Fleet Owner has been nominated for two Jesse H. Neal National Business Journalism Awards.
The magazine is one of four finalists in Best Range of Work by a Single Author (Kevin Jones) and Best Commentary/Blog (Editor's Page). In addition, Fleet Owner's sister publication WardsAuto is a finalist in the Best Technical Content category.
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...Read the rest of this storyuShip, the online shipping marketplace and freight automation software provider, announced the close of a $25M Series D round led by DB Schenker.
DB Schenker's funding comes on the heels of unprecedented investment in logistics and supply chain technology. Since 2015, top pure-play logistics corporations have made 26 investments and/or acquisitions (13 each year), while logistics tech startups were on pace (as of October) to raise $5B through over 300 deals in 2016, according to CB Insights.
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...Read the rest of this storyCFI, a North American full-truckload carrier, announced the appointment of Bill Carter to the newly created position of vice president, logistics and Shepard Dunn as vice president, sales. Both will report to CFI President Tim Staroba.
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...Read the rest of this storyThe American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) recently issued a report that analyzed the Department of Transportation's National Bridge Inventory database and determined that there are nearly 56,000 structurally compromised roadway bridges across the U.S., with 1,900 of them are on the interstate highway system.
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...Read the rest of this storyVolvo' SuperTruck owes more than a passing nod to current VNL styling with highly aggressive, full-length aerodynamics.
">Volvo' SuperTruck owes more than a passing nod to current VNL styling with highly aggressive, full-length aerodynamics.
">You'd be forgiven for being a little intimidated, frightened, even, driving a one-of-a-kind truck worth $2 million through heavy traffic around Greensboro, NC. But, in reality, the experience isn't nerve-racking, at all.
For starters, if you're a regular Joe, like me, $2 million is just an abstract number. I mean, I realize it's a lot of money. But I have no baseline comparison I can use to relate that sum to anything in my life. You know, it's not like I'll have to sell my 14th century Italian villa and vineyard in Tuscany to cover the damages if I wreck the thing.
Even more to the point, it turns out that driving a $2 million SuperTruck isn't really all that revolutionary an experience once you climb up inside the cab, turn the key and start heading down the road. That's because this truck, designed by Volvo Trucks North America in a joint product with significant funding courtesy of the United States government, is not a quantum leap forward as far as Class 8 long-haul tractors go.
For those who came in late, the SuperTruck Project is a holdover from the Obama Administration, which provided federal dollars to trucking OEMs to help them develop advanced technologies that can improve freight efficiency and fuel economy for the next generation of U.S.-built Class trucks. The federal dollars serve as a way to encourage OEMs to pursue new and emerging fuel efficiency technologies that real-world market forces wouldn't ordinarily allow them to spend private dollars researching on such a large scale – or actually put on the road in a concept truck.
Volvo's SuperTruck made its public debut in Washington at the Department of Energy last September. And earlier this week, ...Read the rest of this story
The American Road & Transportation Builders Association published an interactive map showing the states with the highest percentage of structurally deficient bridges. Source: ARTBA
">The American Road & Transportation Builders Association published an interactive map showing the states with the highest percentage of structurally deficient bridges. Source: ARTBA
">The U.S. Department of Transportation has released the 2016 National Bridge Inventory, which indicates that 55,710 bridges are structurally compromised-- including 13,000 that need replacement, widening, or major reconstruction.
The information was analyzed by the American Road & Transportation Builders Association. The information was compiled into ARTBA's 2017 Bridge Report.
The report is produced annually and by comparing 2016 to 2015's National Bridge Inventory, ARTBA found that progress has been slow in repairing bridges.
The inventory of structurally deficient bridges only decreased by 0.5% in a year's time. At that pace, it would take more than 20 years to address all of the problems structures.
“America's highway network is woefully underperforming. It is outdated, overused, underfunded and in desperate need of modernization,” said Alison Premo Black, chief economist of ARTBA. “State and local transportation departments haven't been provided the resources to keep pace with the nation's bridge needs.”
About 1,900 of the bridges are on the Interstate Highway System, affecting millions of Americans. The nation's cars, trucks, and buses cross the 55,710 bridges around 185 million times every day. While these bridges may not be imminently unsafe, their inclusion in the U.S. DOT report indicates that they are in need of attention.
The ARTBA report is presented through an interactive map of the United States, in which each state is color-coded based on the percentage of structurally deficient bridges it contains. By clicking on a state, a separate report on the state can be accessed, breaking down the breadth of the problem as well as the locations of each bridge.
Iowa was the state with the highest number of structurally deficient bridges at 4,968, while Rhode Island was the state with the highest percentage ...Read the rest of this story
Photo via Arizona Department of Transportation
">Photo via Arizona Department of Transportation
">Sensors installed at three locations along Interstate 40 west of Flagstaff, Ariz., are helping the Arizona Department of Transportation detect and address icy road conditions before they are present.
The roadway sensors are connected to ADOT Road Weather Information System locations that use cameras and instruments to provide up-to-date conditions.
Each location has a sensor to measure the salt content of road surface moisture, which affects the freezing point. Another sensor is used to measure the temperature of the ground underneath the road.
The information is combined with data from the Road Weather Information System and National Weather Service to forecast the likelihood of ice forming. The program can also alert operators if the pavement temperature drops below a certain threshold. This helps ADOT determine whether to send crews out to spread deicing material.
“Technology can provide us with another way to keep motorists safe as they travel to Arizona's colder regions,” said Audra Merrick, district engineer for ADOT's north central district. “These sensors are another tool in ADOT's toolbox to help keep the highways clear of snow and ice during winter season.”
Interstate 40 between Ash Fork and Flagstaff is more susceptible to icy roads due to its high elevation and freezing overnight temperatures. The road is also a priority because it see's heavy traffic from commercial and passenger vehicles, according to ADOT.
So far, ADOT says that the data has been so helpful that it plans to install more sensors at additional high-country locations in the next few years. The three sensors cost $90,000 and were funded through ADOT maintenance funds.
Related: Safe Winter Driving Tips
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