CCJ0415

APRIL 2015

MAKE DRIVERS FEEL AT HOME

More comfy cabs, less turnover page 58

BUSINESS SOLUTIONS FOR TRUCKING PROFESSIONALS

NOT JUST A BOX WITH WHEELS

page 65

Today's dry vans are tougher, lighter

WHICH WAY DO I GO?

page 48

Routing software helps you choose wisely

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ApRil 2015 | vOl 172 | NO. 4

2015 Innovator of the Year

Celadon

50

Five years ago following the economic downturn, Celadon reinvented its customer service department by developing new software tools and changing job responsibilities to achieve its vision for a new culture of service. CCJ selected the Indianapolis-based company as its 2015 Innovator of the Year for these efforts and more. Celadon has improved its performance significantly in key areas such as operating ratio, on-time service, utilization and more. It also is able to recruit and retain talented young workers from outside the transportation industry for trucking careers.

Cover design by David Watson

features

58

leAdiNG NewS, TRuCkiNG MARkeT CONdiTiONS ANd iNduSTRy ANAlySiS

11 News Senator wants Congress to overhaul FMCSA … House bill would clarify CSA’s role in hiring carriers …

Teamsters sue FMCSA over move to open border for Mexican carriers … Southern California ports to collaborate on backlog relief …

Appeals court upholds dismissal of CCTA lawsuit against CARB regs … Trucking Alliance wants e-log mandate on fast track …

Connected and comfortable

While working on the road is hard, living there may be even harder. Both fleets and OEMs understand that using new technology to modernize truck interiors is one positive step that can be made to entice new drivers and retain experienced ones. OEMs say the cabs they are designing today soon will offer drivers unprecedented levels of connectivity with both their fleet and family, be more energy-efficient and allow drivers to work smarter and relax better.

65

journal

Trailer Focus: Dry Vans

Most of today’s dry vans are lighter than those of the past while also being stronger. By replacing heavier components with equally strong yet lighter-weight materials and adding extra strength in areas that needed beefing up, designers have been able to build significantly better trailers to carry specific loads without fatiguing certain design elements. Manufacturers also have reduced trailer weight by using composite floors, which also increases load capacity.

GAO wants study on oversize/overweight truck permitting … Two Nebraska fleets named TCA’s best for drivers

12 InBrief

commercial carrier journal

| april 2015 3

DEPARTMENTS

ccjdigital.com

technology

facebook.com/CCJMagazine @CCJnow linkedin.com/ccjmagazine

Editorial

38 24 26 28 28 30 30

Radical shift in trucking on the horizon?

40

Mercedes unveils Metris commercial van

42

International DuraStar, WorkStar get electronic upgrades

42 InBrief 44 Roadnet, XRS, release new

Utilimaster debuts Velocity walk-in van for Ford chassis Eaton, Cummins pushing for added powertrain integration Dana highlights downspeed enhancements

30 InBrief 32 Meritor previews tractorspecific TPMS

32

Keychain Logistics hopes that it can become the Uber of trucking

Volvo facilities recognized for energy performance

PeopleNet upgrades Web interface with ALK Maps BlueTree converts in-cab technology to Android

products, features

44 46 46

Janam packages mini-tablet with T-Mobile plan Convoy develops TrailerCam monitor Pro-Tread milestone: 7 million and counting

48 InFocus: Routing software

Editor: Jeff Crissey Executive Editor, Trucking: Jack Roberts Senior Editor: Aaron Huff Managing Editor: Dean Smallwood Trucking News Editor: James Jaillet Contributing Editor: Carolyn Magner Mason editorial@ccjdigital.com

Design & Production

Art Director: David Watson Graphic Designer: Kenneth Stubbs Quality Assurance: Timothy Smith Advertising Production Manager: Anne Marie Horton production@ccjdigital.com

Trucking Media

Vice President of Sales, Trucking Media: Brad Holthaus sales@truckingmedia.com

Corporate

Chairman/CEO: Mike Reilly President: Brent Reilly Chief Process Officer: Shane Elmore Chief Administration Officer: David Wright Senior Vice President, Sales: Scott Miller Senior Vice President, Editorial and Research: Linda Longton Senior Vice President, Acquisitions & Business Development: Robert Lake Vice President, Events: Stacy McCants Vice President, Audience Development: Prescott Shibles Vice President, Digital Services: Nick Reid Vice President, Marketing: Julie Arsenault

34 InFocus: Inverters ALSO IN THIS ISSUE

6

Upfront Entitlement, apathy compounding driver shortage

92

76

John Doe was traveling through a raging blizzard at midnight when he realized the road partially was blocked by a giant tree, but it was too late to avoid impact. Was this a preventable accident?

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Ad Index

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Senator wants Congress to overhaul FMCSA

U

House bill would clarify CSA’s role in hiring carriers

34-hour restart rule in 2013 with complete .S. Sen. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) disregard for congressionally mandated called for reforming the requirements for the study of the rule’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety impact. When the study was eventually Administration, saying issued several months late, the sample the agency has ignored Congress, the size was not representative of this diverse Government Accountability Office and industry. In addition, serious concerns were members of the trucking industry. raised about the rule’s perverse impact on Fischer’s remarks came last month dursafety, because in effect it pushed drivers ing and after a hearing on Capitol Hill of onto the roads during workers’, students’ the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on and families’ morning commutes.

Surface Transportation and Merchant “In 2014, the GAO invesMarine Infrastructure, Safety tigated the methodology and Security, which she chairs. behind FMCSA’s Compliance She specifically criticized Safety Accountability proFMCSA’s handling of the gram. Inaccurate CSA scores 34-hour restart rule and publicly available online have the continuance of makcost companies contracts and ing Compliance Safety raised insurance rates. All of Accountability scores available this has occurred without a for public view.

T.F. Scott Darling, acting administrator of the Federal clear correlation to increasing Fischer said she plans to Motor Carrier Safety Admin- highway safety. introduce reform legislation istration, took over following “When confronted with to make FMCSA more incluformer Administrator Anne these findings, FMCSA comFerro’s departure. sive of Congress and industry pletely disregarded GAO’s stakeholders and increase recommendations to address flaws in its transparency. Fischer also said she will CSA’s implementation. Major stakeholders, author legislation to require the agency to including law enforcement, requested that conduct more robust and comprehensive FMCSA remove CSA scores from public cost benefit analyses of proposed regulaview. tions.

“Congress must reform the agency to In her opening remarks, Fischer said, “Some of the FMCSA’s actions over the past ensure higher levels of trust, collaboration years challenge our shared goal of enhancing and ultimately more effective regulations to keep our nation’s roads safe,” said Fischer. safety.

The ranking member of the subcom“For example, the FMCSA issued the final mittee is Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), who mentioned Scan the QR code with your smartphone or visit ccjdigital.com/news/subscribe-to-newshow the high-profile acciletters to sign up for the CCJ Daily Report, a dent involving comedian daily e-mail newsletter filled with news, analyTracy Morgan in June 2014 sis, blogs and market condition articles.

Continued on page 14

F

ive House Republicans introduced a bill that would require

shippers, brokers, freight forwarders and others to vet carriers prior to hiring them. The bill also would aim to remove the public assumption that carrier rankings in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Compliance Safety Accountability program should be used as a tool to hire carriers.

The bill would require those hiring carriers to verify (1) their registration status with the U.S. Department of Transportation, (2) they hold the proper amount of liability insurance and (3) they have not been given “unsatisfactory” safety ratings.

A similar bill introduced last year did not make it out of committee.

H.R. 1220 was introduced Feb. 26 by Reps. John Duncan (R-Tenn.), Rodney Davis (R-Ill.), Richard Hanna (R-N.Y.), Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) and Erik Paulsen (R-Minn.). The quintet billed the measure as one that would “enhance interstate commerce by creating a national hiring standard for motor carriers.”

Continued on page 14

Part of the safety enhancements, the lawmakers said, would remove the “confusing and conflicting vagaries” of CSA’s BASIC rankings.

commercial carrier journal

| april 2015 11

JOURNAL NEWS

INBRIEF 4/15

– Osborn Transportation, National Retail Transportation and Shoreline Transportation – had until April 10 to confirm their agreements.

• The U.S. Department of Transportation in March accelerated its expected publication date for a final rule mandating the use of electronic logging devices to Sept.

30, six weeks earlier than DOT projected in February. The rule will be enforced two years following publication in the Federal Register, giving carriers and truck operators 24 months to prepare. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration published a roughly 250-page proposed rule in March 2014 that outlined what would be required for compliance.

• A federal judge in a U.S. District Court in Massachusetts ruled in favor of J.B. Hunt (CCJ Top 250, No. 7) and FedEx (CCJ Top 250, No. 2) in lawsuits challenging classification of certain drivers as independent contractors rather than employees. District Judge Richard G. Stearns issued two orders Feb. 5 saying the 1994 Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act preempted Massachusetts labor laws.

• Three of the seven carriers that opted out of Pilot Flying J’s $85 million class-action settlement filed court motions last month to drop their lawsuits against the truck stop chain and fuel provider, saying they have reached tentative settlements with the company over its alleged fuel rebate withholding scheme. The parties in the lawsuits

• CRST International Inc. (CCJ Top 250, No. 19) of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, acquired fellow privately-held trucking company Pegasus Transportation Inc. of Louisville, Ky.; terms were not made public. Pegasus provides regional truckload services with a focus on the high-security temperature-sensitive health sciences sector and the critical just-in-

12

COMMERCIAL CARRIER JOURNAL

| APRIL 2015

time automotive industry. CRST has seven operating companies and employs more than 7,000 company drivers, independent contractors and office personnel.

• State attorney generals joined the Federal Trade Commission’s effort to block a merger between Sysco Corp. and U.S. Foods Inc. they say would violate antitrust laws. An FTC administrative law judge will hear both sides’ arguments July 21 over merger plans by the top two U.S. broadline foodservice distributors.

• The International Brotherhood of Teamsters and federal regulators announced that an agreement to end a quarter-century of oversight of the union’s finances and operations was approved by a federal judge, ending a 1989 pact the union made with the U.S. Justice Department to avoid a federal lawsuit. The government’s oversight will be phased out over a five-year period and end in 2020.

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journal news

Teamsters sue FMCSA over move to open border for Mexican carriers FMCSA in January announced it was opening the U.S. operating authority application process to all Mexican carriers.

T

he Teamsters Union last month filed a lawsuit against the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration following the agency’s plans to expand its cross-border trucking program with Mexico.

FMCSA in January announced it was opening the U.S. operating authority application process to all Mexican carriers, partly as a measure to bring the United States into compliance with provisions in the North American Free Trade Agreement.

The Teamsters’ lawsuit alleges that FMCSA’s report to Congress – on which it based its decision to open the border to all Mexican-domiciled carriers – “is arbitrary and capricious in light of the admitted lack of significant data” gleaned during the agency’s three-year cross-border pilot program.

The union’s claims about the data quality somewhat align with conclusions made by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General, which issued a report in December that said FMCSA’s data was insufficient given the low number of Mexican carrier participants and the lack of quality inspection data.

OIG said in its report that the conclusions FMCSA made from its pilot program – that Mexican carriers are just as safe as U.S. carriers – were invalid given the suspect data.

Teamsters’ President Jim Hoffa called the agency’s decision to open the border “disappointing.”

“The Teamsters Union will continue to fight for highway safety,” Hoffa said. “The safety of our roads cannot be compromised based on this failed program.”

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association also has voiced its opposition to FMCSA’s move, calling it a political ploy that would put unsafe operators on U.S. highways.

The American Trucking Associations has taken a mostly neutral stance, saying it’s fine with the border being opened as long as Mexican carriers and drivers abide by U.S. safety regulations.

– James Jaillet 14

commercial carrier journal

| april 2015

FMCSA | Continued from page 11 took place in his state and brought truck safety into the national headlines. He added that nearly 4,000 people die in truck crashes each year and more than 100,000 more are injured.

“That is simply unacceptable to every American,” said Booker. “From 2009 to 2012, truck crash injuries increased by 40 percent, and fatalities increased 16 percent. This is absolutely unacceptable. This cannot simply be the cost of doing business.”

He said there are common-sense steps that can be taken to make highways safer.

“There is no place on our roads for tired truckers,” added Booker, who said his concerns also include longer and heavier trucks, minimum insurance amounts and driver pay.

During the hearing, Fischer asked T.F. Scott Darling, FMCSA’s acting administrator, about issues raised concerning the data used in the Safety Measurement System and changes the agency planned to make.

“The information provided in the SMS data is good data,” said Darling. “It’s the data we use to prioritize our interventions. It’s the data used by the public to make decisions every day. It’s data that I have also heard from carriers that they use to improve their performance.” – David Hollis House bill | continued from page 11 Part of the safety enhancements, the lawmakers said, would remove the “confusing and conflicting vagaries” of CSA’s Safety Measurement System BASIC rankings – a move pushed in the bill by the Transportation Intermediaries Association, a broker trade group.

The bill’s introduction could be seen as a small victory for trucking companies losing business over CSA, said TIA’s Chris Burroughs.

“Obviously, there is this dark cloud out there that is CSA, and it’s hurting carriers’ business,” Burroughs said.

Lawsuits alleging negligent selection of carriers have exacerbated the problem and give cause for concern to carriers, shippers and brokers, he said. “Courts are holding these companies liable for millions of dollars because they’re saying CSA scores should be just as much a part of the carrier selection process.”

TIA hopes to make CSA be seen as solely an enforcement tool for regulators rather than a determination about carriers’ safety and their hiring worthiness. Though the bill was introduced as standalone legislation, Burroughs said he and his group hope to have it added to any upcoming highway reauthorization bill.

That could be as soon as May 31: Congress must pass legislation prior to that date, or the country’s Highway Trust Fund will go bankrupt.

Trucking groups could push for inclusion of language in any upcoming highway funding legislation that would take TIA’s request a step further: removing the CSA rankings from public view.

– James Jaillet

journal news

Southern California ports to collaborate on backlog relief

W

ith West Coast ports backlogged, federal officials gave approval to the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports to collaborate on chassis supply and other congestion-relief projects.

The Port of Oakland anticipated it would take up to eight weeks for West Coast ports to return to normal, while the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported hearing the same from exporters. Still, some experts said six months was more realistic.

Port congestion ramped up during the final months of negotiations between the Pacific Maritime Association and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union. On Feb. 20, the dockworkers union and the organization representing West Coast port employers reached a tentative five-year contract after nine months of talks.

The contract ratification process was set to begin when the Coast Longshore Caucus meets March 30 to April 3. If these 90 delegates decided to recommend the plan to the rank-and-file, the complete agreement would be mailed to members. The plan then would be discussed at local union meetings before members ratified or rejected it at a secret-ballot election.

The Federal Maritime Commission approved the Southern California ports’ amended plan to address congestion, transportation infrastructure and pollution through collaboration. Projects will target increased terminal productivity and chassis availability and decreased truck turn times.

The prolonged dispute between Pacific Coast port employers and labor resulted in collateral damage to companies nationwide. The union attributed the drop in port productivity to port operation weaknesses, while the association accused workers of staging slowdowns to gain leverage during negotiations.

Previous longshoremen contract nego-

tiations have been rocky, prompting some government and business leaders to float ideas about how to mitigate future port disputes.

At a Senate commerce and transporHowesCCJS15_HalfPageIsland.pdf tation hearing, Chairman John Thune

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(R-S.D.) said port labor may be governed better by the Railway Labor Act, which provides protection for business to continue during a dispute. Longshoremen now fall under the National Labor 2/3/15 6:04 PM Relations Act. – Jill Dunn

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commercial carrier journal Untitled-2 1

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journal news

Appeals court upholds dismissal of CCTA lawsuit against CARB regs

T

he U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld a prior dismissal of a lawsuit brought by the California Construction Trucking Association against the California Air Resources Board’s diesel engine emissions regulations.

