West Virginia trucks haul flood relief to Louisiana

The severe 1,000-year flooding that struck Louisiana back in August left a trail of devastation in its wake – devastation that continues to be set right, however, by shipments of donated supplies to affected areas. Earlier this month West Virginia National Guard (WVNG) soldiers loaded five of their tractor-trailers with much-needed donated goods and headed down to the Pelican state. (All photos by Sgt. Zoe Morris of the 153rd Public Affairs Detachment)

Economic Watch: Business Investment Increasing, Consumer Confidence Soars

A preliminary report shows new orders and shipments for big-ticket manufactured durable goods lost steam in August. Inside the report, however, is some evidence that business investment for the long term is increasing.

Commerce Department figures show the level of new orders for items designed to last at least three years was nearly unchanged from the month before, following a downwardly revised 3.6% increase in July. The performance was better than a consensus estimate by analysts who were expecting a 1.5% drop.

Shipments of manufactured durable goods fell 0.4% in August from the month before, following two consecutively monthly gains, while the July performance was revised slightly lower. This most recent drop was led by a 1.1% drop in shipments of transportation equipment.

Compared to August 2015, new orders last month fell 0.6% while shipments declined by 0.9%.

New orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft, an indicator of business investment, improved a surprising 0.6%, the third straight monthly improvement, while such shipments fell 0.4%. These new orders are down 4% from a year ago while shipments are 5.1% lower.

Weak business spending has been a major factor behind the economy's subpar growth in recent years, according to the Wall Street Journal, and has been a mystery to economists. It reports, “Some of the weakness is tied to depressed energy prices, which have led to a decline in drilling and exploration, but other factors appear at play.”

Overall, manufacturing in the U.S. remains below where it was earlier in the current economic recovery, with the Institute for Supply Management reporting early this month the sector contracted in August following five consecutive months of expansion. However, a separate report from IHS Markit shows manufacturing is still expanding, but at a slower rate than it was in July.

This report on durable ...Read the rest of this story

Mahle Shows More Efficient Bearings at IAA

Mahle is working on a camshaft technology that will replace conventional bearings with wear-free roller bearings, the company announced at the IAA Commercial Vehicle Show in Hannover, Germany.

Because the roller bearings do not rely on pressurized oil, the burden on the oil circuit is reduced and complex oil channels to the bearing points are no longer required. The associated simplification of the cylinder head design will, in turn, open up new opportunities, such as stop-start applications in commercial vehicles, according to Mahle.

The combination of improved engine components, less friction, and reduced oil requirements based on actual demand can lead to lower fuel consumption and consequently reduced CO2 emissions. For heavy-duty commercial vehicles, Mahle can says it can achieve a reduction of around 3% thanks to optimized oil management and innovative engine components.

Another innovation Mahle introduced at IAA is a map-controlled thermostat for commercial vehicles. These thermostats have already been successfully introduced as a series production application in passenger cars.

They are designed to react fast and operate even at low temperatures. As a result, the thermostats are flexible in any driving situation and can optimally condition the coolant. In systemic interaction with the controlled E-Visco coolant pump and the E-Visco fan, the map-controlled thermostat can reduce fuel consumption and therefore CO2 emissions by 2%, according to Mahle.

Related: Mahle Releases 2016 Heavy Duty Catalog

Follow @HDTrucking on Twitter

Don’t Wait—FTX Room Discount Ends Friday

Time is running out to take advantage of the hotel room discount for the Fleet Technology Expo (FTX), which will be held October 17-19 at the Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center Hotel in Schaumburg, Ill.

The discounted room rates expire on Friday, September 30. To view the discounted rates go here.

FTX is designed for fleet professionals who oversee vehicle fleets of all sizes and types who are looking to improve their fleet operations through the use of cutting-edge technologies and methodologies.

Among the cutting-edge topics being discussed by industry heavy hitters are the future of autonomous vehicles, how to improve vehicle safety through technology, alt-fuel technology, the future of mobility, and how to motivate employee drivers with through telematics gamification.

Concurrent sessions will be broken into two tracks: light-duty or medium-/heavy-duty.
In addition to top notch educational content, attendees will have the opportunity to take part in the largest alt-fuel ride and drive in the country, with the chance to get behind the wheel of some of today's most advanced alternative-fuel vehicles.

Finally, the conference will end by honoring the next generation of fleet professionals with the Fleet Visionary awards and the most efficient and sustainable fleets with the FTX Efficiency and FTX Sustainability awards.

FTX is produced by Bobit Business Media, publisher of Automotive Fleet, HDT, Fleet Financials, and Work Truck magazines.

Don't delay, register today before it's too late!

Related: Game-Planning for the Fleet Technology Expo

Follow @HDTrucking on Twitter

Eberspaecher Group buys big stake in Cdn. battery company

Uber, Otto Talk About Plans to Transform Trucking

Photo via Otto blog

The term "Uber for trucking" is at risk of becoming a generic term, being used for a variety of new apps aimed at automating the load booking process – but Uber is making big plans to make "Uber for trucking" a reality, according to a new report from Reuters.

With its recent acquisition of self-driving truck startup Otto, Reuters notes, "Uber Technologies Inc. is plotting its entry into the long-haul trucking business, aiming to establish itself as a freight hauler and a technology partner for the industry.... Uber aims to ultimately transform the competitive and fragmented $700 billion-a-year trucking industry, which is notorious for low margins."

Otto, for instance, plans to expand its fleet of trucks from six to about 15, Reuters reports, and is reaching out to independent truckers and fleets, Otto co-founder Lior Ron told Reuters in an interview. Ron told Reuters that "thousands" of owner-operatorss have reached out to the company.

"Starting next year, Otto-branded trucks and others equipped with Otto technology will begin hauling freight bound for warehouses and stores, he said."

There's been a lot of skepticism within the industry about "driverless trucks," although there does seem to be a lot of potential to use autonomous technologies for fuel-saving truck "platoons" and as advanced driver assist systems to make driving easier and safer. The recent IAA commercial vehicles show in Germany that I attended last week highlighted many of these up-and-coming technologies.

But truly autonomous trucks are not realistic in the near future. It's not so much the technology itself (which is nothing short of amazing stuff from my teenage sci-fi dreams), but addressing questions about liability, regulations, and public attitudes.

However, retrofitting trucks with Otto's autonomous driving technology is only part of Uber's long-term plan. For the short term, it's also ...Read the rest of this story

Two-truck platoons would boost fuel economy: report