aftermarket, according to John Blodgett, vice president, sales and marketing for market-research firm MacKay & Co.

Speaking at the recent Heavy Duty Aftermarket Dialogue event in Las Vegas, Blodgett said that since 2010 aftermarket demand for these components has increased 254%. In addition, he and David Kalvelage, manager of IT and database services at MacKay & Co., expect that by 2021 that demand will increase another 42%.

In their presentation “Structure and Trends of the Current Heavy Duty Aftermarket,” the duo recapped what happened in the aftermarket in 2016 and offered some thoughts on what might occur in the future.

Another emissions-related trend they are seeing is the shift from fleets getting diesel particulate filters cleaned on a local level toward switching to factory-remanufactured products.

However, they are also seeing a shift from remanufactured parts to new products for starter and alternator replacement based largely on the price equity of the new parts, which are primarily coming from offshore sources.

Looking back to 2016, the U.S. heavy-duty aftermarket was down 1.5%, mostly as a result of lower utilization and pricing adjustments. The Canadian aftermarket grew 7.4%, but Blodgett was quick to point out that this did not mean unit sales were higher. Rather, exchange rates accounted for most of the increase.

Turning to the service side of the aftermarket, MacKay's data shows 68% of first owners of vehicles are performing their own service, with dealers doing 18% of service and independent garages doing 14%.

However, while subsequent owners still do much of their own work, when they outsource they use dealers less often compared to first owners. Independent garages are the ones getting the additional work from fleets. ...Read the rest of this story

Hotlanta: Atlanta Tops DAT’s List of Places to Find Spot Freight

Atlanta was the hottest place to find spot truckload freight in 2016, according to DAT Solutions which operates the largest on-demand freight exchange for spot market truckload freight.

For the second consecutive year, Atlanta was the market with the most available spot van and refrigerated loads. Little Rock, Ark., repeated as the number-one market for flatbed freight posts.

DAT's rankings are based on an analysis of over 100 million annual freight matches and a database of 33-billion market transactions on the DAT network load boards. Spot freight is seen as a dynamic economic indicator because it is unscheduled freight, according to DAT.

Related: Lessons From Interesting Times in the Spot Market

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Auto Care Association Releases Heavy Duty Product Study

The Auto Care Association recently commissioned a Heavy Duty Industry Feasibility Study on behalf of its HDDA: Heavy Duty segment to determine the viability of establishing product information standards for the heavy-duty aftermarket supply chain. Findings of the industry-driven study were presented January 25 during Heavy Duty Aftermarket Week (HDAW) in Las Vegas.

“There has been increasing interest in the heavy duty community to find a way to standardize and streamline aftermarket product data to improve accuracy and efficiency and, in turn, boost the bottom line,” said Bill Hanvey, president and CEO of the Auto Care Association. “This study is the first step toward the development of a standard that will enhance product management and support processes, increase productivity and decrease costs in the supply chain.”

The three-phase HDDA study, conducted by Pricedex Software Inc., investigated current industry data exchange practices, reviewed reference data tables used in each sector, and determined industry practices for product attributes and product category hierarchies. Input from manufacturers, distributors, ERP vendors and industry associations was sought and an advisory committee of industry executives provided information and oversight.

The Heavy Duty Industry Feasibility Study concluded that:

“We are very pleased to announce we are moving forward with this important initiative because of the overwhelming support of the industry,” continued Hanvey. “A work group of stakeholders is ...Read the rest of this story

Will Trump’s Take on Trade Be Boost or Bust for Fleets?

Image: Mexico Secretaria de Comunicaciones y Transportes

Candidate Donald Trump made scrapping or reworking various free trade agreements the United States is party to a central theme of his presidential campaign last year. Such rhetoric was highly popular with his supporters. And in his first full week in office, President Donald Trump has made reexamination of international trade agreements a top priority for his administration.

But the North American trucking industry has benefited greatly from various free trade agreements – notably the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). In the past week, President Trump pulled out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership and angered Mexico with his insistence that NAFTA be renegotiated to give the U.S. a stronger commercial hand while creating a funding stream that would have the Mexican government pay for a wall along the southern border to check illegal immigration into the U.S.