The Ninth Circuit’s March 3 decision “affirmed the dismissal for lack of subject matter jurisdiction of a federal preemption challenge to a California environmental regulation addressing diesel trucks,” reads the decision.

CCTA had argued in a suit filed in March 2011 that California violated the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act, which prohibits states from enacting any law, rule or regulation affecting the prices, routes or services of motor carriers.

The Ninth Circuit “affirmed the district court’s holding that the Environmental Protection Agency’s approval of the regulation as part of California’s state implementation plan divested the district court of jurisdiction” under the Clean Air Act. The court viewed EPA’s inclusion in the filing as necessary.

The suit did not challenge the Clean Air Act, but rather the

CCTA said its suit did not challenge the federal Clean Air Act, but rather California’s “burdensome” Truck and Bus regulation.

“burdensome Statewide Truck and Bus regulation,” CCTA said, calling the court’s decision “disappointing but not surprising. At virtually every step of the way, well-funded environmental groups united with CARB delayed the case and prevented the courts from hearing the merits of our federal preemption argument.”

Key to CCTA’s argument for appropriate jurisdiction in the case, it claims, is that at the time of the original filing “our lawsuit never directly challenged the federal Clean Air Act or U.S. EPA’s adoption of California’s State Implementation Plan.

At the time we sued CARB, the [board] was acting under state law – not federal law” as claimed by the National Resources Defense Council, an intervener in the case.

The Clean Air Act “does not give the U.S. EPA regulatory authority over in-use equipment,” CCTA said. “We don’t believe it’s fair to our industry to be denied the benefit of protection from a federal law that was passed expressly to stop states from doing what California is doing.”

According to Joe Rajkovacz, CCTA government affairs director, further action is underway: “We will appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.”

– Todd Dills

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journal news

Trucking Alliance wants e-log mandate on fast track

T

he Alliance for Driver Safety & Security, also known enforcement of trucking regulations. as the Trucking Alliance, laid out its 2015 priorities for The alliance bills itself as a group of “progressive likeregulators and lawmakers, saying it plans to push for quicker minded” trucking companies, and some of its 2015 priorities implementation of an electronic logging device mandate, an stand counter to other trucking groups. increased liability insurance minimum and a speed limiter While the American Trucking Associations also is pushmandate, among other items. ing for a long-term highway funding bill and a speed limiter The alliance’s chairman, Steve Williams, met with T.F. mandate, it and the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Scott Darling, acting administraAssociation are against an increase tor of the Federal Motor Carrier in the minimum amount of liability Safety Administration, as well as insurance required of carriers. ATA senior members of the House and OOIDA also both have called Transportation Committee and Sen. for the removal of CSA scores from John Boozman (R-Ark.) to update public view. them on his group’s 2015 objectives.

The alliance, however, said Williams is chairman and chief Congress and the White House “can executive officer of Little Rock, Ark.do more to help the nation’s truckbased Maverick USA (CCJ Top 250, ing industry serve the U.S. economy No. 78). The 2011-founded group safety and efficiently.”

The Trucking Alliance plans to push for quicker implementation of an electronic logging device mandate. also includes Knight Transportation “The alliance is committed to (No. 26), J.B. Hunt (No. 7) and safety objectives that make sense for Dupre Logistics (No. 134), along with trucking technology our country first, the trucking industry second and our comproviders Rand McNally, Drivewyze, Psychemedics, Omnitracs panies third,” said Williams. “We shouldn’t tolerate 300,000 and PeopleNet. trucking accidents that kill upwards of 4,000 people each year, The group also plans to push for retaining the public view and 600 of those fatalities are truck drivers. We can do more to of scores in the Compliance Safety Accountability program, lower risk for all motorists and help our truck drivers do their recognizing drug tests done via hair testing and passage of a jobs and arrive home safely.” long-term highway funding bill that allocates more money to – James Jaillet

GAO wants study on oversize/overweight truck permitting

T

he U.S. Government Accountability Office recommended identifying the best practices of states’ oversize and overweight permitting, including studying automated vehicle routing and escort driver certification.

The Federal Highway Administration agreed it should conduct the research advocated in GAO’s Feb. 26 report.

FHWA develops federal regulations for commercial vehicle size and weight requirements and oversees state enforcement of those regulations.

Previously, a National Transportation Safety Board investigation reported that differences in state truck permitting practices could be a 18

commercial carrier journal

| april 2015

concern. GAO found states often did not agree on the benefits of various permitting practices.

Public concern over oversize vehicles heightened in 2013 after an oversize combination vehicle crashed into Washington State’s Interstate 5 Skagit River bridge. Congress asked GAO to review U.S. Department of Transportataion regulations and oversight regarding oversize vehicles and how states regulate them.

FHWA also is researching the potential effect of changes to truck size and weight limits. It also is updating pilot car escort training and a best practices guide on escort vehicle operations.

– Jill Dunn

GAO found states often do not agree on the benefits of various permitting practices for oversize and overweight loads.

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journal news

Two Nebraska fleets named TCA’s best for drivers

T

wo Nebraska fleets were honored with the Best Fleets to Drive For award at the Truckload Carriers Association’s Annual Convention in Kissimmee, Fla. Fremont Contract Carriers, based in Fremont, won the award in the large carrier category,

and Grand Island Express, based in Grand Island, won in the small carrier category.

Carriers Edge is the program’s lead sponsor, and Bose and Marsh are also sponsors.

Jane Jazrawy, Carriers Edge chief executive officer, said the 20 finalists for the awards

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had an average annual turnover rate below 35 percent.

Also at the convention, Thomas Miller of Bunker Hill, Ill., leased to Prime Inc. of Springfield, Mo., was named Overdrive’s 2014 Owner-Operator of the Year. Gary Teel of Whiting, Iowa, who drives for Weinrich Truck Line of Hinton, Iowa, was named Company Driver of the Year. The $25,000 awards for each driver were made possible by contest sponsors Love’s Travel Stops and Cummins.

“This is a unique opportunity to give back to professional truck drivers and show them how much we, as an industry, value them,” said Jon Archard, Love’s vice president of sales. “Love’s is honored to show our appreciation for the hard work they do.”

“The professional truck driver is an essential part of the trucking industry that helps contribute to the nation’s economy and to the everyday lives of all of us,” said Amy Boerger, general manager of North American Engine Business for Cummins.

“We are honored to be able to take part in honoring them.”

Also announced at the meeting: • FTC Transportation Inc. of Oklahoma City and Bison Transport of Winnipeg, Manitoba, were named grand prize winners of the 2014 National Fleet Safety Awards, sponsored by Great West Casualty Co. FTC won in the small carrier division, and Bison Transport won in the large carrier division.

• Keith Tuttle, founder of Motor Carrier Service of Northwood, Ohio, was elected 2015-16 TCA chairman.

• Colorado-based truck operator David Ragland was named Highway Angel of the Year for his role in helping to save two small children after a car crash.

• Kari Rihm, president and CEO of Rihm Kenworth of St. Paul, Minn., was the recipient of the fifth annual Influential Woman In Trucking award from Women In Trucking.

– Staff reports

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by Jack RobeRts

Radical shift in trucking on the horizon?

It could come sooner than you think

G

o to any trucking industry meeting today and listen to the dialogue. Sooner or later, somebody will grumble about technology. You’ll hear lots of complaints about e-logs, exhaust treatment systems, electronic control modules and a whole host of other systems. A lot of people don’t like changing technology being forced on them, and they don’t like paying for it when they’re not sure they need it.

But the changes you’re seeing as a fleet manager today are nothing compared to the challenges you’ll face soon. Why do I think that? Let’s go back to the automotive industry, where highly visible clues support the notion that totally new players such as Google and Apple are about to enter that market.

Then you’ve got a technological juggernaut like Tesla, which is looking to totally change the way cars and houses are powered. Let’s not forget about Amazon, which is looking for new hyper-efficient ways to get packages to consumers.

Given the fact that the major automotive manufacturers have had a virtual death grip on this industry and its technology for more than a century, this is massive news. But why are dedicated technology companies like Google and Apple suddenly interested in automobiles? The answer, I think, is threefold.

1. They perceive a lack of innovation and feel they can exploit that technol24

commercial carrier journal

| april 2015

Tech companies understand that young people today have different concepts of what transportation should be and how it should work.

ogy gap with new products that will appeal to their customers.

For decades, the Big Three automotive manufacturers were the global technology and thought leaders. When people wondered what their lives would be like in 10 or 20 years, they looked to GM, Ford or Chrysler to paint that picture for them. Today, automotive manufacturers appear to have lost that edge, thanks to firmly entrenched bureaucracies with corporate mindsets that value conservative designs over innovation, New products: tech and decades of crippling non-research and companies perceive a lack of development business costs like pensions and innovation and feel they can healthcare. exploit that gap.

An automotive manufacturer today makes chaNgiNg coNcept: a big deal about a new car model being consumers have different equipped with its own Wi-Fi network, and expectations about cars and you can picture a tech company like Google transportation. patting it on the head and saying, “Aw! Isn’t tomorrow’s issues: that cute!” Companies like Google and Apple consider cutting-edge techsee traditional car makers as stagnant and nologies, business models, increasingly out of touch. Even worse, many fuels and telematics. of their customers – particularly young people – feel the same way.

2. Tech companies understand the rapidly changing consumer concept of what cars and transportation should be today.

The automotive industry’s concept of developing, marketing and selling cars was

WANT MORE EQUIPMENT NEWS? Scan the barcode to sign up for the CCJ Equipment Weekly e-mail newsletter or go to www.goo.gl/Ph9JK.

solidified in the 1950s and hasn’t changed much. But the reality of a family of four with a stay-at-home mom and two cars in the garage really hasn’t existed in this country for a couple of decades, yet that’s the scene in virtually every car commercial on TV today.

Tech companies understand that young people today have different concepts of what transportation should be and how it should work. In that world, even the notion of car ownership is questionable. Maybe you just rent a car. Maybe you and a group of people own a car collectively and schedule its use via the Internet. Maybe that car is electric and runs off power collected from a solar grid.

There are a lot of “maybes” there, and who knows if they’ll come to pass. If they do, it will be because companies like Apple, Google and Tesla are trying to figure out how to make those ideas come alive, and those lines of thinking are anathema to the big car manufacturers.

3. Finally, there’s the technology aspect.

This is where the massive eventual impact on trucking comes into play. Tech companies understand better than anybody else the world-altering potential for the systems they’re developing. They look at our existing transportation technology and the ways we move both people and products and see a landscape as antiquated as the one CCJ’s first editors gazed upon more than 100 years ago when they saw a horse-drawn wagon plodding down a city street.

These companies understand that transportation is vital to our future economic and technological growth, as well as the continued increase in our collective standard of living. They not only want into the transportation industry but also want to change it radically because they believe they can make a lot of money transforming and serving an industry they see as woefully out of date.

As Internet sales continue to explode, how much longer do you think customers are going to put up with missing a package because they weren’t home to sign for delivery? How long will it be before a fully transparent real-time automated delivery system brings your package to you, whether you’re at work, home or on vacation?

If you think you’re under pressure now to deliver vehicle uptime, fleet efficiency, fuel efficiency and green operations, just wait; the issues fleets are dealing with today are just the beginning.

Add innovative technologies, new business models, alternative fuels and real-time telematics into the mix.

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www.gabriel.com JACK ROBERTS is Executive Editor of Commercial Carrier Journal. E-mail jroberts@ccjmagazine.com or call (205) 248-1358.

COMMERCIAL CARRIER JOURNAL | APRIL 2015

25

Mercedes unveils Metris commercial van

M

ercedes-Benz Vans debuted its Metris midsize commercial van at last month’s Work Truck Show in Indianapolis. Metris will arrive at U.S. dealers in October and is the U.S. and Canadian sibling to Mercedes’ Vito, which will remain the midsize commercial van for all other global markets.

Mathias Geisen, general manager of product management and marketing for Mercedes-Benz Vans USA, said Metris fills a niche in the commercial van segment. “Metris is larger than small commercial vans but smaller than a large van, and has the capability of a larger van,” he said.

Geisen said the company expects an even split of passenger and cargo van sales in the years ahead, and expects urban delivery services to embrace the van’s cargo capacity and compact size.

“We’ve seen an increase in urban delivery services, which require maximum cargo and payload space but also have to be parkable,” he said. Metris easily can fit into a parking garage, meeting the needs of those who work out of their homes, Giesen said.

Metris will be available with a 4-cylinder 208-horse-

The Mercedes Metris will be available with a 4-cylinder 208-hp gasoline engine with 258 lb.-ft. of torque and mated to a 7-speed rearwheel-drive automatic transmission.

power gasoline engine with 258 lb.-ft. of torque and mated to a 7-speed rear-wheel-drive automatic transmission. The powertrain application with optional ECO start/stop was developed specifically for the U.S. and Canadian markets.

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commercial carrier journal | april 2015

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International DuraStar, WorkStar get electronic upgrades

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t last month’s Work Truck Show in Indianapolis, is all that is required, and the vehicle will manage starting International Trucks unveiled its new Body Builder the engine automatically. The starter motor is disabled the body control modules for its vocational truck line that moment the engine starts, which prevents overcranking work in conjunction with the company’s Diamond Logic and overheating to extend starter life. electronic platform.

Programmable Real-Time Starting: International Carl Webb, vice president trucks can be programmed of International’s mediumto start prior to the driver’s duty vehicle business, said the arrival at a specific time each system adds more powerful day, ensuring the vehicle is and flexible electronics to warmed up and ready for the medium-duty line with operation. Drivers can save an emphasis on streamlining time and effort, and fleets can body builder installation and increase productivity. electric demands.

Auto Start-Stop: This The new design will be in feature not only reduces idle production in November and time and saves fuel but also deliver six times the current allows vocational customers processing speed for truck to recharge batteries autoThe Body Builder body control modules are designed to add and body electronics, add matically or heat the cab for more powerful and flexible electronics to International’s 16 more input and output medium-duty line. drivers without running the slots for equipment manufacengine continuously. turers and provide three additional data links to expand International also announced that its DuraStar vocatruck capabilities. As a result, new Diamond Logic features tional models now are available with a new beverage spec will be available to increase uptime: and a Cummins ISB 6.7 engine option.

Intelligent Start: Single-ignition activation on the key – Jason Cannon

Utilimaster debuts Velocity walk-in van for Ford chassis

A

t last month’s Work Truck Show in Indianapolis, Utilimaster Corp. unveiled its new fuel-efficient Velocity van designed for walk-in capability on a Euro chassis. Velocity is built on a Ford Transit cutaway chassis and is designed to allow full stand-up height and cargo capacities of 574, 679 and 784 cubic feet. It is scheduled for full production in the third quarter.

John Forbes, company president, said Velocity was born from a need for a van with a large entry door for ease of entry and exit on multistop routes, improved fuel efficiency and flexibility of configuring the cargo space for various applications.

28

commercial carrier journal | april 2015

The design offers rear swing or roll-up doors for dock loading, a curbside sliding door, low entry and egress steps and optimized ergonomics for deliveries and service routes. “The ability to enter and exit curbside will save fleets 30 to 40 percent in productivity per day,” Forbes said.

A Ford 3.7-liter V6 gasoline engine with 274 horsepower and 260 lb.-ft. of torque is standard. The engine can run on E85 or be equipped with a Gaseous Engine Prep package for compressed natural gas or liquefied petroleum gas. Also available is Ford’s 3.2-liter I-5 diesel engine with 185 hp and 350 lb.-ft. of torque.

