Understanding FedEx’s Capital Expenditure in Fiscal 2017

Happy Holidays From Heavy Duty Trucking Magazine

Photo courtesy of Today's Trucking

Heavy Duty Trucking's staff will be out of the office today and Monday for the Christmas holiday weekend and will be back to cover trucking news on Dec. 27.

For our readers who will still be working hard, we've compiled a newsletter filled with our most popular online posts from the past few months.

It was a rollercoaster year in 2016 and our editors put in the hard work in print and online to write news and analysis to help you improve your fleet business.

Please enjoy some of our best recent features, blogs, and videos covering a range of topics, inlcuding our Top Green Fleets, new vehicle test drives, infrastructure, and future technology.

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Disco dancing at the construction site

Artist Benedetto Bufalino has a penchant for turning the mundane into works of art. He has converted an old phone booth (who remembers those?) into a fish tank, a small car into a hot tub; and a skateboard into a magic carpet.

But it's probably safe to say that one of the French artist's latest creations might be the most productive. Bufalino converted a cement mixer into a large disco ball. A working cement mixer at that.

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Two Canuck trucks grace the 2017 Mack Calendar

Saia LTL Freight Attends ESGR Ceremony at Department of Defense

21st Century Truck Wheels

With strict emissions and fuel-economy requirements of new GHG Phase 2 regulations just around the corner, look to aluminum and lightweight steel wheels to contribute to overall equipment compliance. Photo: Accuride

The wheel is such a long-standing, fixed presence in our lives, that we rarely think about them. Until one fails, of course. In practice, wheels function quite well with only limited attention and maintenance. But that's no excuse not to pay attention to them at regular intervals.

For many fleets, the entire thinking process behind truck wheels is to simply bolt them on and then never think about them again until the next tire change takes place, says Rafael Gonzalez, Accuride's director of product management, wheels. ”That's a concern for our industry, because, unfortunately, that's a very common practice today. But the good news is that although wheels don't require much maintenance, a little maintenance can make them last a very long time.”

Fleets today have a choice between steel and aluminum wheels. Each has distinct advantages that can help fleets achieve their goals.

Steel wheels are less expensive to purchase, but require more maintenance and are generally heavier than aluminum wheels — although Craig Kessler, vice president of engineering, wheels, at Accuride, says ongoing research and development have cut the weight of both substantially.

“We're down to 45 pounds per aluminum wheel today, and we used to be over 60 pounds,” Kessler says, with the help of new additives and changes to the base alloy. “We've taken out 15 pounds in unit weight for our steel wheels over a two-year period thanks to better machining methods and better manufacturing processes that give us more control over variables when forging and heat-treating the wheels.”

Merrick Murphy, president, Arconic Wheel and Transportation Products (formerly known as Alcoa), says wheel selection can lead to ...Read the rest of this story

Trailers the European Way

High-cube Kögel Mega van has the usual rear doors plus curtain sides and a liftable roof tarp, allowing loading and unloading from docks and over its sides and top. Photo: Kögel 

European designs are often more elegant (or complex, depending on how you look at it), but these features add functionality to products. That was evident in trailers announced and displayed at the recent IAA commercial vehicles show in Hannover, Germany.

In conjunction with this month's feature on global influences on trucks, here we offer highlights of trailers shown at IAA. They include a high-cube van with load-enhancing equipment, a “safety” tanker, a hydraulic-motor axle, systems for “kinetic energy recovery” and electric power generation, and an integrated combination vehicle.

Krone, a major trailer builder in Germany, teamed up with Daimler's Mercedes-Benz Trucks to produce a combination vehicle that they claim saves up to 20% in fuel compared to standard tractor-trailers now used on the Continent. The integrated approach, like the government-sponsored SuperTruck programs in the U.S., proved worthwhile for fuel efficiency and practical cargo transportation.

The tractor is an aero-style Mercedes Actros cabover with a high-efficiency powertrain, “anticipatory” cruise control and low-rolling-resistance tires. The tractor is responsible for three-quarters of the fuel savings. The Krone van trailer, called Profi Liner Efficiency, has full-length skirts made of impact-resistant plastic, and a four-part folding “rear wing,” also made of robust plastic.

For-hire fleets tested five of the advanced combination vehicles last year and found that they were practical in everyday service, said executives of both companies at an IAA press briefing. Drivers reported that the side skirts were not damaged and did not interfere with forklift loading over the trailer's edges, and that the rear wing panels were easily folded back with the doors.

The manufacturers also said the structural system for the side panels ...Read the rest of this story