CarriersEdge course teaches drivers how to handle accident reporting

CarriersEdge, a provider of training for the trucking industry, announced it has added to its list of courses a topic that drivers hope they'll never need but will find hugely valuable if they do: Accident reporting.

CarriersEdge noted its new training module takes drivers through the legal and safety procedures and responsibilities following an accident to protect themselves, the carrier and other involved motorists and passengers.

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National Carriers meets FSMA regs, recognizes safety director

Iron Apple announced that National Carriers has recently met the Iron Apple Certification Requirements for FSMA – Food Safety Transport Regulations. The new FMSA regulations went into effect on April 6, and impact food shippers, brokers, and carriers in the U.S. and Canada.

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Truck-tech pioneer joins startup Doft

Doft – Do Freight Transportation – announced trucking technology pioneer David Gee has joined the startup to add insight and dimension to the new industry service.

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Becoming an innovative organization

Do you ever wonder how some companies seem to continue to come up with innovative ideas over-and-over-and-over again? Perhaps you imagine they've found some magic formula.

The reality is that innovation doesn't just happen. You need to set up your organization so that it continually fosters innovative and creative thinking.

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Spireon appoints new senior vice president of sales for fleet division

Spireon Inc. announced the appointment of Bob Burden as senior vice president of sales for Spireon's Fleet Division. An industry veteran with more than 12 years of experience in executive sales roles, Burden will spearhead sales to small and medium-sized businesses, as well as reseller and channel segments, with an eye toward continued market growth and executing industry-leading go-to-market strategies, the company noted.

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Daimler opens new Oregon test facility

MADRAS, OR. Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA) officially opened its new test facility here May 18, which the company said will speed the development of new vehicles and deployment of advanced technologies.

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Mack Trucks’ Slagle is Bullish on Class 8 Truck Market

Mack exectives (l-r) John Walsh, Jonathan Randall, and Denny Slagle. Photo: David Cullen

CHARLESTON, S.C. The head of Mack Trucks regards the state of the heavy-duty truck market as solid. “Everyone in the industry has succeeded in bringing inventory down to safe levels,” Dennis Slagle, president of Mack Trucks and Volvo Group executive vice president, said at a May 18 media briefing here.

“[Class 8] inventory industry-wide is now at a level that we can look forward to factories building for demand,” he continued. Slagle said the upshot is that this year Mack is forecasting North American truck sales of 215,000 units.

While he allowed that would be down from last year's total of 243,000, he said it reflects “the industry looking to adjust to true market conditions.” What's more, he said that "the underlying demand is healthier now than what we saw last year, so we see the market leaving 2017 in a stronger way.”

Along with the inventory correction, Slagle said he's pinning hope on President Trump holding true to his promise to foster policies favored by business interests. “We think, like everyone else, that the business-friendly environment of the Trump Administration— if he will get through the mismanagement he's done of the bureaucracy— could be helpful [to trucking], such as with infrastructure [spending] and reducing regulations.”

Slagle also hit on the importance of boosting customer uptime for the OEM. “Our greater focus will continue on the service side of the business,” he said, noting that when he entered the truck side of the business, coming from Volvo Construction Equipment, he was “surprised we were not talking as much about service as other things, such as fuel economy.”

He said Mack has in recent years “taken steps to really help customers manage and increase uptime,” including working “to harvest opportunities not just ...Read the rest of this story