– Jason Cannon Utilimaster’s Velocity van is built on a Ford Transit cutaway chassis and is designed to allow full stand-up height and cargo capacities of 574, 679 and 784 cubic feet.

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InBrief • South Korea-based Hyundai Motor Co. announced it is investing $1.8 billion in the next five years into commercial vehicle development, which could include bringing a heavy-duty truck to the U.S. market.

The company said it wants to introduce “premium models in North America and Europe.”

• Kenworth Truck Co. is offering a $1,000 rebate on qualifying purchases of new sleeper trucks to Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association members during 2015. Eligible trucks include the T660, T800, T880, W900 and the aerodynamic T680 with a 52-inch or larger factory-installed sleeper.

Also eligible are T660, T800 or W900 gliders with a 72-inch or 86-inch factory-installed sleeper.

• Peterbilt Motors Co.’s Model 567 vocational truck now is available for order with all-wheel drive, with production beginning this month. The option is available in the truck’s set-back front axle configuration and includes the Marmon-Herrington MT-22H front drive axle rated at 22,000 pounds and the Dana Spicer DS4636 drive axle rated at 46,000 pounds.

• Peterbilt Motors Co. announced a quick assessment service program being introduced throughout the company’s North American truck dealer network of more than 300 locations. The Rapid Check program is designed to provide customers with diagnostics and an estimate of needed repairs in two hours or less.

• Mack Trucks customers can nominate their trucks to be featured in the company’s 2016 calendar by submitting a photo through Mack’s Facebook page, where followers will vote to determine six winners. Nominated trucks can be any Mack model from any year and must be in current commercial operation. The contest will run until May 31.

• Goodyear debuted its Smart Tech app designed to add efficiency to its roadside service programs and to provide the driver, fleet and dealer personnel immediate access to all phases of a service call’s progress from start to finish. The app is free to customers of the company’s Fleet HQ program, which serves large fleets, and Smart Fleet, which serves small fleets and owner-operators.

• Michelin introduced Michelin Tire Care, a fully digital nationwide tire monitoring program designed to allow customers to use data to better understand their tire performance and control costs. The company said the program is overseen by Michelin

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commercial carrier journal | april 2015

Eaton, Cummins pushing for added powertrain integration

E

aton and Cummins announced they will build on their joint SmartAdvantage powertrain partnership by initiating more levels of planning and integration. Ryan Trzybinski, Eaton prodEaton said more than 200 uct planning manager, said more than 200 fleet fleet customers nationwide customers nationwide now are spec’ing ISX15 now are spec’ing ISX15 SmartAdvantage drivetrains.

SmartAdvantage drivetrains and realizing significant fuel savings as a result.

Mike Taylor, Cummins global powertrain manager, said the two companies will be refining existing products continually while introducing new ones.

Cummins and Eaton now are putting the final touches on the ISX12 SmartAdvantage for regional-haul applications. The companies said the technical work on the drivetrain is complete and that they are waiting on truck OEMs to finalize spec’ing requirements.

Eaton and Cummins also plan a July launch for a medium-duty integrated drivetrain based on the Cummins ISB6.7 diesel engine and the Eaton Procision dual clutch automated manual transmission.

The powertrain family is rounded out by the ISX12 G SmartAdvantage, which Taylor said presently is the only fuel economy-optimized powertrain designed specifically for natural gas applications.

– Jack Roberts

Dana highlights downspeed enhancements

D

ana said that because the efficiency and fuel economy gains achieved using engine downspeeding are so attractive, the trucking industry will continue to gravitate toward lower engine speeds. “We think the trend will be downward heading toward a new target of 900 Dana is developing a new generation of highly specialrpm at highway speeds,” said Steve Slesinski, ized driveline components director of global planning for commercial and products engineered to vehicle driveline technologies. boost down-sped engine and When engine operating parameters such as vehicle performance. downspeeding change, so do the driveline components. Slesinski said that’s why Dana is developing a new generation of highly specialized driveline components and products engineered to boost down-sped engine and vehicle performance.

Dana has developed a training module to educate fleets on the benefits of engine downspeeding. The computer-based course instructs users on the principles, benefits and challenges associated with engine downspeeding while serving as a source for drivetrain system knowledge associated with lower-rpm diesel engines.

Dana also has introduced an axle lubricant that Slesinski said is formulated specially for fuel economy improvements in lower-rpm engines. The XFE 75W90 axle lubricant is a synthetic gear oil with a 500,000-mile change interval. Slesinski said the new lubricant offers reduced friction and spin loss, lower stabilization temperature and more viscosity during operation.

– Jack Roberts

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InBrief Commercial Service Network technicians and is audited regularly to ensure consistent high-quality work.

• Roadmaster said it is expanding its national fleet accounts business outreach and soon will announce a comprehensive program that includes 24/7 roadside repair support.

• Ryder System launched an online natural gas vehicle maintenance training program across its entire North American network of 800 maintenance facilities to provide the company’s 6,000-plus technician workforce with knowledge of all natural gas vehicle platforms and configurations.

• Noregon Systems released its updated JPRO Commercial Vehicle Diagnostics 2015 v1 software that includes expanded coverage of model years and diagnostic data for Freightliner Cascadia body and chassis controllers, Detroit and Cummins engines and Ford, GM and Sprinter vehicles, and well as a Vehicle History demo mode designed to enable users to explore the software’s features without accessing vehicles.

• Ford Motor Co. and Telogis introduced the next generation of Ford’s factory-fit commercial telematics platform, Ford Telematics powered by Telogis. The new brand offering will replace Ford’s existing Ford Crew Chief platform.

• Mitchell 1 released TruckSeries, the latest upgrade of its online labor-estimating and diagnostic trouble code procedures and repair application for all makes of medium- and heavy-duty trucks. TruckSeries combines data from Tractor-Trailer.net, Medium-Truck.net, Repair-Connect.net and TruckLabor and allows customers to activate the individual software products separately or as a bundled package.

• Minimizer – a manufacturer and vendor of poly truck fenders, toolboxes, custom floor mats, mudflaps, truck maintenance products and other truck accessories – was named a winner in the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s annual Blue Ribbon Small Business Awards, a program that recognizes companies for success, innovations and contributions to economic growth and free enterprise.

• Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems honored its engineers for their contributions to the company’s development and manufacture of leading-edge active safety and braking system technologies. In celebration of Engineers Week 2015, the company recognized 46 engineers who contributed – individually or in groups – to 27 worldwide patents granted to Bendix last year. Honorees included three first-time recipients.

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commercial carrier journal | april 2015

Meritor previews tractor-specific TPMS

M

eritor previewed a new technology it said will give fleets greater peace of mind and contribute significant tire cost savings to their bottom lines: A tractor-optimized tire pressure monitoring system. The system is largely an inhouse project for Meritor, with Tire Pressure International contributing technical expertise.

Joe ElBehairy, Meritor vice president of engineering and quality control, said that while TPMS systems for trailers now are commonplace, creating a system for tractors presents a variety of challenges, such as developing robust seals that Meritor said its tractor-optimized tire pressure monitoring system now is undergoing can retain integrity in a dynamic rigorous testing in North America and is environment and routing air lines slated for launch late next year or early 2017. through drive and steer axles.

ElBehairy said the system now is undergoing rigorous testing in North America, and while it is not slated for launch until late next year or early 2017, it eventually can help provide an annual savings of up to $3,453 per truck in combined fuel, tire, maintenance and service costs.

– Jack Roberts

Volvo facilities recognized for energy performance

T

hree Volvo Group North America sites occupy the top three positions in the U.S. Department of Energy Superior Energy Performance program, The New River Valley assembly plant recording the highest energy performance in Dublin, Va., where all Volvo Trucks improvements among Platinum partners. for North America are assembled, achieved nearly a 26 percent imThe Macungie Cab and Vehicle Asprovement in energy performance sembly facility in Macungie, Pa., where over three years. all Mack Trucks for North America and export are assembled, achieved nearly a 42 percent improvement during a 10-year timeframe. The New River Valley assembly plant in Dublin, Va., where all Volvo Trucks for North America are assembled, achieved nearly a 26 percent improvement over three years. The powertrain facility in Hagerstown, Pa., is responsible for powertrain development for Volvo Trucks, Mack Trucks and Prevost and improved by nearly 21 percent during a three-year period.

To qualify as a Platinum-certified partner, a facility must improve energy performance by more than 15 percent during a three-year period. SEP, an energy management program administered by DOE, extends beyond the global energy management standard by adding a verification component.

“Environmental care is one of the Volvo Group’s core values, so we are very pleased that our commitment resulted in our three largest U.S. manufacturing facilities achieving the top three positions in the highest category of the SEP program,” said Rick Robinson, director of health, safety and environment for Volvo Group North America.

– Jack Roberts

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in focus: Inverters

More power?

No problem Inverters provide in-cab electrical loads

By Dean SmallwooD

I

nverter sales continue to rise as more fleets choose to allow drivers to provide in-cab electrical loads for AC-powered TVs, microwaves and laptops without running the engine. Not only is it convenient to use a device that converts a battery’s 12-volt DC power to AC household power, but it’s increasingly necessary as more communities adopt strict no-idle regulations.

Using inverter power and 110-volt AC appliances also is more efficient, says Mary Wauls, digital marketing project specialist for DAS Companies. Cooking and heating are much faster than with 12-volt appliances, Wauls says.

Other benefits of inverters include fuel cost savings and reduced engine wear and tear, says Steve Carlson, OEM sales manager for Xantrex. An inverter also can reduce hours of use for a diesel-fired auxiliary power unit without shore power compatibility, reducing maintenance costs and increasing APU life, Carlson says.

DAS PowerDrive inverters are available in eight models offering up to three grounded AC outlets and range from 100 to 2,000 watts.

The PowerDrive 300 offers 300 watts of continuous AC power output and 600 watts of available surge power.

Installing an inverter also will enhance a truck’s resale value, he says.

Most driver comfort features work well with inverters feeding power to them in typical truck configurations. Proper power consumption management lowers the risk to the truck’s batteries, starter and alternator, says Oliver Lafarge, sales director for inverter provider Tundra International.

Going shopping Inverter sizes range from 300-watt cigarette lighter plug-in devices for occasional users to 5,000-watt units for RVs. Other options for select units include remote control, a USB power port and a graphic display that shows the batteries’ state, power consumption and alarm codes.

Carlson says fleets should look for an inverter that’s compliant with UL (Underwriters Laboratories) standard 458. Such products have high safety standards and are designed to withstand the rigors of demanding in-vehicle applications, he says. Many power products in the aftermarket don’t carry the UL listing.

The Bergstrom Tundra inverter and shore power kit Most inverters sold in travel for Nite no-idle systems allows drivers to connect to centers are modified sine wave grid electricity. The kit includes an extension cord inverters, Wauls says. They proand a switching box that automatically detects 110volt AC power. duce a rough approximation of 34

commercial carrier journal

| april 2015

the smooth AC waveform of a more expensive pure sine wave inverter. Different inverters also provide a variety of power outputs, so the unit should be designed to safely handle all the conveniences used most often, she says.

To determine adequate power output, add the rated wattage of the in-cab appliances to find the continuous power needed, and add 20 percent more to account for variances. Then round up to the next-highest wattage provided by an inverter. A microwave rated at 1,000 watts, a TV at 250 watts and a laptop at 95 watts would need about 1,600 watts after 20 percent is added; an 1,800-watt inverter would handle the load safely.

Another consideration is surge power – the initial load when a device is powered up, which sometimes is double the continuous power requirement. The inverter’s surge rating should be about double its continuous power rating, so a 1,800-watt inverter would need to handle a short 3,600-watt surge.

The unit’s output efficiency and adequate battery protection also are critical factors. Some 2,000-watt inverters provide more usable watts than some featuring 2,500 watts, Lafarge says. A severe battery discharge likely will result in added maintenance and downtime.

Choosing the correct appliances also is important, Wauls says. Some electric

technology Making the latest technology developMents work for your fleet

by AAron HUff

The Uber of trucking Keychain Logistics connects shippers, carriers instantly

O

n paper, it doesn’t make sense. How can a six-yearold company be worth $41 billion? By creating a new economy, that’s how.

Ride-sharing service Uber offers a simple smartphone app that connects people looking for a ride with driver contractors at a moment’s notice. It dynamically calculates the rate for any point-to-point pickup-and-delivery service, tip included, and offers significant savings from the heavily regulated taxicab industry. Uber’s contractors work wherever and whenever they want, and the company has virtually no overhead.

While freight transportation is more complex than moving people across town, the Uber model nonetheless is intriguing to the trucking industry. Online load boards long have been used

Keychain’s software uses an advanced algorithm that calculates instant shipping rates between any two Zip codes.

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to facilitate transactions between shippers, Creating a new eConomy: brokers and carriers, but the actual dirty Uber, a six-year-old company, is work – rate negotiations – takes place worth $41 billion. offline, which adds time and cost.

Complexities aside: The Keychain Logistics was founded in 2012 business model is intriguing to with the hopes of creating a single connecthe trucking industry. tion point between carriers and shippers. To a single ConneCtion: do this, Keychain’s founder, Bryan Beshore, Keychain Logistics unites carriers knew it needed to be more than a technolwith shippers. ogy company; it also needed a brokerage license and cargo insurance.

“From the beginning, we knew we wanted to be a digital online marketplace broker,” said Ryan Kulp, director of growth and marketing for the San Francisco-based company.

Keychain also needed a reliable supply of truck capacity to offer shippers. The company accomplished this quickly by creating an app that fleet managers and owneroperators can use to search for loads and post equipment to various third-party load boards.

The app gives visibility to between 40,000 and 200,000 loads daily. After a year of building a community of truckers, Keychain designed a pricing algorithm to give shippers and carriers an instant rate for shipping anywhere in the country; all that is needed is a ZIP code combination.

Keychain’s algorithm factors 78 different variables such as diesel prices, routes, traffic and regional capacity. The company recently tweaked its pricing tool to allow shippers to input a maximum rate. The 10,000 drivers and fleet managers using the app do

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Fleet managers and owner-operators using keychain’s app can submit offers and book loads instantly.

not see the amount, but if they submit an offer that is within range, the software can book the load for the carrier automatically.

Keychain has staff that completes background and insurance checks on carriers to complete the registration process to transport loads through its own brokerage operation. Once the credentials are verified, the user gains full access to loads that appear within a separate tab in the app.

With its technology and low overhead, Keychain is able to keep its margin between 6 and 12 percent of the shipment, which Kulp said is lower than other brokers.

Truckers can book loads from Keychain instantly and receive a direct deposit within about 24 hours after delivery. The app has tools to provide shippers with automatic tracking information and for carriers to submit images of delivery documents for payment.

To handle the complexities and uniqueness of loads, Keychain has instant messaging tools and notes that allow the shipper to enter their load requirements in seconds and make a decision on whether or not to give the company a shot at moving their freight, Kulp said.

AAron Huff is Senior Editor of Commercial Carrier Journal. E-mail ahuff@ccjmagazine.com or call (801) 754-4296. commercial carrier journal

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technology

PeopleNet upgrades Web interface with ALK Maps

P

eopleNet, a provider of fleet mobility platforms, announced an upgrade to the underlying mapping technology of its Web-based user interface. The company has replaced its use of Google Maps with the ALK Maps interactive mapping platform.

The companies said that with the new interface, fleet managers will gain access to mapping features designed

by ALK specifically for the transportation industry, along with weather radar and traffic-level overlays, helping users to better visualize routes to enhance route planning and scheduling, the companies said.

The new mapping technology gives PeopleNet an innovation platform to provide better tools to help fleets be more efficient and safe, said Mark Kessler, general manager of PeopleNet’s Trucking division.