So far, the Canadian government has expressed concerns about President's Trump's trade moves, while the Mexican government has signaled it would walk away from all trade agreements with the U.S. and seek new international trading partners if it is treated in a way it perceives as being unfair.

Last summer, the U.S. Department of Transportation reported that cross-border trade generated by NAFTA was worth $89 billion to the trucking industry. So are President Trump's recent actions a positive move for trucking? Or should American fleet executives be concerned?

Bill Sullivan, executive vice president of advocacy for the American Trucking Associations, said that ATA wants to help the Trump administration find a way forward on trade that keeps goods flowing and creating more jobs. "Trade and trucking are synonymous, and the increased movement of freight yields more good paying jobs and growth in American companies,” Sullivan said.

“We want to help the administration and Congress build a trade framework that helps grow our economy, ...Read the rest of this story

Judge Rules SEC Suit Against Former Navistar Exec Can Proceed

The federal government's securities fraud suit against Daniel C. Ustian, former chairman and CEO of Navistar International, can proceed in spite of objections raised by Ustian's attorneys, a federal judge has ruled.

Ustian had promoted a unique diesel exhaust emissions solution. But the Securities and Exchange Commission has charged in its suit that he knew it couldn't work, with subsequent losses to company investors.

Federal Judge Sara Ellis, of the Northern District of Illinios, made the ruling earlier this week, reported the Springfield (Ohio) News-Sun.

“Because the SEC sufficiently alleges that Ustian's statements were misleading and material to the investing public and that Ustian knew this, the SEC sufficiently states a claim for securities fraud,” wrote Judge Ellis. “The SEC also sufficiently alleges that Navistar violated the securities laws and that Ustian is liable for Navistar's violations.”

Navistar's Advanced EGR diesels couldn't meet EPA exhaust limits, but Chairman and CEO Dan Ustian promoted the products anyway, the SEC has charged. Photo: Tom Berg

From late 2009 and for several years after, Ustian said an approach called Advanced-EGR (exhaust-gas recirculation) would meet federal Environmental Protection Agency standards. But the SEC says continued testing by Navistar engineers showed it wouldn't work. Meanwhile, Ustian led a marketing assault on competitors who used selective catalytic reduction, the exhaust aftertreatment requiring urea (diesel exhaust fluid) injection, as inconvenient and expensive.

Navistar investors revolted when serious problems with A-EGR became known, customers complained, sales sagged, expensive warranty claims caused losses for the company, and stock value fell. Ustian was dismissed in August 2012, and last year Navistar paid a $7.5-million fine to the government for violating emissions rules.

Judge Ellis further wrote that: “The United States Securities and Exchange Commission alleges that Defendant Daniel C. Ustian, Navistar's former CEO and president, was so driven by a desire to produce an ...Read the rest of this story

Stemco Builds R&D Lab to Design and Test Air Springs

Photo: Stemco

Stemco has completed construction of a research and development lab built to design and test advances in materials, designs, and technology for commercial vehicle air springs.

The 20,000-square-foot facility was built in response to Stemco's acquisition of the air springs business of the former Veyance Technologies, now part of Continental AG, which produced Goodyear Air Spring products. The new facility was built in Fairlawn, Ohio.

Purchase of the site was first approved in Oct. 2015 and groundbreaking took place in Nov. 2015. The full build schedule took eight months to complete, which included moving, installation, and recalibration of all the test equipment. Stemco engaged with Geis Companies, an Ohio-based design/build company, for all aspects of the construction process.

“Following the purchase of the Goodyear Air Springs business, we were intent on keeping the business in Fairlawn, retaining the workforce and investing where necessary to support our long-term growth,” said David Brinkman, segment business leader, air springs for Stemco. “The new facility features state-of-the-art test equipment for a talented group of engineers that will serve our production facilities and our customers well in the future.”

Related: Stemco Agrees to Buy Veyance Air Springs

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OBITUARY: Stan Williamson, 1925-2017