Fleets Online: DIY TMS

Company: Urban Electric Co., North Charleston, SC

Operation: Three Sprinter full-size vans, located in New York City, Los Angeles, and Charleston

Since its founding in 2003, Urban Electric Co. (UEC) has become a leading manufacturer of “customized” lighting fixtures—from simple wall lamps to a variety of intricate chandelier designs. No two lamps are the same, which means UEC relies on a specialized inventory management and tracking system to keep tabs on customer orders.

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Landstar Earns Quest for Quality Awards from Logistics Management

Vocational Profile: Heating up

“It takes the pain out of the supply chain,” Don Aiken says. What the senior vice president of intermodal at NFI is referring to is intermodal freight hauling and, in particular, temperature-controlled intermodal services, a market that has been expanding.

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Hardware Report: Wheels

With new emissions systems and the addition of components aimed at helping meet fuel economy targets, vehicle weights are on the rise. For fleets, that means continuing to look for weight savings, including new opportunities in wheel choices.

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New E-Reefers Smart Move for LA Wholesale Delivery

Two of D&D's trucks outfitted with Volta Air electric reefers. Photo courtesy Second Generation Cooling and Volta Air.

California's continued push toward fewer and fewer emissions has affected all companies that use trucks in the state, and fleets that rely on trucks to deliver products are no exception. D&D Wholesale Distributors in City of Industry, Calif., has been distributing produce, meats, poultry, grocery, non-foods, frozen foods and dairy in the Southern California area since 1979, and it's responding to the demand by moving to all-electric refrigeration units for its delivery trucks.

“Because of the ARB problem in California, we looked really deep into the future and decided we wanted to go battery operated,” explains Frank Ulloa with Second Generation Cooling, also in the LA area, which handles refrigeration needs for D&D's 40 trucks.

They found a Canadian company, Volta Air, that offers all-electric refrigeration units for vans and medium-duty delivery trucks. Last year they installed a unit it a smaller truck, an Isuzu. It worked “wonderful,” according to Ulloa, so this summer they added a larger-size unit incorporating solar panels on a larger Hino box truck.

Not only will the move make the reefer units eco-friendly, they'll also save money — Ulloa says $3,500 a year just in fuel, not counting savings in maintenance costs. And, he says, the up-front cost is actually less than a traditional reefer unit.

Peter Johnston with Volta Air explains that the Vancouver, Canada-based company started out with a no-idle electric auxiliary power unit for long-haul trucking, and has been working with the Canadian government and educational institutions on further developing its electric compressor and control systems. The D&D unit installed this summer is the third one they have running in California but they're ready to do more with the help of Second Generation Cooling.

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August Class 8 Truck Orders Will Beat Expectations

Orders for Class 8 trucks in the month of August will be slightly above expectations and a 36% improvement over July's terrible numbers, according to projections from FTR and ACT Research.

Class 8 truck orders in August will be around 14,200 units for the month, a significant rebound from July's dismal 10,358 units ordered, according to ACT Research. July's order numbers were the worst recorded by ACT since the first quarter of 2010.

“After a weak June and a dismal July, Class 8 orders rebounded in August to 14,200 units, or nearly 16,000 units on a seasonally adjusted basis,” said Kenny Vieth, ACT president and senior analyst. “While rising 37% from July, August demand failed to meet the year-ago order volume for an eighteenth consecutive month, falling 29% from August 2015.”

Despite the gains, Class 8 order activity for August was the weakest for the month in six years and is down 35% compared to 2015. Class 8 truck orders have totaled 206,000 units for the last 12 months. FTR expects truck orders to remain moderate in September before jumping in October, giving analysts the first look at what to expect for 2017's truck market.

“Late-summer orders are generally weak seasonally, however, and the August order total still remains significantly below last year's level,” said Michael Baudendistel, vice president at Stifel, a transportation analysis firm, in an email to investors. “We believe October will be the next truly meaningful order month, as it should be the first month which reflects orders for model-year 2017 tractors, which should give insight into expected production next year.”

Related: No Signs of Relief for Class 8 Truck Market

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