“By harnessing ALK’s advanced mapping technology, we will now have the ability to influence future features and services based on the requirements of individual customer fleets,” said Tom Dorazio, director of product management for PeopleNet. The new map interface also gives PeopleNet users new automated workflow tools designed to deliver dispatch-

specific information on each vehicle pertinent for approaches, arrivals and departures. Information displayed on the map or integrated with office workflow can include estimated time of arrival, actual arrival time, estimated time of departure, fuel levels, odometer tracking, distance from actual stop, and date and time of last check call.

PeopleNet and ALK, both owned by Trimble, made the announcement during the annual Truckload Carriers Association convention held last month in Kissimmee, Fla. – Aaron Huff

ALK’s map interface gives PeopleNet users new automated workflow tools designed to deliver dispatch-specific information on each vehicle.

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technology

InBrief

BlueTree converts in-cab technology to Android

• Pegasus TransTech’s Transflo Express truck stop scanning network now includes more than 251 TA and Petro Stopping Centers following the company’s acquisition of TripPak Services. Both TripPak Express drop boxes and Transflo Express truck stop scanning services remain available to drivers through a seamless network across the United States and Canada, the company said.

B

lueTree Systems showcased its new Android platform during the Truckload Carriers Association’s annual conference last month in Kissimmee, Fla. The company has developed a new electronic logging device-style recording product, the BT500, and has rewritten its software applications to run on smartphones and tablets with the Android operating system.

The compact BT500 connects with a tractor’s CAN Bus to capture, monitor and transmit data to BlueTree’s online servers through an embedded GSM cellular modem. In the cab, the BT500 connects with Android devices through short-range Bluetooth and Wi-Fi protocols.

Fleets can configure the BT500 to be a secure wireless hotspot, allowing drivers to connect to the Web, said Chip Powell, director of U.S. operations for BlueTree.

BlueTree has developed a new ELD-style recording As part of the rollout, BlueTree partdevice, the BT500, and rewritten its software applications to run on Android smartphones and tablets. nered with Garmin to offer its fleet 670 device to run BlueTree applications that include messaging, electronic hours-of-service with HOS Advisor, and driver performance.

The Garmin fleet 670, an Android tablet with a 6-inch screen, comes with truck navigation and lifetime map updates. It has a built-in camera to capture images of delivery documents and cargo claims.

It also comes with near-field communications that fleets can use as part of the vehicle inspection process to ensure that drivers physically walked around the vehicle. An inspection app on the device can detect signals from tags attached to different areas on the vehicle and trailer.

BlueTree also is in the final stages of developing an app that can be downloaded to any device from the Google Play store. With this app, drivers could receive dispatch messages outside the cab, Powell said.

BlueTree also offers a temperature monitoring app that can alert drivers to exceptions captured by its R:Com reefer monitoring system.

As a future option, the BT500 will support streaming video from up to four wireless cameras placed around the vehicle, Powell said.

BlueTree, based in Ireland, established its initial telematics footprint in Europe, where high fuel prices and stringent regulations for temperature-controlled freight have been the primary drivers of product development, Powell said.

For the U.S. market, BlueTree is leveraging its expertise in analyzing engine data to develop a more detailed view of driver behaviors and performance. “We are not just going to measure on harsh brake, mpg and rpms,” Powell said. “We are going to measure on how they are actually driving the truck.”

As part of this effort, BlueTree will build a scoring program that gives drivers continuous feedback for fuel efficiency, safety and other performance areas. The cumulative score can be used by fleets to reinforce positive behaviors through incentives and rewards.

– Aaron Huff

• QuikQ, provider of a cardless direct fuel connection between truck stop pointof-sale and motor carrier enterprise systems, received a U.S. patent for its method and system for managing and monitoring fuel transactions.

The QuikQ Fuel Purchasing System provides the fleet, truck stop and driver access to live data for real-time reporting with improved security and control over fuel transactions.

• I.D. Systems, a provider of wireless machine-to-machine asset management systems, received a U.S. patent for its advanced cargo sensing system for dry van trailers and intermodal containers.

Integrating a battery-powered light-based sensor with an ultrasonic cargo detector, the system is designed to improve cargo sensing accuracy, maximize device battery life and provide loaded/unloaded data without an external door sensor.

• Drivewyze announced that eligible commercial carriers now can use its PreClear bypass service at 22 agricultural inspection stations in Florida following its agreement with the state’s Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Office of Agricultural Law Enforcement.

• Help Inc., a nonprofit publicprivate partnership serving the commercial vehicle safety Continued on page 44

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technology

InBrief

Roadnet, XRS, release new products, features

sector, announced that more than a half-million trucks from nearly 41,000 fleets now are enrolled in PrePass and qualified to bypass 310 weigh stations and ports of entry in 31 states.

O

mnitracs and subsidiary Roadnet Technologies, a company specializing in transportation logistics software, made three product-related announcements: Roadnet Telematics Insight is a business intelligence tool designed to present information for planning, dispatching, asset and vehicle tracking, proof of delivery and telematics. The application uses advanced graphing – including a timeline and map tree – to view historical performance trends.

Insight’s cloud-based technology is compatible with the on-premise and Software-as-aService solutions that integrate with Roadnet’s suite of products. Roadnet supports and maintains the operations data, data warehouse and user interface of Insight, which alleviates the need for transportation companies to piece together a business intelligence solution of their own, the company said.

“For customers, Insight reduces the burden of sifting through and interpreting complex data by filling in the missing link between analytics and operational applications and presenting data in a manner that is easier to consume,” said Kevin Haugh, Roadnet vice president and general manager.

Insight can be used across computers, tablets and smartphones and is available for Roadnet Transportation Suite customers and

• Fleetmatics Group, which provides cloud-based mobile workforce software for service-based businesses, enhanced its Fleetmatics Work mobile field service management application with a new feature designed to accelerate time to cash by embedding an online payment link directly into an automatically generated email invoice. The online payment is powered

by Stripe.

• Comdata, a provider of electronic payment systems, announced an agreement with QuikTrip Corp. to join the Comdata Fuel Consortium network of more than 30,000 retail fuel locations that provide an automatic price-pergallon discount to Comdata MasterCard Corporate Fleet Card customers. QuikTrip, based in Tulsa, Okla., has more than 700 stores in 11 states.

• Aljex Software and FourKites announced a partnership to provide freight brokers and shippers realtime access to truck locations and status. Carrier tracking from FourKites now is integrated into Aljex’s hosted transportation management software, providing users access to real-time truck locations and ETAs without leaving the Aljex system.

Janam packages mini-tablet with T-Mobile plan

• U.S. Xpress (CCJ Top 250, No. 12) is deploying the SkyBitz as a Service subscriptionbased trailer-tracking technology across its fleet. The Chattanooga, Tenn.-based truckload carrier is activating Skybitz’s cellular tracking platform and cargo sensors on all new dry van trailers and existing trailers for accurate Continued on page 46

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anam Technologies, a provider of rugged mobile computers that scan barcodes and communicate wirelessly, formed a partnership with T-Mobile distributor One Shop Wireless to provide Janam customers access to the Simply Connected promotion for T-Mobile’s |

april 2015

The Roadnet Telematics Insight application uses advanced graphing – including a timeline and map tree – to view historical trends and long-running performance.

Roadnet Anywhere subscribers.

Roadnet Telematics has been updated to expand its integration with Roadnet’s routing, dispatching, proof-of-delivery and Insight analytics solutions. By integrating telematics more closely into the broader platform, customers are able to achieve new levels of visibility and assess and make adjustments to their fleets more dynamically.

Roadnet Anywhere Tracking is a Webbased workforce tracking application that offers “always-on” visibility into drivers’ workdays and real-time location through GPS positioning. It requires no additional hardware and can be installed across a broad range of smartphones and tablets to monitor for speeding, extra miles or unplanned stops.

Also, Omnitracs subsidiary XRS Corp., announced an integration with SpeedGauge, a driver safety data provider. The XRS mobile fleet management platform integrates GPS points with the SpeedGauge Safety Center for visibility into driving speeds. – Aaron Huff

DataStrong network.

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– Aaron Huff

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technology

InBrief

Convoy develops TrailerCam monitor

C

and timely data for yard checks, detention billing and trailer turn times, as well as seamless integration with PSI’s trailer tire pressure monitoring system.

onvoy Technologies released its ity to be paired with other devices for fleet TrailerCam wireless video monitormanagement. ing system comprised of both a ruggedized TrailerCam is designed with high-perforportable wireless magnetic-mount camera/ mance color optics capable of transmitting transmitter and a 7-inch LCD color monitor/ high-quality video images to the monitor receiver. The system is designed to reduce in the vehicle’s cab for a minimum of 90 accidents during backing situations, such as feet with zero latency or interference. It also when a large truck, trailer features infrared LEDs to or tractor is required to permit night vision up to back up to a loading dock 36 feet; audio capabilities or down a narrow street. are available.

The system uses comWhile the TrailerCam mercial-grade magnets can integrate with most and a rechargeable in-cab monitors, a pluglithium-ion battery built and-play 7-inch LCD color into a rugged housing monitor with a built-in Convoy Technologies’ TrailerCam sys- integrated digital receiver to help withstand harsh environments and weather tem is comprised of both a ruggedized also is available for vehicles portable wireless magnetic-mount conditions. without an in-cab display. camera/transmitter and a 7-inch LCD color monitor/receiver.

The camera’s magnets “In talking with truckare on both the bottom ing safety executives, they and back side, allowing it to be attached or emphasized the need for a noninvasive plugreattached quickly on the back and sides of and-play wireless solution to reduce injuries, the vehicle, in addition to the beam, roof and deaths and workers’ compensation claims any ferrous surface. The portable system’s that occur around loading docks,” said Blake engineering facilitates its reinstallation on Gasca, chief executive officer of Convoy. another truck, trailer or tractor and its abil– Aaron Huff

• Knight Transportation (CCJ Top 250, No. 26) of Phoenix selected Zonar’s 2020 Mobile Tablet equipped with EVIR, a visual inspection system that uses RFID tags placed in zones around the vehicle to verify that drivers performed an inspection. EVIR also is designed to simplify the pre- and post-trip vehicle inspection process by making it easier for drivers to fill out reports.

• Interstate Distributor (CCJ Top 250, No. 72) of Tacoma, Wash., is using Omnitracs’ Mobile Computing Platforms – both MCP50 and MCP110 – across its 1,500-truck fleet to support its safety and compliance goals and ensure regulatory compliance and productivity.

• Pride Transport Inc. (CCJ Top 250, No. 225), a Salt Lake City-based refrigerated and flatbed carrier, implemented Omnitracs Analytics’ Driver Retention Model across its 400-truck fleet to reduce turnover and enhance driver safety.

Pro-Tread milestone: 7 million and counting

I

nstructional Technologies Inc. announced safety top of mind for our employees.” that more than 7 million Pro-Tread lessons ITI said it took 311 days to go from 6 milhave been completed. James Ekins, a driver for lion Pro-Tread lessons watched to 7 million Ryder System, unknowingly completed the – an average of 3,215 lessons a day and just seven-millionth lesson in shy of 100,000 lessons per January – “Avoiding Fixed month.

Objects.”

“Everything we do “Drivers and warehouse revolves around making employees at Ryder comit easier for drivers to get plete approximately 200,000 great training,” said Dr. Jim Instructional Technologies Inc. said it hours of safety training Voorhees, ITI president and took 311 days to go from 6 million Procollectively using Pro-Tread Tread lessons watched to 7 million – an chief executive officer. average of 3,215 lessons a day. each year,” said Sanford Lessons are split into short Hodes, Ryder’s senior vice sections, and drivers never president for safety, health and security. lose their place, Voorhees said. “We offer more “Instructional Technologies is an invaluable than 100 lessons on a wide variety of topics, so business partner, providing training solutions the training is always relevant,” he said. that are fresh, interactive and designed to keep – Aaron Huff

• Craig Transportation Co. of Perrysburg, Ohio, selected Rand McNally’s TND 760 mobile fleet management devices for more timely and accurate processing of information, increased driver retention and better customer service. Craig operates regional over-the-road dry van equipment as well as shuttling and spotting services.

• American Central Transport, a Liberty, Mo.-based dry van truckload company, is deploying Lytx’s DriveCam program that combines video, predictive analytics and real-time driver feedback and coaching.

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technology

in focus: Routing softwaRe

Tying it all together Fleets, tech companies look to capitalize on integrated routing by aaron huff

D

uring the first week of March, icy rain and snow blanketed the Southeast and caused Southeastern Food Merchandisers – a distributor of food-service products – to postpone deliveries in some areas. But its restaurant customers in Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee and northern Florida couldn’t afford to wait too long, as new orders kept arriving.

However, by using routing software from Paragon Systems, Southeastern Food was able to reroute deliveries and keep the restaurants supplied. The software took into account historical order volumes and showed managers in advance how the week would pan out.

Southeastern Food Merchandisers of Pelham, Ala., uses Paragon Systems’ routing software to plan routes for 20 trucks and periodically uses it to redesign routes across its network.

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Jason Chestnut, director of operations for the Pelham, Ala.-based company, says he also modeled various what-if scenarios, such as what would happen if drivers would need to reset their hours should deliveries be pushed out to Sunday.

“I couldn’t imagine doing it without Paragon,” Chestnut says.

Fleets such as Southeastern Food have to schedule multiple pickups and deliveries per truck each day. Routing software helps keep costs down and maximizes service by determining the most efficient answers to complex decisions.

In the past few years, routing software has become a hot commodity, as a growing number of technology companies are looking to expand their reach in the transportation industry.

Three-way integration Southeastern Food has been using Paragon Systems’ routing software for about six years. Transportation managers use it daily to plan routes for 20 trucks and periodically use it to redesign routes across the company’s network. About two-thirds of its routes recently were overhauled, resulting in a cost savings of 15 percent from reduced fuel, mileage and labor, Chestnut says.

The software also helps to test various “what-if ” scenarios, such as what would happen if the company were to use more straight trucks instead of semi-trailers. Using smaller trucks and multiple shifts proved to be a better

solution, Chestnut says. “We absolutely learned that by having Paragon,” he says.

Southeastern Food has developed its own transportation management software system and uses a mobile communications system from a separate vendor. Its TMS sends a batch of daily order files with delivery details to the Paragon system.

Once the routes are optimized through Paragon, Southeastern Food’s transportation managers review them and save them for that day. The route data is sent automatically to the company’s mobile computing system for drivers to execute in the optimized sequence.

Southeastern Food also uses Paragon to compare the plan to actual performance by using data captured from its mobile system. Managers also can use Paragon at any time during the day to see how the routes are progressing in real time, Chestnut says.

Built-in routing In some cases, routing takes place directly within a TMS. Carrier Logistics offers the Facts TMS for fleets with multistop operations. Facts comes with a built-in feature, Routronics, designed to reduce mileage by aligning stops in the best order.

The Facts system integrates with mobile apps to provide route instruc-

From left, Lauren Howard, vice president of customer service, Eric Meek, executive vice president and COO, Mike Gabbei, vice president and CIO, and Paul Will, president and CEO, led the transformation of Celadon’s customer service department.

2 0 1 5 I N N OVA T O R O F T H E Y E A R

Customer service leads the way for Indianapolis-based company

I

BY AARON HUFF n many respects, Celadon’s office performs the same functions as all other transportation companies, just on the major carrier’s larger scale. The company’s East Indianapolis campus has the familiar trappings for safety, information systems, human resources and more.

Step inside the large open room that belongs to the customer service department, however, and Celadon

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| APRIL 2015

(CCJ Top 250, No. 39) looks more like a large investment bank than a trucking operation. The sights, sounds and activities that take place here resemble a Wall Street trading floor.

Highly trained college-educated analysts are seated in long rows of desks and using advanced software to make complex splitsecond decisions. Computer monitors span overhead, displaying scorecards and other important metrics.

