2009 Fleet Study indicates
slow demand for 2010 units

The 2009 Fleet Study conducted by CK Commercial Vehicle Research indicates a likely slow demand for new 2010 EPA-compliant power units when they are initially introduced. Respondents to the study were wary of committing to placing orders for the new equipment in the first half of 2010...

Trucking Conditions Index
higher—but still negative

The FTR Trucking Conditions Index (TCI) for October 2009 increased for the third consecutive month to –16.4, the highest reading since November 2008. This index, a combination of five truck industry statistics in one metric, remains significantly below a neutral reading of zero...

Westway Group signs
$175 million credit facility

Westway Group Inc announced the signing of a new three-year, $175 million senior secured revolving credit facility. The facility is being provided by a nine-bank syndicate led by JPMorgan Chase Bank NA and was arranged by JPMorgan Securities Inc...

FMCSA to add fifth option
to roadability final rule

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has responded to a petition for reconsideration of the final roadability rule and will amend the regulations to allow a fifth intermodal equipment marking option...

Price of diesel fuel dips
for second straight week

The average price of a gallon of diesel fuel nationwide dropped for a second straight week, falling 1.1 cents to $2.79 a gallon, according to US Department of Energy information...

Kenan Advantage Group
acquires Reinhard assets

The Kenan Advantage Group Inc (KAG) has completed an acquisition of the assets of Washington-based Reinhard Transportation...

Commercial vehicle market
recovery likely to be slow

While the medium- and heavy-duty commercial vehicle markets are beginning a slow recovery from the lowest level of production since 1991, significant headwinds remain for the sector to return to normal replacement level demand, according to ACT Research Co ...

NRDC attacks ignore
success of Clean
Truck Program: ATA

In a series of blogs and open letters, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) attorney David Pettit has attacked the Port of Long Beach CA for working with the trucking industry to develop a Clean Truck Program at the port that is achieving positive results, creates a tightly controlled regulatory atmosphere to ensure that those results are sustained and built upon, and also ends costly litigation...

Ida has minimal effect
on oil and gas production

Tropical Storm Ida caused no significant loss of oil and gas production in the Gulf of Mexico, though Chevron, Marathon Oil Corp, and Exxon Mobil Corp temporarily shut down some production and evacuated some personnel as a precaution...

Trimac completes purchase
of StarTrans business, assets

Trimac Dry Bulk Group Inc has completed the purchase of the business and certain assets of StarTrans Inc. A South Carolina-based motor carrier, StarTrans is engaged in the transportation of dry bulk products, including cement and lime products, and operates in a 20-state area east of the Mississippi River through a network of nine terminals in eight states...

Small number of fleets
planning to buy trailers
negatively affects index

The Q4 2009 FSR Equipment Buying Index as reported by CK Commercial Vehicle Research fell 23% from the previous quarter to a reading of 68.7. The Q4 2009 index was severely impacted by the small percentage of fleets planning trailer purchases...

Wetlines bill gets
a brief delay

Faced with stiff industry opposition, Rep James Oberstar D-MN and his staffers on the House of Representatives Transportation and Infrastructure Committee delayed the wetlines legislation markup that was set for Nov 5. This is just a temporary delay for House bill HR4016, which would ban wetlines on all tank trailers that handle hazardous materials...

House approval
of chemical security
act disappoints NACD

After the US House of Representatives approval of HR 2868, the Chemical and Water Security Act of 2009, the National Association of Chemical Distributors (NACD) issued this statement...

Price of diesel fuel shows
first decline in five weeks

The average price of a gallon of diesel fuel nationwide dropped for the first time in five weeks, dipping 0.7 cents—the same as last week’s increase—to $2.801 a gallon, according to US Department of Energy information...

Economic recovery begins;
truck freight growth lags

The recovery has begun, according to the latest issue of The North American Commercial Truck and Trailer Outlook published by FTR Associates, but the transportation industry forecast company warns that any significant freight growth is not expected until 2010 with increased orders for equipment to follow later in the year...

Class 8 net truck orders
spike upward in October

FTR Associates has released preliminary data showing Class 8 net orders for all major North American OEMs totaled 21,792 units in October 2009, reflecting a definite upsurge in order activity...

ArvinMeritor finishes sale
of Meritor Suspension JV

ArvinMeritor Inc has completed the sale of its 57% stake in the Meritor Suspension Systems Company (MSSC) joint venture to Mitsubishi Steel Mfg Ltd (MSM) for approximately $13 million, which included a $12 million cash dividend received by ArvinMeritor in the third quarter...

Wetlines legislation markup set for Nov 5

Markup of the wetlines legislation will begin Thursday, November 5, according to officials on the House of Representatives Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. This is one of the last opportunities for the tank truck industry to promote changes to make the legislation more tolerable...

Mack again receives orders
from US Army for tractors

Mack Trucks Inc has received three additional delivery orders for Mack Vision Elite model tractors from the US Army TACOM Life Cycle Management Command. The orders are part of a three-year, $28.5 million contract for 152 heavy-duty tractors and trailers, as well as spare parts...

Meridian offers five ways to leverage cash and profit

Fierce competition, shrinking margins, and a down economy have many businesses wondering if they’ll be able to make it through these uncertain times. Unfortunately, the “wait and see” strategy that many are employing will make them most vulnerable. Now is not a very good time to fall behind....

Cap-and-trade will do little
to cut emissions, ATA says

Proposed cap-and-trade legislation will impose significant costs on the trucking industry and all consumers while doing little to reduce carbon emissions from trucking, American Trucking Associations (ATA) First Vice-Chairman Barbara Windsor said at a press conference on Capitol Hill...

ATA urges improvement
in border infrastructure

Improving security and efficiency of freight transportation across borders will require more funds for infrastructure, more reasonable enforcement of trade security program rules, and giving the lead role in coordinating federal efforts to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and its Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency, Celadon Group Inc Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Stephen Russell told a congressional panel...

ATA Truck Tonnage Index slips 0.3% in September

The American Trucking Associations’ advance seasonally adjusted (SA) For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index decreased 0.3% in September 2009 after increasing 2.1% in both July and August. The latest decline lowered the SA index to 103.9 (2000=100)...

Port of Long Beach
official chastises
NRDC over criticism

The recent legal settlement between the American Trucking Associations (ATA) and the Port of Long Beach is good news for clean air, Port of Long Beach Executive Director Richard Steinke said in a letter on the port’s website...

ATA, Port of Long Beach officials reach settlement

The American Trucking Associations (ATA) Executive Committee and the Port of Long Beach (CA) Harbor Commissioners have each approved a settlement negotiated between port officials and ATA and trucking industry representatives...