Report: Trucking in Mexico Ripe for 3PLs

A wide-open road in Mexico. Photo:México Secretaria de Comunicación y Transportes 

The trucking market in Mexico, despite its complexities, presents opportunities to third-party logistics providers, contends a new report released by market-research and consultancy firm Armstrong & Associates Inc.

Trucking in Mexico totaled $60 billion in 2016, according to a new report just released by Armstrong & Associates. The report, Trucking in Mexico: Navigating the Opportunity, which states that last year trucking was a $60 billion industry in the country. It quantifies the Mexican trucking market, presents U.S. and Mexico export and import activity, and outlines the current shipment process for shippers and truckload carrier/3PL providers. In addition, Ryder and a dozen other U.S.-Mexico truckload carrier/3PLs are profiled in the report.

“Trucking in Mexico remains complex and heavy with requirements, but there are many 3PL providers that have the process down to a science,” according to Richard Armstrong, chairman of Armstrong & Associates. “This report summarizes the market opportunity and identifies the key players and the process by which to follow.”

Armstrong divides the Mexican trucking market into intra-Mexico and cross-border import/export trucking with the U.S. Domestic trucking's core is the Mexico City area, connecting to such major cities as Monterrey and Guadalajara. Cross-border traffic is dominated by export/import activity involving the U.S., with the busiest cross-border port being Laredo, TX.

“Proximity to the United States, low wages, increases in manufacturing competencies, and retail investments throughout Mexico are keeping trucking in Mexico afloat,” the report states. “While trucking in Mexico is bobbing relative to the United States due to currency fluctuations, the complexities of intra-Mexico and cross-border trucking with the United States requires expertise.”

The report points out that major retailers, such as Walmart, are expanding into Mexico to gain for shorter lead times as “ocean transit cannot react as quickly to ...Read the rest of this story

The Rolling Resistance Paradox

Photo: Jim Park

Be careful what you ask for because you just might get it. If the lowest possible rolling resistance is your only consideration when spec'ing tires, chances are you'll be mighty disappointed in the tire you get. In fact, no tire maker in the world would even offer such a tire, but it's theoretically possible.

If you want really low rolling resistance, try steel wheels, as in train wheels. Steel-on-steel has almost no rolling resistance, but almost no traction either. They'll last a good long time, but drivers wouldn't be happy with the ride. I'm using an absurd example to illustrate the point, but an extremely low rolling resistance tire would have similar properties: traction and ride would be poor, the tires might last 50,000 miles, and it would cost you much more over a two-year time frame than the value of the fuel they saved.

Tire makers often express the design goals in the form of a triangle, each axis being one of three important considerations: traction, tread life, and rolling resistance. Historically an improvement in one forced compromises in the other two, but that's not universally true anymore. Through tire design, it is possible to use technologically advanced compounds and tire-construction techniques to minimize a tire's rolling resistance with little or no impact on traction or tread life.

“A number of factors influence a tire's rolling resistance, including the compounds used, casing design and tread pattern,” says Bill Walmsley, product category manager, Michelin Americas Truck Tires. “In most cases, the depth of a tire's tread blocks is inverse to rolling resistance. The deeper the tread blocks, the better the grip but the worse for fuel economy.”

Sidewall construction can also reduce rolling resistance. However, there are some tire design options available that can lower the rolling resistance, such ...Read the rest of this story

New Weather App for Truck Drivers Boasts Aviation-Style Forecasting

The new Weather Company Ground Transporation app also warns of  road conditions such as ice, snow, puddles or wet pavement.

Photo: Weather Company

Trucking is a game of variables. And of the many unknowns drivers face daily, the weather can be one of the most difficult to deal with. A new, trucking-focused phone and tablet app from the Weather Company aims to give drivers more information to help them better deal with weather and the delays and disruptions it can cause.

The app has its roots in aviation. The Weather Company is an IBM firm that has been providing accurate weather forecasts and real-time updates for 2.2-billion locations around the world every day, with vital data being refreshed every 15 minutes.

Now, the company is offering what it calls its “hyper-local” forecasting tools to the trucking industry through its new phone app to help drivers get a clearer idea of how weather can impact them as they move along their routes daily.