Occasionally a bell rings, and applause quickly follows. The

Steve Russell founded Celadon in 1985 with $30,000.

Today the East Indianapolis-based company is valued at more than $600 million.

training meetings to learn how to drive better results.

Analysts can advance from junior analysts to senior analysts, and to trainers, assistant managers, managers and directors.

This is not how a customer service department in transportation is supposed to work – at least not by conventional wisdom.

Celadon broke this mold five years ago by developing new software tools and changing job responsibilities to achieve its vision for a new culture of service.

CCJ selected Celadon as its 2015 Innovator of the Year for these efforts and more. The company has improved its performance significantly in key areas such as operating ratio, ontime service, utilization and more. Perhaps just as importantly, Celadon is able to recruit and retain talented young workers for trucking careers.

sound means that someone has received a good scorecard or solicited and won a load from a customer, among other successes, says Lauren Howard, vice president of customer service.

The analysts are not grouped traditionally by geographic region or equipment types such as dry van, refrigerated or flatbed.

Rather, they are organized into specialized teams for freight commodities such as food and beverage, automotive, manufacturing, home goods and retail.

Each team has specialists in customer relationships, freight analysis, service, utilization and more. They frequently engage in team discussions on the floor and participate in weekly

History In 1985, Steve Russell, from Brooklyn, invested $30,000 to found a trucking company after a chance encounter at a toll booth.

As a mathematician, Russell always carried exact change to travel as efficiently as possible. This day was different; he had to stop and wait for change and spotted a former colleague in the next lane. The colleague mentioned an opportunity to transport automotive freight into the United States from Mexico. The rest, as they say, is history.

Russell got the name for his company from a 1973 study by the University of California, Berkeley, which found celadon to be the prettiest-sounding word in all modern languages. It has a universal meaning. “I picked that and then looked it up in the dictionary,” says Russell, the company’s chairman. “It means ancient Chinese porcelain.”

Celadon grew quickly with Chrysler as its main customer, but its profits were lagging. From 1985 to 2001, the company had negative retained earnings.

Paul Will, president and chief executive officer, joined Celadon in 1993 as a controller, the year before Celadon became a publicly COMMERCIAL CARRIER JOURNAL

| APRIL 2015 51

c ov e r s t o ry: 2 0 1 5 I n n ova t o r o f t h e y e a r

Two years ago, Celadon had 300 layovers per day on average. Today it has three.

traded entity. In 2001, Celadon began to diversify its business by purchasing distressed companies, but only because it lacked funds to go after good ones, Will says.

By 2004, the company had revenues of $300 million, but profitability remained haphazard at best.

“I felt at the time that we accidentally made money,” says Eric Meek, who left an accounting firm to join Celadon that year as a financial analyst. Today, Meek is executive vice president and chief operating officer.

Celadon continued to diversify and strengthen its bottom line, but then came the Great Recession. After this experience, executives decided to get into more stable freight markets such as food and beverage and cattle hauling.

“Our whole focus is how do we make sure that we are making profit margins today in a great economy, but more importantly, how do we make sure this company is ready for the future,” Meek says. “I think the next downturn – I don’t want one – but when it happens, we will be in a much better position.”

Today, Celadon operates a variety of business lines that include temperature control, intermodal, flatbed, dry van and dry bulk. It also offers over-the-road, local, regional, dedicated and expedited operations with a coverage area that spans the United States, Mexico and Canada.

Celadon’s market value today is close to $600 million with revenues this year expected to reach $1 billion from 4,000 trucks in service.

“I placed a good bet,” Russell says.

Getting started As the economy started showing signs of life in 2009, Celadon began to lay a foundation for being more selective of customers and freight. Will and Meek saw that trends in freight volumes and capacity constraints – such as driver demographics, regulations and equipment costs – were headed in that direction.

Like many fleets, Celadon had customer service representatives (CSRs) that managed all post-sale communications with customers. Their duties involved booking loads, entering orders, setting appointments and servicing loads from pickup to delivery.

“It was a lot to manage,” says Marie Leapley, who joined Celadon five years ago as a CSR. Back then, the company had 60 CSRs and divided them into two groups of 30. Each group was led by a director of customer service.

“There was no hierarchy and no rhyme or reason,” Meek says.

“We just split it up.”

CSRs were given general guidelines for booking loads 52

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based on capacity commitments.

The freight selection process was memorized and written on Postit notes, Leapley says. This always caused problems when CSRs were absent, as knowledge of their customers went with them.

Keeping the network balanced also was a constant struggle. Every morning, directors passed out responsibilities to CSRs for where to solicit freight.

If the company had 15 extra trucks in the Dallas area, CSRs would get on the phone and find loads to move those trucks out of that market. The profitability of those moves was an afterthought and created another problem: landing excess capacity into markets, again.

Path to improvement About 4½ years ago, Meek changed the hiring standards in Celadon’s customer service operations. Rather than hiring people with experience in truckload, Celadon would hire college graduates with no experience in trucking and train them in the Celadon way.

This young educated workforce came with experience in technology and new ideas on how to apply it.

“With that technology savvy comes the push for (information technology), and that’s the best thing that could ever happen because it’s something that they want and they have knowledge of to push us to go down those paths,” says Mike Gabbei, vice president and chief information officer.

At this same time, Celadon took away the order entry process from CSRs. This removed any emotional bias for deciding what loads to book from customers. This also stirred internal debate, as customers no longer had a single point of contact within Celadon.

“There was a lot of bitterness for making the change,” says Jonathan Doss, who began his career in order entry and now is a director of customer service. “A lot of CSRs did not feel it was necessary to write down information and hand off a piece of paper to someone else.”

During this transition, the IT department created new software applications for order entry to make decisions. “They don’t know the business and are not dealing with the customer,” Gabbei says. “We had to arm them with tools to make educated decisions.”

Celadon started with a load commitment system, followed by a scoring system called Order Entry 2 (OE2) in 2013. The OE2 system has evolved with guidance from front-line users.

From January 2014 to 2015, Celadon credited OE2 for an increase in delivered weekly miles by 10 percent, an increase in

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c ov e r s t o ry: 2 0 1 5 I n n ova t o r o f t h e y e a r

The sights, sounds and activities that take place in Celadon’s customer service department resemble a Wall Street trading floor.

Scoring cuStomerS

rates by 6 percent and a decrease in its operating ratio by about 2 percent. (For an explanation of how OE2 scores each load, see “Scoring customers.”)

Celadon organized the department into commodity sectors in 2012. Howard was hired as a customer service manager to oversee the order entry team.

One issue Howard encountered in her new role was that people were not staying around long enough to become specialized in the commodity sectors. Order entry was considered a low-value job, and turnover was high. The people who excelled at it were either looking for jobs outside of Celadon or moving to more “high-value” departments within the company.

To change this culture, Howard gave everyone a new title.

The order entry team became known as Freight Analysts, and their jobs became a carefully measured and strategic process. Howard then was promoted to director of customer service to manage a new set of teams known then as appointment setters and CSRs. She gave appointment setters a new title – Utilization Analysts – and a new toolset that showed them the value of what they were doing and how it impacted metrics that were important to the company. CSRs also got a new title – Customer Relationship Analysts – along with new visibility and planning tools to gauge the impact they had on fleet profitability.

After these and other changes proved successful, Celadon promoted Howard to vice president of customer service.

Systems approach From 2013 onward, Celadon continued to take big strides in customer service. It created a Customer Experience group to provide red-carpet treatment to new customers and to 54

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Celadon developed its Order Entry 2 (OE2) application internally and released the first version in 2013. The advanced decision support tool gives analysts a detailed systematic approach for accepting or rejecting load offers. The system scores each load on five primary factors, each with its own weight: Customer Scorecard (15% weight): OE2 calculates a monthly score for customers that compares them to their peers in Celadon’s network and evaluates their ease of business collaboration.

This scorecard consists of 12 items that include profitability, fuel surcharge, accounts receivable and EDI capabilities. Each item is weighted differently.

Origin Capacity (30%) and Destination Capacity (15%): These score a load based on Celadon’s capacity in the shipper’s and consignee’s region for that day of the week for the prior four weeks.

Modes of Transit (5%): This rewards points to a load that can be moved on rail or by a third-party carrier through Celadon’s brokerage division.

Operating Ratio (35%): This calculation takes the total breakeven cost of a load divided by the average rate between the order and destination.

OE2 also determines a freight bonus or penalty to each load for various conditions. A load from a customer with a target growth account is given a bonus. A load with a short length of haul would have a penalty.

OE2 presents this information in decision screens to analysts, who can use function keys to drill down to more detail. The system is not being used to automatically accept or reject freight that is received electronically from customers through an EDI load tender, but OE2 has the foundation for that capability, says Mike Gabbei, vice president and chief information officer.

Soon, when OE2 rejects a load for whatever reason, the system will send an automated e-mail or interactive voice response to the customer that provides recommendations for how to get the load accepted. The customer could change the pickup or delivery date or pay an additional fee to deadhead a truck.

This automated response capability already has been given a label: a Celadon Solution. “The idea is to never say no, but to come up with an alternate idea,” says Steve Edmonds, vice president of information systems.

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c ov e r s t o ry: 2 0 1 5 I n n ova t o r o f t h e y e a r existing customers in need of extra attention.

The Customer Experience team bridges the gap between multiple aspects of Celadon’s business. The sales and pricing departments interact with this group to onboard new customers. The group then will transition customer Each customer service team has accounts to CRAs and oth- specialists in customer relationships, er analysts in a commodity freight analysis, service, utilization and more who frequently engage in sector. team discussions on the floor.

In November 2013, Celadon implemented a new software system that gave analysts visibility to all freight in its entire network up to eight days in advance. The software gives recommendations for what customers and loads to solicit in order to move trucks into areas where they are needed to satisfy customer lane commitments.

The tool shows CRAs and other users the operating ratios of loads along with profitability and service metrics to prioritize their calls. Everyone in customer service, no matter their title, is expected to solicit five loads each day and 25 a week, Howard says.

Celadon also created a dedicated team of Freight Analysts called Market Makers whose primary responsibility is to solicit loads three or four days out. With the help of this advance planning group, Celadon has been able to reduce layovers – defined by the number of drivers who have hours to run prior to 8 p.m. but are not assigned loads.

Two years ago, Celadon had 300 layovers per day on average. Today it has three, Howard says. Other results from using the new software, measured from January 2014 to 2015, include: • A 33 percent decrease in broker loads by replacing them with direct customer loads; and • 9.6 million miles and 10,306 loads won through solicitation.

In the next few months, Celadon plans to create income statements for groups at the commodity level, Meek says.

“We’ve always done a great job getting focused on profitability,” he says. “This is one more tool to get them excited.”

Career ladder The innovations in customer service benefit Celadon financially, but they also have given the company an edge in recruiting and retaining a younger generation of workers.

With the logistics industry growing at 22 percent annually, 56

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attracting top talent from within and beyond the supply chain can be a challenge for trucking, which often lacks the sizzle of other careers.

Celadon has not hired an outsider to fill a management position since 2012, when Howard joined. Since then, all managers have grown from within. Celadon trains its future leaders on the floor every day.

Senior-level analysts help mentor and train associates during daily “checkout” meetings. Celadon’s directors of customer service are in charge of multiple groups.

Celadon has formal two-week training for new hires. The company is in the process of creating an on-demand training program called CELAcademy for people in customer service and other departments to sharpen their skills and accelerate advancement opportunities.

From January 2014 to 2015, Celadon has promoted 26 people on its career ladder, retained 75 percent of its interns with full-time or part-time positions and had a 30 percent improvement in staff with more than one year of experience within the department.

“You have to reflect back and be really proud of what has been accomplished,” Will says.

About the AwArd

Commercial Carrier Journal’s editors recognize innovators throughout the year and select one for special recognition as CCJ’s Innovator of the Year. Innovators considered for the current award were those recognized in the magazine in 2014.

Innovation in any aspect of the operation is eligible for recognition. To qualify, the carrier must operate at least 10 power units in Classes 3-8 and maintain a satisfactory safety rating, if rated. Selection of innovators for recognition is at the sole discretion of CCJ’s editors.

This year’s award was announced and presented at the CCJ Innovators Summit, a networking event for current and prioryear innovators held Feb. 4-6 at the Hawks Cay Resort in the Florida Keys. Representatives of innovative trucking operations updated one another on their initiatives.

The CCJ Innovators program is sponsored by Freightliner Trucks, PeopleNet and Shell Lubricants. For more information on the program and links to previously recognized innovators or to fill out the online nomination form, go to www.ccjinnovators.com or contact Jeff Crissey, CCJ editor, at 800-633-5953.

Be part of the revolution Real-world equipment and tech reviews by fleets, for fleets.

CCJ’s Reader Reviews is your new go-to source for trucking products featuring unbiased evaluations by trucking professionals like you. Current reviews include: • 12-13L Engines • Automated Manual Transmissions • Electronic Logging Applications • Class 8 trucks with 48-inch sleepers • Pickups Interested in reading more about these products? Go to ccjreviews.com to read real fleet feedback and add your own comments.

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Go to ccjreviews.com today to join the revolution and check back often for new reviews!

Truck OEMs are focusing on designing dashboards with high-visibility displays to consolidate a variety of information and minimize driver distraction.

Next-generation truck interiors will transform the way drivers work and live on the road – good news for fleets working to keep them

By Jack RoBeRts

I

t’s a cliché to say that truck driving is a difficult job. But while working on the road is hard, living there may be even harder.

Those realities are reflected in the current dearth of drivers coming into the industry. Both fleets and OEMs understand that using new technology to modernize truck interiors is one positive step that can be made to entice new drivers and retain experienced ones.

“Driver recruitment and retention are extremely important for trucking fleets and operators today,” said Kurt Swihart, Kenworth marketing director. “Kenworth made a significant investment to develop the Kenworth T680 and T880, our latest state-of-the-art flagship on-highway and vocational trucks, respectively. During the design process, we welcomed extensive fleet and driver input on what they wanted in Kenworth’s next-generation trucks. Both the T680 and T880 were designed with driver productivity and comfort in mind.”

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The fleet’s quality and condition play a significant role in attracting and retaining drivers, says Anthony Gansle, on-highway product marketing manager for Peterbilt. “Well-maintained premium equipment can help to recruit and keep the best drivers,” Gansle says. “Peterbilt has always made driver comfort and productivity top priorities in cab and sleeper designs. During the development process, we conduct extensive research and benchmarking to optimize ergonomics, storage, lighting, climate control and driver comfort features.”

Back in the day Since the introduction of vehicles, cab interiors and sleeper berths have evolved alongside the passenger car segment. But in the early days, driver comfort either was an afterthought or ignored outright.

By the 1970s, serious design efforts were being made to offer comfortable, stylish cab interiors, and that effort continues today,

EquipmEnt: DRIVER COMFORT safer environments with strategically placed handles, airbags, wider entries and steps for entry and egress.

Aufdemberg says entertainment options also increasingly are important. “We understand that being on the – Mary Aufdemberg, director of product marketing, Freightliner Trucks road can be challenging, so we are providing the luxuries of home in the cab, such as TV options, microwaves, refrigerators, improved mattress options and inverters to plug in with new entertainment technology, computing devices, social hotel-like amenities,” she adds. media, the Internet and anti-idling regulations – along with the Swihart said fleet customers tell Kenworth they’re able to attract aforementioned driver concerns – leading a mini-revolution.

The evolution appears likely to continue: OEMs say the cabs they and retain drivers because of the interior amenities and design features offered in the T680 and T880. “Kenworth will continue are designing today soon will offer drivers unprecedented levels its efforts to enhance the environment in our cabs and sleepers for of connectivity with both their fleet and family, be more energyefficient and allow drivers to work smarter and relax better once the great productivity and comfort,” he said.

