Trailers are Smarter Than Ever

This trailer's sitting untethered in New Mexico, but its reefer unit can monitor temperatures of the load and transmit data to home base, no matter where that is. Photos: Tom Berg

Historically, trailers haven't been expected to do much more than carry payloads with as little bother as possible. They are sometimes set up to haul special commodities and accomplish specialized tasks. They can be made very rugged to shrug off abuse along with everyday wear and tear, and resist deicing chemicals that cause corrosion. But compared to the electronics-embedded tractors that pull them, trailers aren't too smart.

But that's changing, especially with temperature-controlled trailers. They are studded with sensors, primarily for temperature monitoring to protect perishables. Both shippers and carriers want to know the temps are right, including multi-compartment trailers with a different temperature in each. So Thermo King and Carrier Transicold, the major makers of the refrigeration/heating units, have developed ever more sophisticated sensors, monitors and controls to protect loads, and to quickly self-test their operating cycles prior to trips. Now reefer units can record and document those temps, and transmit data to operating people if they want real-time numbers.

Telematics — the automatic or on-demand transmission of data to a home base — allow truck operators to know how their vehicles are doing without quizzing drivers. In the 1980s, Qualcomm pioneered the tracking of tractors with its Omnitracs device. The small satellite antenna on a tractor's roof told fleet managers where each vehicle was and, through inference and scheduling, what it was doing. Managers and drivers began calling that antenna, and the electronic box inside the cab, “the Qualcomm.”

“We still run into that,” says Mark Alsbrook, product manager at Omnitracs. “Some people still call it that,” even though Qualcomm sold the product and the operation behind it to Vista ...Read the rest of this story

SAF-Holland to Shift U.S. Production, Close Michigan Plants

SAF-Holland USA says it will close its two plants in Michigan and shift their component manufacturing to three of its remaining factories, which are closer to customers. As part of the restructuring, the Muskegon facility will retain the company's Americas headquarters and engineering operations, and absorb sales and administrative functions from Holland.

Production will transition to locations in Dumas, Arkansas, Cincinnati, Ohio, and Wylie, Texas, the company announced last week. It will invest about $3 million at those facilities, and will build "a new state-of-the-art engineering and technology center" in Muskegon. Two other U.S. plants are not affected.

All production now in the U.S. will stay here, Steffen Schewerda, president, Americas, for SAF-Holland, told HDT on Jan. 23.

Meanwhile, production will be adjusted to lower demand for components as a part of "market swings," he said. For the coming year, "the forecast is a little bit down in the truck business and a little bit down in the trailer business. Nothing abnormal.

"For me, it's a matter of the external and internal supply chain and where is my customer base," he continued. "Logistics is a huge part of costs." For example, moving some production to Cincinnati will better serve the Kenworth plant at Chillicothe, in southern Ohio.

Ending of Michigan production will affect 230 jobs, of which 180 to 190 will go to Cincinnati, Dumas and Wylie. Michigan workers who are willing to move might get at least some of those jobs, Schewerda said. Sixty to 70 administrative workers from Holland will be shifted to Muskegon, about 30 miles away.

The Muskegon and Holland plants now make auxiliary-axle suspensions, fifth wheels, couplings and drawbars.

The transition, which is expected to be implemented over 18 months, will lead to one-time restructuring costs of as much as $10 million ...Read the rest of this story

Test Drive: Detroit’s 5-Liter Street Fighter

Detroit's new DD5 diesel is a 5.1L engine designed for urban delivery/service applications in Class 5-6 Freightliner M2 106 trucks. Photos: Jack Roberts

Take a glum Midwestern sky, add a hefty helping of fog and a generous glut of Chicago traffic seasoned with holiday shoppers, and you've got a pretty realistic setting to evaluate a small-displacement diesel engine designed for urban parcel and delivery applications.

The new engine is Detroit's 5.1L, four-cylinder DD5, which the company launched earlier this year and has been available in Freightliner M2 106 vocational trucks since October. Detroit is primarily known as a builder of large-displacement, heavy-duty diesels, so the DD5 is something of a departure in many ways. At the same time, it is an indicator of things to come: Daimler Trucks North America, the parent company of Freightliner and Detroit, is committed to carving out a larger piece of the urban delivery trucking market — a segment that continues to grow rapidly as e-commerce and the demand for ultra-fast delivery times increase.

According to Chris Moran, medium duty program manager of sales and marketing for Detroit, the DD5 is merely the company's first step in filling out its diesel engine portfolio. A larger-displacement, 8L DD8 is slated to launch next year, which he said will give Detroit a powerful and fuel-efficient diesel to meet any need for fleets with vehicles from Class 4 up to Class 8.

The DD5 will serve Classes 5 and 6, Moran said, with two options: a 210-hp version generating 575 lbs-ft of torque, and a 230-hp unit with 660 lbs-ft of torque.

“Initially, we're focusing on P&D, rental, lease and box- and service-truck applications,” Moran explained. “Our immediate plans are to get DD5 production up and running in Detroit by the fourth quarter of 2018 as well as launch the 8L engine.”

Daimler is ...Read the rest of this story

DOT Proposes Adding 4 Opioids to Its Drug Testing Panel

Image: U.S. Dept. of Transportation

The Department of Transportation is proposing to amend its drug-testing program regulation to add four opioids (hydrocodone, hydromorphone, oxymorphone, and oxycodone) to its testing panel.

In addition, it is proposing to add methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDA) as an initial test analyte and remove methylenedioxyethylamphetamine (MDEA) as a confirmatory test analyte.