“Pilots are required to attend a weather briefing before taking off because they need situational awareness of the conditions that await them on their flight,” said John Bosse, offering manager for the Weather Company. “And this is a really simple app that does the same thing for truckers. It's not an app you use while driving. But it can – within 30 seconds to a minute – give drivers a really strong awareness of the weather they will be dealing with during the first few hours behind the wheel.”

But Bosse says the Weather Company app takes its informational aspect further, providing drivers with critical information about weather-related conditions they will be dealing with as well. “This app can help alert drivers to routes backed up by accidents,” he noted. “It can also relay information such as warnings for ice, snow, puddles or just ...Read the rest of this story

Board identifies causes of fatal Metropolitan Expressway crash

Midtronics Diagnostic System Monitors Batteries

Midtronics introduced the DSS-5000 Battery Diagnostic Service System, featuring Conductance Profiling that is designed to provide information about the battery state of charge and state of health.

The new Midtronics technology delivers fewer charge and retest decisions, in addition to battery reserve capacity warnings. The DSS-5000 can detect and flag reserve capacity issues helping to avoid the loss of vehicle function or no-start conditions.

The DSS-5000 supports diagnostics for conventional lead-acid, AGM, and EFB batteries and advanced vehicle systems, including start-stop. Featuring a three-piece design that is easy to carry and hold, the DSS-5000 includes a controller with 5-inch full-color touchscreen display, tester pod, and charging/storage dock (integrated printer is optional). An integrated camera supports VIN capture. The detachable controller can make it easier to perform system test and scanning functions and provides a convenient option for sharing battery diagnostic results with customers.

The touchscreen provides easy system navigation and displays a series of pre-programmed service apps that promote quick, error-free testing – and is useful for busy shops or inexperienced technicians. The tool automatically identifies the vehicle and battery system from the VIN and guides the user through how to properly test the vehicle, including a battery registration function (if required) and on-screen reset checklist.

The DSS-5000 supports future vehicle/battery technologies via automatic software updates delivered wirelessly with Midtronics Battery Management Information System (BMIS) program maintenance. VIN capture through an integrated camera establishes vehicle service records within BMIS and offers shop management an administrative tool to establish and monitor team battery service goals. On-tool WiFi and Bluetooth capabilities support flexible networking capabilities.

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Saving Fuel by the Dollar and by the Minute

The latest development with fuel-card programs is the option to access them with cardless technology. Likewise, pre-existing cardlock systems that enable drivers to quickly purchase fuel at unattended fuel islands may now be accessed without an actual card. The enabling technology is radio frequency identification (RFID). Photo: Comdata

There's more to saving fuel than just not burning it. It's called buying it for less. One of the surest ways to do that is to leverage high-tech solutions that take the guesswork and the data-crunching out of where to buy fuel at the best price on the road.

From various fuel-card options to analytical software tools and fueling apps for drivers, there's a basketful of ways to save money on the fuel spend for any size fleet, often coming with the bonus of making fueling easier and faster for drivers.

An example of how fuel-payment technology has expanded well beyond using cards instead of cash is the relationship that Cherry Hill, New Jersey-based fleet NFI has established with EFS, a Wex company. NFI's fleet operations recently moved its fuel-payments business to EFS because it was impressed by its technology and approach to partnering with fleets, according to Ike Brown, NFI vice chairman and president.

“With a dedicated fleet of more than 2,200 tractors across North America, ultimately we wanted a strategic partner with the highest level of customer service,” Brown says — a partnership that would go well beyond just how best to buy fuel on the road. “EFS' unique integration approach and real-time reporting helped us identify efficiencies in our network.” NFI is using the EFS fuel card, which Brown says allows for integration into its existing transportation-management system. The fleet has also signed on for EFS' fuel tax solution, fuel management, purchasing control and terminal fuel solutions.

For many fleets, fuel cards represent ...Read the rest of this story

North Korea says it’s ‘biggest victim’ in US student’s death

North Korea on Friday called itself the "biggest victim" in the death of an American student who was detained for more than a year and died days after being released in a coma. The North's official ...