Hours-of-service rules aside, OEMs must remember that the workday is through. interior cabin is a driver’s home away from home. “When drivers “Understanding how drivers use the interiors equipped with the need to rest, they want to do so in style and comfort with a minilatest technology and meeting the latest regulations is key to develmum of hassles, including being cool in the summer and warm in oping future driving and living environments,” says Jason Spence, the winter, all while maintaining a self-contained environment,” Volvo Trucks’ long-haul product marketing manager. Spence says says Phil Cary, Mack’ highway segment manager.

Volvo will continue to focus on its core objectives of safety, uptime, Cary says design ingenuity and listening to customers’ needs both fuel efficiency and driver productivity when designing new interiare keys to delivering the most-desired features and their benefits. ors.

Designers and engineers must listen to the customers who often “We continually review our truck interiors in order to meet the needs of all drivers,” he says. Volvo’s ergonomic considerations today suggest the ideas that lead to design improvements, he says. also include female operators when designing things such as the Behind the steering wheel steering wheel adjustment mechanism and the location of truck Truck interior design essentially falls into two categories: the driver’s controls close to the steering wheel for easy reach, Spence says. work environment and everything else. While a quiet comfortable sleeper berth is important, the driver’s seat is where the money is More choices for drivers made.

Mary Aufdemberg, director of product marketing for Freightliner Chris Ito, Navistar’s director of design, says the company curTrucks, says the truck maker’s latest design trends are aimed at rently is focusing on enhancing storage, accessibility to switches and creating more choices for drivers. controls, the feel and accuracy of the switches and material choice “A well-rested driver is ultimately a safer and more productive driver,” Aufdemberg says. “Connectivity is a big opportunity to help for “cleanability.” Another focus is centralizing driver information into high-visibility displays to consolidate a variety of information keep drivers connected personally and professionally. Auxiliary to minimize driver distraction. power unit options that provide a quiet cab and comfortable temperatures will continue to be important, as will new options such as the integration of sleep apnea equipment into the vehicle.”

Freightliner engineers also are targeting other specific areas as they map out next-generation interiors, she says. “We are reviewing designs that create a comfortable driving environment and contribute to the overall health and wellness of the driver. Many of our options such as heated and cooled seats, comfort upgrades, seating suspension systems and more are selected with the driver in mind. Navigation systems Drivers will be able to use more programmable information systems also contribute to the environment.” so they can prioritize the data and alerts they want to see.

Other areas on Freightliner’s list include

A well-rested driver is ultimately a safer and more productive driver.

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EquipmEnt: DRIVER COMFORT information systems.

“This includes In terms of sleeper dimensions, the industry is seeing improvements with better use of limited Aufdemberg says collision avoidspace, rather than just making trucks larger.

Freightliner engiance, cruise control, neers view the truck transmission gear seand powertrain as lection and gauges,” one integrated sysIto says. “Fleets tem and are designconsistently tell us ing ways to provide they want to minithe information mize and manage that drivers need on driver distractions. demand and in real So we have to strike time in an integrated a balance between manner, rather than important informarelying on gauges tion and overkill.” that monitor everyCary says today’s thing individually. drivers already “Real-time inhave infotainment formation feedback systems and driver to the driver is becoming more commonplace, with systems such information centers where they can choose the data they want to as collision mitigation, lane departure, hard braking and real-time see – in other words, what is most important to them. He points traffic and weather conditions, to name a few,” she says. “These to Mack’s Co-Pilot Driver Information Display, which provides systems have varying levels of feedback ranging from simple visual dozens of easy-to-read driver-selectable information options. and audible warnings to safely taking control of the vehicle.”

“Any such display must be easy to read at a glance so drivers can For Peterbilt, connectivity also remains a focal point, Gansle says. keep their attention on the road,” he says. “Most of all, it must be “Peterbilt continues to add new functionality and features while kept simple. If you are forced to stare or overscan your gauges too integrating information systems,” he says. “Our in-dash infotainoften, your attention is not on the road where it belongs.” Likewise, ment system, SmartNav, was recently enhanced with new producan overabundance of information can result in sensory overload – tivity, safety and convenience features. We’ve expanded the array of which Cary says is of no benefit. “The driver needs to simply opervirtual gauges, made safety cameras activate automatically when the ate the truck with minimal distractions using only the information truck is put in reverse or turn signals are engaged, and improved to operate safely.” hands-free calling and optional real-time traffic and fuel price Spence says connectivity already is a consideration in Volvo’s information.” designs – especially as it applies to uptime and Volvo Remote DiGansle says Peterbilt took another significant step forward in agnostics – and will become even more important as the company connectivity with its new SmartLinq system. The factory-installed responds to the future driver environment. fully integrated remote diagnostics system is designed to maximize “Managing driver information is key to limiting driver distraction,” he says. “Providing the correct information to the driver while uptime with new technologies that create full vehicle connectivity between customers and dealers. allowing back-office applications to collect necessary information “Along with SmartLinq, we expanded the functionality of our on the trucks is part of Volvo’s strategy for uptime services. We are already seeing more and more powerful computers and displays on onboard diagnostics,” he says. “The new system provides the driver more comprehensive detailed diagnostic information through the trucks, and this trend will continue in trucking as it has in automotruck’s in-dash driver information center.” tive.”

Ito says that with an emphasis on minimizing driver distraction, Ito agrees that trucking’s connectivity evolution is already here. the information a driver needs must be centralized with prime “Navistar is working with 10 different telematics providers to offer visibility in a single optimized display so that it is easy to see while the greatest amount of choice and flexibility to our customers,” he driving. says. “Continued evolution of our cabs is an area of intense focus.”

“At Navistar, there will likely be more consolidation of displays Other primary considerations at Navistar include electronic log to minimize driver distraction and an increased ability to configure adoption, the company’s OnCommand Connection to link the what the driver sees,” he says. “This will, in turn, lead to programtruck directly to its service network and personal use devices. mable driver information systems. Alerts will be programmable so Another possibility in the near future is a move away from drivers can prioritize what they want to see.” traditional gauges and instrument clusters toward more animated 60

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EquipmEnt: DRIVER COMFORT “It reduces the wheelbase and Another recent design trend weight by up to 100 pounds has been the recognition that while still providing a spacious truck driving is no longer the layout and feel that has all of the exclusive domain of big burly amenities operators expect from men. More women are coming Peterbilt’s full-size sleepers.” into the industry – a trend that is Also with an eye toward driver creating a new set of challenges satisfaction, Peterbilt introduced for cab designers. its Platinum Graphite Interior Spence says there has been a Package with many exclusive movement for some time now and distinctive features, Gansle to advance the design of interiors says. “The new interior is a great and exteriors to allow women, or way to reward top drivers,” he men who are small in stature, to says. operate trucks more safely.

Aufdemberg says that Freight“Things like having to reach liner designers now view cab too far to operate switches and The Freightliner In-Cab Training (FIT) System is designed to allow drivers to work out inside the privacy of their own cabs. interiors as a “work-life space” poor visibility of gauges based with unique requirements that on a different seating position must be addressed. are just a few of the ergonomic challenges that are being addressed “A roomy cab is just the beginning,” she says. “You also must confor drivers of smaller stature,” he says. sider other factors such as ergonomic styling, ample storage, noiseRelated considerations on the vehicle’s exterior include fifth and vibration-reducing technologies and smart technologies. All wheels that require less effort to pull to unlatch and hoods that of these play a role in building a work-life space that will ultimately require less effort to open. benefit driver productivity.”

“We are addressing those concerns now, and fleets will see more That philosophy led the company to address driver health and options for women and smaller-stature drivers in the future,” fitness with its Freightliner In-Cab Training (FIT) System and FIT Spence says.

Step, an exercise setup designed specifically to allow drivers to work out inside the privacy of their own cabs.

More efficient sleepers Also, today’s power-starved drivers will be happy to learn that Sleeper design is all about maximum use of space and weight limitations. But the overall design goal is a constant: creating a comfort- their next cab interiors will offer more and vastly improved power outlets to meet the demands of smartphones and tablets. able living space to allow drivers to recover from a long day behind “As drivers are becoming more connected these days, the number the wheel and rest well to deal with tomorrow’s challenges. of outlets and the types of outlets will increase to become more It wasn’t long ago that sleeper berths were exactly that: a blank convenient in cabs,” Cary says. USB ports will be more prevalent space with a bunk and a bit of storage space. Such spartan interiors throughout the cab and sleeper, while Bluetooth connectivity will won’t fly today, designers say. be standard.

“Sleeper layout is something we’ve looked at a lot through the “Gone are the days where drivers need to run cables across the years – not only for its named use, but also for office use, entertaindash, ceiling, floor or wherever to power their portable equipment,” ment use and lifestyle use, including exercise and other uses,” Ito he says. “This was dangerous not only for the wires to be a hazard, says. “At the end of the day, it needs to be quiet and comfortable but in the way drivers sometimes tapped into an existing harness in with the ability to close out the world and get rest.”

Ito says that in terms of sleeper dimensions, the industry is seeing order to gain power.”

Also look for auxiliary power units to become more entrenched improvements with better use of limited space, rather than just making trucks larger. Customers require different choices, from low and integrated into vehicle designs. “We’re already shifting toward APUs and battery systems and will continue to improve in those to high roofs and several cab and sleeper lengths depending on the areas,” Aufdemberg says. application and average number of days on the road. “Again, it all Freightliner currently offers diesel-fired and electric APU systems centers on offering choices,” Ito says. that provide enough power to run most hotel-like amenities, she Gansle says Peterbilt also is planning more sleeper options. “We says. “Some of our options are optimized with Detroit engines, just announced a new 58-inch sleeper for our on-highway Model which work together seamlessly so that drivers don’t have to worry 579 and vocational Model 567 that is ideal for weight-sensitive about their battery while they are relaxing.” applications such as short- and regional-haul operations,” he says.

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trailer focus

M

Dry Vans

ost of today’s dry vans are lighter and stronger than those of the past. By replacing heavier components with equally strong but lighterweight materials and adding extra strength in areas that need beefing up, designers have been able to build significantly better trailers to carry specific loads without fatiguing certain design elements.

Structural integrity has been improved due to more accurate methods in determining where stress loads are the highest, thanks primarily to better design tools that can analyze the properties of the various materials used in the construction process.

Manufacturers also have reduced trailer weight by using

composite floors, which also increases load capacity. Composite panels used as side, front and rear door materials allow maximum interior width and length, as well as a smooth snag-free interior. Thinwall designs also provide added interior width and cube capacity, which means more freight per trailer and better margins for fleets.

Many fleets also spec anti-snag roof bows because they help prevent damage to cargo as it’s being loaded. And as durability and maintenance have become major issues for fleets, trailer manufacturers have moved away from, or engineered alternatives to, traditional plywood liners.

Look for specs of selected flatbeds in July and refrigerated models in October.

GREAT DANE | www.greatdanetrailers.com CHAMPION CL

CHAMPION CP

length: 53 ft.

length: 53 ft.

Width: 102.36 in.

Width: 102.36 in.

height: 13.6 ft.

height: 13.6 ft.

sides: 1.1-in. steel hat section uprights on 24-in. centers; logistics

sides: flat composite plate, 0.3-in. with .019-in. ppW galvanized steel skins; 0.38-in. aluminum rivets; logistics uprights on 48-in. centers roof: 0.04-in. aluminum sheet with bows on 24-in. centers rear doors: 0.5-in. composite swing; dualseal gaskets; white galvanized steel cover sheet floor: 1.38-in. laminated hardwood Crossmember: front – steel hat type for tire protection between support gear and coupler; bay and side areas – 4-in.-deep steel i-beams on 12-in. centers suspension: Holland duraLite Ls4 sliding air ride with 49-in. axle spacing; spindle axle anti-loCk brakes: meritor Wabco 2s/1m easy stop brakes: 16.5-by-7-in. drums with s-cam brakes sCuff band: two rows – first row, 6-in. extruded aluminum integrated with bottom rail; second row, 7-in. galvanized 18-gauge steel interior options: overlaid track; various scuff bands; aluminum cargo floors; interior and ceiling linings

posts optional; 0.05-in. prepainted white flat corrugated aluminum side sheets roof: 0.04-in. aluminum sheet with bows on 24-in. centers rear doors: 0.5-in. composite swing; dual-seal gaskets; white galvanized steel cover sheet floor: 1.38-in. laminated hardwood Crossmember: front – steel hat type for tire protection between support gear and coupler; bay and side areas – 4-in.-deep steel i-beams on 12-in. centers suspension: Holland duraLite Ls4 sliding air ride with 49-in. axle spacing; spindle axle anti-loCk brakes:

meritor Wabco 2s/1m easy stop brakes: 16.5-by7-in. drums with s-cam brakes sCuff band:

12-in. galvanized 18-gauge steel, full length interior options: overlaid or recessed track; various scuff bands; aluminum cargo floors; interior and ceiling linings

Look for specs of seLected flatbeds in juLy and refrigerated modeLs in october.

Today’s dry vans are stronger than those of the past while often being lighter, thanks to improved structural integrity and lighter-weight materials. commercial carrier journal

| april 2015 65

trailer focus Dry Vans CHAMPION SE Length: 53 ft.

Width: 102.36 in. height: 13.6 ft.

SideS: 1.1-in. steel hat section uprights on 24-in. centers; logistics posts optional; 0.05-in. prepainted white flat corrugated aluminum side sheets Roof: 0.04-in. aluminum sheet with bows on 24-in. centers ReaR dooRS: 0.5-in. composite swing; dual-seal gaskets; white gal-

vanized steel cover sheet fLooR: 1.38-in. laminated hardwood CRoSSmembeR: Front – steel hat type for tire protection between support gear and coupler; bay and side areas – 4-in.-deep steel I-beams on 12-in. centers SuSpenSion: Holland DuraLite LS4 sliding air ride with 49-in. axle spacing; spindle axle anti-LoCk bRakeS: Meritor Wabco 2S/1M Easy Stop bRakeS: 16.5-by-7-in. drums with S-cam brakes SCuff band: 12-in. galvanized 18-gauge steel, full length inteRioR optionS: Overlaid track; various scuff bands; aluminum cargo floors; interior and ceiling linings

HYUNDAI TRANSLEAD | www.translead.com HT OrIgINAl

HT HY-CubE

Length: 53 ft.

Length: 53 ft.

Width: 102.36 in.

Width: 102.36 in.

height: 13 ft. 6 in.

height: 13 ft. 6 in.