Published in the Federal Register for Jan. 23, the notice of proposed rulemaking aims to align DOT's regulated-industry drug testing with the Department of Health and Human Services' laboratory drug-testing requirements.

DOT said the NPRM also would clarify certain existing drug-testing provisions as well as remove outdated information from the current regulation and remove the requirement for employers and C/TPAs to submit blind specimens.

In addition, DOT said some other elements of the proposal would:

DOT noted that it is required by the Omnibus Transportation Employees Testing Act to follow the HHS requirements for the testing procedures/protocols and drugs for which it tests.

Comments on the NPRM should be submitted by March 24, 2017 under Docket DOT–OST–2016–0189 using any of these methods:

Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting comments

Mail: Docket Management Facility; U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590

Hand Delivery: West Building Ground Floor, Room W-12-140, 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE, Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. Telephone: 1-202-366-9329

Fax: 1-202-493-2251

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Three States Agree to Collaborate on Autonomous Vehicles

Photo: Deborah Lockridge

Transportation agencies in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Michigan have formed the Smart Belt Coalition that will focus on automated and connected vehicle initiatives.

Among the coalition's aims is to look at "commercial freight opportunities in testing, including platooning (connecting more than one vehicle) and potential coordination on interstates."

The coalition, which includes transportation and academic partners, seeks to support research, testing, policy, funding pursuits and deployment of technologies. The partnership will also share data and provide opportunities for private-sector testers.

"I'm excited for us to continue our efforts in fostering safe and effective development of this technology," said Leslie S. Richards, PennDOT secretary. "This multi-state partnership not only offers fantastic collaboration opportunities, but will also bring some consistency to testing scenarios that will help the private sector as they develop these technologies."

With similar climates, truck traffic, and active work on these technologies going in the three participating states, the coalition is designed to act as a resource for both government and the private sector.

The coalition is developing a strategic plan that will initially focus on connected and automated work zones, the aforementiocommercial freight opportunities in testing, and incident management.

Moving forward, the coalition will finalize a strategic plan outlining the framework for participants and opportunities for private-sector testers.

The coalition membership may expand in the future, but for now the participating agencies and universities include:

“This new coalition recognizes that automated and connected vehicle initiatives transcend state boundaries and spur emerging technologies," said Mark Compton, CEO of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission. "Working together, we will be able to more effectively advance these emerging technologies for all motorists."

Related: Trucking in the ...Read the rest of this story

Volvo, Mack, to discontinue 16-liter diesel immediately

Volvo Trucks North America announced to its dealers on Jan. 20 that effective immediately, the OEM would cease production and distribution of its 16-liter D16 diesel engine. Aftermarket service and support for all D16s currently in the field will continue unimpeded.

The decision to cease 16-liter engine production will also affect Mack Trucks, which is owned by Volvo. Therefore, Mack will stop offering its MP10 16-liter engine, which shares major design and production attributes with the D16.

According to a company spokesperson, Volvo made the decision based on limited demand for the large-displacement diesel and the long-term investment that would be required to keep it in the market.

Additionally, Volvo noted that general trends in the North American trucking industry toward smaller-displacement diesels, which are lighter and more fuel efficient, also bolstered the determination to cease D16 production. Production of Volvo's 13-liter D13 diesel will not be effected.

The D16 engine was an option on Volvo VNL and VNX models. The VNL will continue to be available with the Volvo D11, Volvo D13 and Cummins X15 engines.

Volvo said the heavy-duty VNX model will remain in its product lineup. The company is currently evaluating engine solutions that will allow it to keep offering it in the future.

In the interim, Volvo intends to offer an “X-package” for the VNL model, which will provide the ride height and heavy-haul attributes of the VNX with 500-hp versions of either the Volvo D13 or Cummins X15 engine.

Volvo said the package will include a 20,000-lb front axle, dual steering gears, heavy-duty bumper, chrome grille, and high ride height for improved ground clearance. The Volvo I-Shift AMT is standard on trucks equipped with a D11 or D13 engine and manual transmissions are available as an option. The X15 engine is available with a manual transmission or with the Eaton Ultrashift transmission.

...Read the rest of this story

CARB Proposes Plan Reducing Emissions to 40% Below 1990 Levels

Photo: Tom Berg

The California Air Resources Board has released a Proposed Scoping Plan that sets new goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 40% below 1990 levels by 2030.

CARB is calling the plan the most ambitious carbon emissions reduction target in North America, building on the state's current and planned efforts to reduce emissions. The plan outlines the most effective ways to reach the 2030 goal, including a continuation of California's Cap-and-Trade Program. The plan puts the state on the trajectory of achieving an 80% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

"Climate change is impacting California now, and we need to continue to take bold and effective action to address it head on to protect and improve the quality of life in California,” said Mary D. Nichols, CARB chair. “The plan will help us meet both our climate and our clean air goals in the coming decades and provide billions of dollars in investments to cut greenhouse gasses, smog and toxic pollution in disadvantaged communities throughout the state. It is also designed to continue to drive creative innovation, generating good new jobs in the growing clean technology sector.”

For the transportation sector, the plan seeks to accelerate the use of clean vehicle and equipment technologies and fuels through targeted introduction of zero emission and near-zero emission technologies and renewable fuels. The policy will encourage the use of clean technologies along primary freight corridors.

Examples of some incentives include a separate zero emissions or near-zero emissions freight lane, employing market mechanisms to offer favorable pricing of clean vehicles and developing fuel storage and distribution infrastructure along those freight corridors.

Many of the non- transportation industry related solutions that CARB has proposed involve an increase in public transportation options for residents to reduce the number of vehicular trips needed, and a goal of ...Read the rest of this story