Air Spring Kit Made for 2017 F250 and F350

Firestone Industrial Products has introduced the Ride-Rite Air Spring Kit for the 2017 Ford F250 and F350 pickup to level and stabilize loads and provide a smoother ride.

The kit is compatible with two-wheel drive and four-wheel drive models in both gas and diesel configurations and also works with fifth wheel hitches.

The Ride-Rite kit comes with a no-drill inflation valve bracket to allow attachment to a hitch receiver. The kits allow the vehicle to be lifted by the frame, extending the suspension without fear of damaging the product due to its rolled crimp design. Benefits can include better ground clearance, steering control, braking, and avoiding premature tire wear.

Firestone proof tests its Ride-Rite air springs at 190 p.s.i. to ensure they can withstand rigorous operation and pressure spikes from suspension travel. Ride-Ride kits provide load support through the use of air pressure. The kit can level off-center loads, decrease suspension fatigue, increase vehicle stability and reduce bottoming out.

The kits require no drilling and use existing holes in the truck's frame for easy installation. Each kit includes two double convoluted style air springs for a smoother ride.

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Volvo Trucks 2017 Calendar is Now Available

Volvo Trucks has made the 2017 Volvo Trucks North America calendar available for order online, the company announced.

The calendar features photos of the company's lineup of highway, vocational, auto transport and heavy-haul trucks in dynamic settings.

The 2017 Volvo Trucks North America calendar is available online and is priced at $15 each.

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Rockland Flooring receives patent for reinforced trailer flooring

Rockland Flooring announced it was granted a United States patent for the production of wood flooring with reinforced thermoplastic underlay.

The patented method produces a reinforced truck trailer or container floor using a laminated wood component with a water impermeable fiber-reinforced thermoplastic underlay adhered to the bottom surface of the wood. It is marketed under the name Defender Composite Flooring.

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John Snell joins TruStar Energy as CFO

TruStar Energy announced it has hired John Snell as its chief financial officer. Snell comes to TruStar Energy with over 15 years of accounting, operations, and finance experience in public, private, and multinational corporate settings, according to the company.

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Most drivers find spots in under 15 minutes, but it comes at a price

The good news is that the vast majority of drivers – both ELD and non-ELD users – spend less than 15 minutes searching for a parking spot. The bad news is that these same drivers purposely cut short their driving times – 40% report a loss of 31-60 minutes and 32 percent lose 61-120 minutes – because they fear not getting a legal parking space before they must get off the road.

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Economic Watch: Manufacturing Hits 21-Month High, Other Indictors Encouraging

U.S. manufacturers reported a strong end to 2016, with business conditions improving at the fastest pace since March 2015 while separate reports show consumer prices are rising and housing remains strong despite a pullback from a multi-year high.

The preliminary December Flash U.S. Manufacturing Purchasing Mangers' Index from financial information services company IHS Market, moved up fractionally to 54.2 in December from 54.1 in November. That marks a 21- month high, and is way up from the post Great Recession low of 50.7 in May.

The survey is based on a panel of more than 600 manufacturing companies. The final report on December is due out the first of January, about the same time as the more widely anticipated report on the sector from the Institute for Supply Managment is released.

The headline PMI signaled a robust improvement in manufacturing sector business conditions, with faster job creation and stock building offsetting slight moderations in output and new order growth since November.

Additionally, the latest rise in pre- production inventories was the strongest recorded since the survey began in May 2007. Manufacturers noted that greater stock accumulation reflected stronger optimism towards the demand outlook, alongside faster-than-expected new order growth in recent months.

Manufacturing output expanded for the seventh consecutive month in December, indicating a sustained rebound from the soft patch seen in the second quarter of 2016. The rate of production growth nonetheless eased from October's 20-month peak.

This latest report puts the manufacturing sector on the starting blocks for a further upturn as we move into 2017, according to Chris Williamson, chief business economist at IHS Markit.

“The fourth quarter has seen the strongest PMI readings for one-and-a-half years, suggesting the goods-producing sector is growing at an annualized rate of 2% to 2.5%,” he said. “A buoyant domestic market, reflecting a combination of rising consumer demand ...Read the rest of this story

OTA polls truckers on biz outlook. Survey says? “Meh.”