SideS: 0.05-in.-thick prepainted

SideS: 0.05-in.-thick prepainted white aluminum Roof: One-piece 0.04-in.-thick full-width aluminum sheet, tensionleveled prior to installation ReaR fRame: Hot-dipped 0.375-in.-thick galvanized steel construction with low-profile header, tube-shaped posts; forged steel angle iron in top corners for added rack resistance; lights recessed in rear sill with heavy-duty protection bars CRoSSmembeR: 4-in.-deep hot-rolled steel I-beam; 80,000-psi yield strength, located on 12-in. centers; hat-shaped crossmembers ahead of landing gear; rear 4 ft. of trailer has crossmembers located on 8-in. centers SuSpenSion: Hendrickson Vantraax HKANT 40K Air Ride anti-LoCk bRakeS: Two-sensor/one-modulator valve 2S/1M system, PLC4Trucks-compatible system bRakeS: Nonasbestos lining, 16.5-by-7-in. quick-change type; S camoperated automatic slack adjuster inteRioR Lining: White 0.235-in.-thick HDPE lining installed full height between uprights with no fasteners; side lining hooks into place for easy replacement; exterior-grade 0.50-in. plywood installed on bottom, 0.25-in. on top over front wall

white aluminum Roof: One-piece 0.04-in.-thick fullwidth aluminum sheet, tension-leveled prior to installation ReaR fRame: Hot-dipped 0.375-in.-thick galvanized steel construction with low-profile header, tube-shaped posts; forged steel angle iron in top corners for added rack resistance; lights recessed in rear sill with heavy-duty protection bars CRoSSmembeR: 4-in.-deep hot-rolled steel I-beam; 80,000-psi yield strength, located on 12-in. centers; hat-shaped crossmembers ahead of landing gear; rear 4 ft. of trailer has crossmembers located on 8-in. centers SuSpenSion: Hendrickson Vantraax HKANT 40K Air Ride anti-LoCk bRakeS: Two-sensor/one-modulator valve 2S/1M system, PLC4Trucks-compatible system bRakeS: Nonasbestos lining, 16.5-by-7-in. quick-change type; S camoperated automatic slack adjuster inteRioR Lining: Exterior-grade 0.25-in. plywood installed horizontally over side posts; exterior-grade 0.5-in. plywood installed on bottom, 0.25-in. on top over front wall

HT COMPOSITE/XT Length: 53 ft.

Width: 102.36 in. height: 13 ft. 6 in.

SideS: 0.25-in.-thick composite panel with prepainted white high-tensile galvanized steel inner and outer sheets Roof: One-piece 0.04-in.-thick full-width aluminum sheet, tensionleveled prior to installation ReaR fRame: Hot-dipped 0.375-in.-thick galvanized steel construction with low-profile header, tube-shaped posts; forged steel angle iron in

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top corners for added rack resistance; lights recessed in rear sill with heavy-duty protection bars CRoSSmembeR: 4-in.-deep hot-rolled steel I-beam; 80,000-psi yield strength, located on 12-in. centers SuSpenSion: Hendrickson air ride anti-LoCk bRakeS: Two-sensor/one-modulator valve 2S/1M system, PLC4Trucks-compatible system bRakeS: Nonasbestos lining, 16.5-by-7-in. quick-change type; S camoperated automatic slack adjuster inteRioR Lining: Exterior-grade 50-in. plywood installed on bottom, 0.25-in. plywood installed on top over front wall, none on sidewalls

THIS IS NOT A FASHION ACCESSORY

Š 2015 Utility Trailer Manufacturing Company. All rights reserved.

It’s how we protect the hands that work tirelessly to build the best dry vans on the market.

To find out more, call your local dealer or visit www.utilitytrailer.com.

trailer focus Dry Vans STOUGHTON | www.stoughtontrailers.com Z+ Composite

tough plate

Length: 53 ft.

Length: 53 ft.

Width: 102 in.

Width: 102 in.

inside Width: 101 in.

inside Width: 101 in.

sides: Prepainted

sides: Prepainted white composite panels above extended base rail, splice plates riveted with ¼-in.-diameter aluminum rivets on 1½-in. centers; 6 in. on center vertical A-slots Roof: 0.04-in. one-piece aluminum sheet, galvanized steel bows 24 in. on center with 16 in. on center in bay ReaR dooRs: ½-in. composite panels with dual durometer PVC gaskets fLooR: 1.375-in. laminated oak; three screws per board CRossmembeR: 4-in. I-beam on 12-in. center suspension: Holland CB-4000 air ride with PosiLok, no dump valve Landing geaR: Holland Atlas 55 Lights: All LED

white aluminum panels, splice plates riveted with ¼-in.diameter aluminum rivets on 1½-in. centers; 14-gauge galvanized steel inner splice plates with 6 in. on center vertical A-slots Roof: 0.04-in. one-piece aluminum sheet; galvanized steel bows 24 in., 16 in., 24 in. on center ReaR dooRs: ½-in. composite panel swing rear doors with dual durometer PVC gaskets fLooR: 1.375-in. laminated oak; three screws per board CRossmembeR: 4-in. I-beam on 12-in. center suspension: Holland CB-4000 air ride with PosiLok, no dump valve Landing geaR: Holland Atlas 55 Lights: All LED

aluminum sheet and post Length: 53 ft.

Width: 102 in. inside Width: 99 in. sides: 0.05-in. prepainted white aluminum panels; 14-gauge single-slot logistics posts, 24 in. on center with 16 in. on center landing gear forward

Roof: 0.04-in. one-piece aluminum sheet, galvanized steel bows 24 in. on center ReaR dooRs: ½-in. composite panels with dual durometer PVC gaskets fLooR: 1.375-in. laminated oak; three screws per board, staggered CRossmembeR: 4-in. I-beam on 12-in. center suspension: Holland CB-4000 air ride with PosiLok, no dump valve Landing geaR: Holland Atlas 55 Lights: All LED

UTILITY TRAILER | www.utilitytrailer.com 4000d-X Composite

sideWaLL: Prepainted white galvanized anti-snag steel

Length: 53 ft.

Width: 102.375 in. height: 13 ft. 6 in. inside Width: 101 in. at wearband, 100.25 in. lining to lining ReaR dooRs: 0.5-in. composite swing, satin-finish stainless-steel rear door case fLooR: 1.375-in. laminated hardwood fRont CoRneR posts: 0.08-in. extruded aluminum, 4.75-in. radius fRont WaLL Lining: Two 0.016-in. grade 80 galvanized steel panels prepainted white with rolled edges and 14-in.-high galvanized steel grade 80 wearband fRont WaLL posts: Four 2-in. 14-gauge high-strength, hat-shaped

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side posts: 0.375-in. 14-gauge high-strength galvanized hat-shaped 24-in. center line; front and rear subframe, 16-in. center line with A-slots on 8-in. vertical center line; posts on 12-in. center line at extreme front panel Roof boWs:1.0625-in. anti-snag galvanized steel, 16-in. center line; front and rear subframe, 24-in. center line bonded to roof skin WeaRband: 18-gauge 12-in.-high corrugated steel ReaR dooR: 0.5-in. composite swing, one lock rod and four aluminum hinges per door, satin-finish stainless-steel frame and buckplate CRossmembeR: 4-in. steel I-beam on 12-in. center line suspension: Hendrickson HKANT 40,000-lb. air-ride sliding tandem with Quik-Draw pin release sLideR suspension LoCation: 70-in. rear, 166-in. forward; 96-in. travel bRakes: Outboard-mounted 16.5-by-7-in. cast-iron drums Lights: Grote LEDs

trailer focus Dry Vans 4000D-X PlywooD

sideWaLL: Prepainted white galvanized anti-snag steel

Length: 53 ft.

Width: 102.375 in. height: 13 ft. 6 in. inside Width: 101 in. at wearband, 101.25 in. lining to lining ReaR dooRs: 0.75-in. plymetal rear doors, satin-finish stainless-steel rear door case FLooR: 1.375-in. laminated hardwood FRont coRneR posts: 0.08-in. extruded aluminum, 4.75-in. radius FRont WaLL Lining: 0.5-in. plywood lower 48-in., 0.25-in. nominal hardwood above ceiling FRont WaLL posts: Four 2-in. 14-gauge high-strength, hat-shaped

side posts: 1.125-in. galvanized high-tensile hat posts on 24-in. center line with surface-mounted plywood lining RooF boWs:1.0625-in. anti-snag galvanized steel, 16-in. center line; front and rear subframe, 24-in. center line bonded to roof skin WeaRband: 18-gauge 12-in.-high corrugated steel ReaR dooR: 0.75-in. plymetal, one lock rod and four aluminum hinges per door, satin-finish stainless-steel frame and buckplate cRossmembeR: 4-in. steel I-beam on 12-in. center line suspension: Hendrickson HKANT 40,000-lb. air-ride sliding tandem with Quik-Draw pin release sLideR suspension Location: 70-in. rear, 166-in. forward; 96-in. travel bRakes: Outboard-mounted 16.5-by-7-in. cast-iron drums Lights: Grote LEDs

VANGUARD NATIONAL | www.vanguardtrailer.com VXP

VIP 4000

Length: 53 ft.

Length: 53 ft.

Width: 102.36 in.

Width: 102.36 in.

height: 13 ft. 6 in.

height: 13 ft. 6 in.

sides: 0.313-in. composite

sides: 0.05-in. aluminum prepainted white connection posts:14gauge 50 KSI Series A logistics posts, 16-in. centers throughout RooF boWs: Anti-snag, 1-in. deep on 24-in. centers prebonded to roof skin RooF sheet: 0.04-in. aluminum ReaR dooRs: Plymetal swing with structural anti-theft pin and collar fasteners, five hinges and one lock rod per door FLooR: 1.375-in. laminated oak; preundercoated, three screws per board cRossmembeR: 4-in. I-beams on 12-in. centers; wax-coated 80 KSI high-strength steel suspension and subFRame: Air-ride slide, 216-in. rails anti-Lock bRakes: Meritor Wabco 2S-1M FRont Lining: 0.5-in. plywood full height, close out at bottom scuFF Lining: 12-in. corrugated steel directly attached to posts side Lining: 0.25-in. plywood recessed between posts

laminate connection posts:14-gauge 50 KSI Series A logistics posts, 48-in. centers throughout RooF boWs: Anti-snag, 1-in. deep on 24-in. centers prebonded to roof skin, 80 KSI RooF sheet: 0.04-in. aluminum ReaR dooRs: Composite swing with structural anti-theft pin and collar fasteners, five hinges and one lock rod per door FLooR: 1.375-in. laminated oak; preundercoated, three screws per board cRossmembeR: 4-in. I-beams on 12-in. centers; wax-coated 80 KSI high-strength steel suspension and subFRame: Air-ride slide, 216-in. rails anti-Lock bRakes: Meritor Wabco 2S-1M FRont Lining: 0.5-in. plywood full height, close out at bottom scuFF Lining: Extruded aluminum base rail with 18-gauge galvanized corrugated steel directly attached to sidewall for a total of 12-in. side protection

VIP MaXCube Length: 53

ft.

Width: 102.36 in. height: 13 ft. 6 in. sides: 0.05-in. aluminum prepainted white connection posts:14-gauge VIP MaxCube Series A logistics posts, 16-in. centers throughout RooF boWs: Anti-snag, 1-in. deep on 24-in. centers prebonded to roof skin RooF sheet: 0.04-in. aluminum ReaR dooRs: Plymetal swing with structural anti-theft pin and collar fasteners, five hinges and one lock rod per door

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FLooR: 1.375-in. laminated oak; preundercoated, three screws per board cRossmembeR: 4-in.

I-beams on 12-in. centers; wax-coated 80 KSI high-strength steel suspension and subFRame: Air-ride slide, 216-in. rails anti-Lock bRakes: Meritor Wabco 2S-1M FRont Lining: 0.5-in. plywood full height, close out at bottom scuFF Lining: 12-in. corrugated steel directly attached to posts side Lining: Snap-in high-strength polypropylene

trailer focus Dry Vans WABASH NATIONAL | www.wabashnational.com

DuraPlate

DuraPlate HD

Length: 53 ft.

Length: 53 ft.

Width: 102.375 in.; 101-in. interior, sidewall to sidewall

Width: 102.375 in.; 101-in. interior, sidewall to sidewall

height: 13.5 ft.

height: 13.5 ft.

SideS: DuraPlate composite panels – constructed of high-density

SideS: DuraPlate composite panels – constructed of high-density polyethylene core bonded between two sheets of high-strength galvanized steel Roof: Bonded, tension roof with 0.04-in. aluminum sheet and steel; anti-snag roof bows ReaR fRame coating: High-performance powder coat ReaR dooRS: DuraPlate composite swing doors; optional overhead doors fLooR: Full 1.375-in. laminated oak with 20,000-lb. rating cRoSSmembeR: 4-in. steel or aluminum crossmembers on 12-in. centers in bay, steel crossmembers over subframe and landing gear, 8-in. centers in rear 2 feet; steel-bolted crossmember attachment SuSpenSion: SAF UltraLite mechanical or Hendrickson HKANT40 airride sliding tandem anti-Lock bRakeS: Meritor Wabco 2S-1M baSe RaiL: High-strength extruded aluminum with bolted base rail connections LightS: All LED lights

polyethylene core bonded between two sheets of high-strength galvanized steel Roof: Bonded, tension roof with 0.04-in. aluminum sheet and steel; anti-snag roof bows ReaR fRame coating: High-performance powder coat ReaR dooRS: DuraPlate composite swing doors; optional overhead doors fLooR: Full 1.375-in. laminated oak with 20,000-lb. rating cRoSSmembeR: 4-in. steel or aluminum crossmembers on 12-in. centers in bay, steel crossmembers over subframe and landing gear, 8-in. centers in rear 2 feet; steel-bolted crossmember attachment SuSpenSion: SAF UltraLite mechanical or Hendrickson HKANT40 airride sliding tandem anti-Lock bRakeS: Meritor Wabco 2S-1M baSe RaiL: High-strength extruded aluminum with bolted base rail connections LightS: All LED lights

DuraPlate XD-35

sliding tandem

Length: 53 ft.

anti-Lock bRakeS: Meritor Wabco 2S-1M

Width: 102.375 in.; 100.625-in. interior, sidewall to sidewall

baSe RaiL: High-strength extruded aluminum with bolted base rail connections LightS: All LED lights

height: 13.5 ft.

SideS: DuraPlate composite panels – constructed of high-density polyethylene core bonded between two sheets of high-strength galvanized steel Roof: Bonded, tension roof with 0.04-in. aluminum sheet and steel; anti-snag roof bows ReaR fRame coating: High-performance powder coat ReaR dooRS: DuraPlate composite swing doors; optional overhead doors fLooR: Full 1.375-in. laminated oak with 35,000-lb. rating cRoSSmembeR: 4-in. steel crossmembers on 8-in. centers, seven crossmembers over landing gear; steel-bolted crossmember attachment SuSpenSion: SAF UltraLite mechanical or Hendrickson HKANT40 air-ride

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UNDERSTANDING FINANCIAL RATIOS The following is an excerpt from How to Use Financial Statements, a manual produced by Commercial Carrier University. CCU is an educational program produced by Commercial Carrier Journal that includes business management manuals, seminars aimed at improving management skills and a website. For more information, visit www.commercialcarrieruniversity.com.

By now, you have developed a solid basic understanding of financial statements.

Now it’s time to learn what sophisticated readers do with these numbers. Bankers, accountants, credit analysts, financial officers and potential buyers pull certain numbers out of the financial reports and perform mathematical calculations, called financial ratios, to measure your company’s health.

Your own personal health, as measured by your annual physical exam, is a good model for how this works. After your lab work comes back, your doctor examines your blood test results and discusses them with you. He might say your cholesterol count is 185, which by itself means nothing to you, and you have no idea how the lab arrived at that figure. If the doctor says that you generally are healthy as long as the number stays below 200, you relax. But if he says that over the last four years it’s climbed steadily from 140, then you need to explore ways of reducing the number.

Financial ratios and analyses are no different. You don’t have to be an expert at the computation, but you should know what the ratios say about your company’s financial health.

Also, lenders almost always have loan covenants that dictate the minimum

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ratios the company must achieve.

Financial ratios help you compare current results with your company’s trends over time and with the current results of others.

By examining the same ratio over time, you can determine whether the company is getting stronger or weaker in the area the ratio measures.

Similarly, you can compare your profit margin to that of another company or to industry averages. Using ratios this way helps analysts make sense of pure dollar amounts, which can be confusing when comparing companies having different revenues or assets.

Owners or managers who don’t have financial backgrounds might not realize that they already use ratios in their companies. If you’ve ever signed for a business loan, you likely agreed to keep the financial condition of your company within certain bounds. These affirmative covenants appear in the loan agreement as minimum financial ratios. Is your company in compliance? You won’t know unless someone in your company regularly computes the ratios. There are dozens of financial ratios, but they commonly fall into major groupings.

Liquidity ratios measure the company’s working capital and how it is man-

aged. It takes money to make money.

Has the company invested enough to keep operating? How financially liquid or flexible is the company?

Working capital is that part of the company’s current assets needed to keep its doors open: cash in the bank, plus receivables and other current assets, minus amounts borrowed from creditors for short-term needs. These may include lines of credit; payables due suppliers, drivers and employees; and for taxes. Although employees expect to be paid as often as weekly and vendors at least monthly, your customers might take 45 to 60 or more days to pay. That’s why you need more current assets than current liabilities. In other words, you need working capital.

Suppose your current assets total $1 million and your current liabilities total $750,000. That leaves net working capital of $250,000. Without working capital, you will spend so much time making ends meet and answering calls from creditors that sales, operations and profits will suffer.

Current ratios are current assets divided by current liabilities. In our example, $1 million divided by $750,000 produces a current ratio of 1.33 to 1. The minimum healthy

COMMERCIAL CARRIER UNIVERSITY range for current ratios in the trucking industry is at least 1.1 to 1 or better.

Profitability ratios are measurements drawn primarily from the P&L. Strong sales are important, but more important is maintaining the margins as you grow your company’s revenues.

Operating ratio, known as “OR,” is a basic and widely used measure of cost efficiency. It is calculated as a company’s total operating expenses, less interest and income taxes, expressed as a percentage of total company revenues. This is not to be confused with “operating margin.” Suppose your company’s total revenue was $1 million and that your total expenses were $1 million, including interest of $30,000 and income taxes of $10,000. To compute operating ratio, subtract interest and taxes, leaving $960,000. Divide $960,000 into $1 million, and your resulting operating ratio is 96 percent. Obviously, the lower your operating ratio, the better. Typically, an operating ratio below 95 percent is considered good, and outstanding com-

ing for accounts receivable or DSO (Days Sales Outstanding), computed by dividing receivables by average daily revenues. If annual revenue is $7 million, each day averages $19,200 in revenue. If receivables total $850,000, the average receivable is outstanding 44 days ($850,000 divided by $19,200) from end of haul to payment — about industry average. If a company’s ratio is 60, then someone needs to get busy collecting. A similar ratio can be computed for vendor payables, with most averaging 30 days or less.

DSO computations can go much deeper than a simple financial calculation. More sophisticated trucking companies start counting DSO from the time the truck is dispatched to the time the check is deposited into the bank. The masters of DSO do everything operationally possible to reduce this number. These guys want their cash! Refer to the CCU book “How to Manage Cash Flow” to see how to reduce DSO.

panies often post ORs in the 80s.

Operating profit margin is operating profit divided by total revenues earned and is expressed as a percentage. This is generally income before interest expense or taxes. Four to six percent is considered average, and the most profitable companies may have eight percent or more.

Pre-tax net is income before tax divided by revenues. Three to four percent is average for trucking companies; the most profitable are above five or six percent.

Return on equity is computed by dividing after-tax net income by average equity from the balance sheet. If your company earned $150,000 after tax on average equity of $900,000, you earned almost 17 percent return on equity. Evaluate this number against what other investments earn.

Efficiency or activity ratios measure management’s effectiveness in certain business activities. The most common is average days outstand-

Commercial Carrier University is an educational initiative for owners and managers of trucking companies that are held at select Truckload Carriers Association events. We’re certain you will find this program a valuable resource in managing your business more easily and more profitably.

CCU’s goal is to provide you with an in-depth road map for success through clear advice on basic and advanced business practices.

CCU Titles Available: • How to Evaluate Life Cycle Costs • How to Manage Cashflow • How To Plan For Succession • How to Use Financial Statements • How To Write A Business Plan Produced by:

In cooperation with:

CCU manuals are available on USB drives and can be purchased online through eTruckerStore.com.

Visit www.commercialcarrieruniversity.com for more information.

COMMERCIAL CARRIER JOURNAL

| APRIL 2015 75

products new

Nitrite-free extended-life coolant Shell Rotella Extended Life Coolant-Nitrite Free (ELC NF), a companion to Shell Rotella Ultra ELC, is a nitrite-free engine antifreeze/coolant formulation designed to help protect aluminum components and can be used in fleets that include passenger cars and light-duty trucks. The coolant also is designed for extended-life operation in medium- and heavy-duty diesel, gasoline and natural gas vehicles and engines and to provide more heat transfer as well as added cavitation and related damage protection on cylinder liners. The coolant also can help extend the life of water pumps, radiators and other cooling system components. It has no supplemental coolant additives or required extender use.

Shell Lubricants, www.rotella.com

Anti-theft lighting system Optronics’ LampLock Anti-Theft Lighting System is integrated into four-inch round stop/tail/turn lamps and 3/4-inch marker lamps and is designed to make the lamps virtually impossible to steal without destroying them. The system is comprised of a single-diode LED lamp, an integrated anti-theft ring and a foam rubber gasket; for the four-inch round lamp, an available locking PL-3 receptacle grips the connector plug body.

Optronics Inc., www.optronicsinc.com

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commercial carrier journal | april 2015

Fuel enhancer Howes Fuel Enhancer for fuel system maintenance is formulated with the company’s proprietary blends of oil and additives designed to help clean injectors, dissolve carbon, enhance combustion, increase power, lubricate piston rings and reduce heat and friction. The fuel enhancer is compliant with ultra-low-sulfur engine use.

Howes Lubricator, www.howeslube.com

products

Trailer lift axle system MeritorWabco has added an automatic trailer lift axle control system to its SmartTrac portfolio of stability control systems to monitor suspension load and manage lift axles on trailers for fleets that reduce load frequently during multiple deliveries along the same route to help reduce fuel costs, tire wear, vehicle downtime and labor and maintenance costs

while also increasing wheel-end and brake life. The system integrates with the company’s trailer roll stability support and anti-lock braking systems and is designed to control multiple trailer lift axles that can be lowered automatically when the trailer is parked; a manual switch also can be added.

MeritorWabco, www.meritorwabco.com

Technician LED lights

Drop-deck trailer tire

Rotary Lift’s Tech Lights LED series is designed to meet a variety of service bay needs. The shop lights are available in three kits and come with mounting clips that are magnetic, so the lights can be set up in a variety of locations without drilling. The two-post lift kit (P/N FA5701) includes two 32-inch-long light units, each embedded with 96 LEDs and fitted with two magnetic mounts. The four-post lift kit (P/N FA5700) includes four 48-inch-long 1-inch diameter light units and eight magnetic mounts. The handheld battery-powered single Tech Light shop light (P/N FA5702) features a light wand with a magnetic hook for hanging on the vehicle or lift.

Cooper’s Roadmaster RM272 tire for dropdeck trailers features a tread and compounding designed to provide improved treadwear and protection against cutting and chipping.

The tire has a 16/32-inch tread depth and is available in size 255/70R22.5 in load range H. Featuring a four-belt steel casing, the RM272 has a slightly rounded tread footprint and a reinforced shoulder to help withstand extreme side forces and ward off irregular wear and damage due to curbing.

Pressure distribution is optimized along all of the ribs, which helps prevent premature wear on the intermediate ribs.

Rotary Lift, www.rotarylift.com

Cooper Tire and Rubber Co., www.roadmastertires.com

Roll-off trailer Galbreath’s lightweight M6-250 Series Rolloff Trailer is designed for roll-offs with heavy loads such as scrap and construction materials. The trailer weighs 15,650 pounds, has a shorter overall length for added maneuverability and has a gross vehicle weight rating of 72,500 pounds. With container size capacity up to 30 feet, the trailer is available in outside rail, extendable tail, inside/outside rail and deadlift configurations.

It features two telescoping lift cylinders designed for added stability when lifting heavy loads, and its lower trailer height helps accommodate taller containers.

Wastequip, www.galbreathproducts.com commercial carrier journal | april 2015

77

MEETING THE BUSINESS NEEDS OF FLEET EXECUTIVES The goal of COMMERICAL CARRIER UNIVERSITY is to provide you with an in-depth road map for success through clear advice on basic and advanced business practices.

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CCJ’s Air Brake Book is a must-have for fleets that make safety their Number One Priority.

USB purchase and digital download available.

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products

Branded CB radio Cobra Electronics’ limited-edition 29 LX HD Harley-Davidson CB Radio delivers NOAA weather with all-hazards alerts along with a selectable four-color LCD display. The CB features all-channel scan, a talk-back feature and customizable night and day settings for enhanced readability in both bright and dark lighting conditions.

Cobra Electronics, www.cobra.com

Impact socket for Mack, Volvo

Regional super single tire Toyo’s M149 all-position super single tire for regional and urban applications is designed to deliver added wear performance in tough operations ranging from urban front axles to long-haul trailers. Optimized construction and tread design are engineered for added uniformity, even wear and wet traction.

Snap-on’s ½-inch Drive 14mm 6-point Impact Socket for Mack and Volvo trucks is designed to allow service technicians to more easily remove and install camshaft cap bolts on trucks with the MP8 series engine. The tool is engineered with a deeper broach depth to accommodate the longer threads found on the bolts, helping to increase torque and prevent the fastener from rounding.

Toyo Tire U.S.A. Corp., www.toyotires.com

Basecoat hardener PPG’s Delfleet Evolution F3259 HS Basecoat Hardener is designed to enhance the overall application and appearance of the Delfleet Evolution FBCH basecoat, a fast-drying basecoat that, when clearcoated, is formulated for added durability and to provide a professional look. F3259 is designed to improve flow, leveling and overspray absorption and to deliver faster out-of-dust times, tape times and cure. Its quick drying capabilities also help improve overall cycle times and productivity.

Snap-on, www.snapon.com

PPG Commercial Coatings, www.ppgcommercialcoatings.com

DEF filter Donaldson’s Clean DEF Filter is designed to help maintain diesel exhaust fluid quality by removing harmful particulates and preventing plugged dosing valves on the selective catalytic reduction system, helping to extend the life of the onboard DEF filter.

The filter is constructed from heavy-duty fully compatible stainless-steel material with a high maximum working pressure of 300 psi and has integrated gauge/sample ports and an internal seal to help prevent contamination on its clean side.

Donaldson Co., www.donaldson.com

DEF transfer system IPA’s Diesel Exhaust Fluid Transfer System is powered by a rotary diaphragm pump and includes 6-foot intake and 8-foot output hoses, a digital flow meter and a manual nozzle with an integrated holster, hanging bracket and corrosion-resistant fittings.

Innovative Products of America, www.ipatools.com commercial carrier journal | april 2015

79

FuelSurchargeIndex.org provides shippers, carriers and owner-operators with average retail fuel prices updated every 24 hours and specific to the route that the load is actually traveling.

• FuelSurchargeIndex.org provides fuel data transparency for the entire industry • Use the actual retail price of diesel along a specific route to calculate the fuel surcharge • Accurate, detailed fuel data updated daily • Interface options available

PRODUCTS

Fuel-efficient long-haul steer Goodyear’s fuel-efficient Fuel Max LHS long-haul steer tire complements its fuel-efficient Fuel Max LHD G505D longhaul drive tire, both verified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s SmartWay program for fuel efficiency. The Fuel Max LHS offers specialized multilayered tread compounding to promote even wear and longevity.

The tire also is designed to resist penetration to help prevent stone drilling, which also helps extend retreading potential. A steel belt and casing package helps enhance toughness and endurance.

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Goodyear Commercial Tire Systems, www.goodyeartrucktires.com

COMMERCIAL CARRIER JOURNAL | APRIL 2015

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products

DEF fuel island storage Semler’s Mini-Bulk diesel exhaust fluid modular mini-bulk above-ground storage system is designed for use at fleets, commercial locations and retail facilities. The system can be installed in a variety of extreme climate conditions and is designed to meet the space restrictions of a standard fuel island, offering in-field expansion from 500 to 2,000 gallons.

Semler Industries, www.semlerindustries.com

Oil-enhancing additive U.S. Lube Oil Enhancer is an additive formulated to raise oil pressure, improve engine power and protect engine oil from heat and corrosion. Made of 100 percent petroleum stocks, Oil Enhancer is available in quart and gallon containers.

D&M Global Marketing, www.uslube.us

Dolly for double trailers Silver Eagle’s T-Dolly is an automatically telescoping and retracting dolly that uses an electrohydraulic pump to pull double trailers closer together once the vehicle reaches 45 mph, which closes the gap between the two trailers and helps improve overall fuel economy by reducing aerodynamic drag. The closer gap also helps allow the truck to handle better when cruising at highway speeds, including after lane changes. If the vehicle slows to 40 mph, the T-Dolly automatically increases the trailer gap in anticipation of lowspeed turns. Additional benefits include faster coupling and uncoupling.

Silver Eagle, www.silvereaglemfg.com

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What’s this new diesel engine oil I’m hearing about?

You are probably hearing or reading about a new API category in development for heavy duty diesel engine oils.

This new category, currently referred to as Proposed Category 11 (or PC-11), is under

By Dan Arcy Shell Lubricants development as you read this. So what is it and why are things changing?

In simple terms, when engine technologies change we often see a new oil category introduced. This was true in October 2006 when the current API CJ-4 category was launched. At that time, we needed to work with new technologies like diesel particulate filters and the anticipated higher operating temperatures of some engines.

In the past, changes were typically driven by reducing particulate matter and NOx emissions. However the driver for this round of changes is a little different.

Truck manufacturers are adapting their technology to develop next-generation diesel engines to meet emissions, renewable fuel and fuel economy standards, as well as to meet CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions mandates due to be introduced in the next few years.

PC-11 will be a significant undertaking for the industry not just in North America but also globally. The engine manufacturers have to respond to new regulation such as renewable fuels mandates, on and off-road exhaust emission and greenhouse gas emission standards. There are also changes to the hardware and operating strategies of engines which can introduce factors such as: increased power density, increased combustion and injection pressure, increased in-cylinder NOx reduction, higher oil temperatures and wear resistance coatings. As an industry we must keep pace with such developments and of course, give the market the products that it needs.

This is why the American Petroleum Institute, Shell Lubricants and others in the industry are looking to provide changes in the new oils that include improvements in oxidation stability, aeration benefits, shear stability, biodiesel compatibility and scuffing/adhesive wear protection.

This will mean developing new engine tests and modifying existing engine tests for deposits and oil. The development of this specification is well underway and the planned launch is early 2016. We’ll keep you updated on developments for the new specification and the next generation of ® Shell Rotella engine oil products.

This monthly column is brought to you by Shell Lubricants. Got a question?

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The term “Shell Lubricants” refers to the various Shell Group companies engaged in the lubricants business.

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COMMERCIAL CARRIER JOURNAL | APRIL 2015

PREVENTABLE or NOT?

No go for Doe in driving snow

I

t was midnight, and the wind was howling like a hound dog as trucker John Doe fought his way toward Woonsocket, S.D., peering intently through his windshield at a major blizzard. He was plowing his way through deep snow on Persnickety Pike at 45 mph with a heavily laden 48-foot dry van in tow. Appropriately, his favorite satellite radio country-western station was playing “A Thousand Miles From Nowhere.”

At least Doe had survival rations on board: a cooler full of fresh celery sticks and a big Thermos loaded with ultra-strong coffee obtained John Doe was traveling from Aunt Fanny’s Truck Stop. through a raging blizzard at Suddenly, Doe’s headlights illumidnight when he realized the road partially was blocked minated a strange “something” on by a giant tree, but it was too the road ahead ... Great gallopin’ late to avoid impact. Was this gophers! Persnickety Pike partially a preventable accident? was blocked by a giant tree!

Feverishly pumping the brakes, Doe took a death grip on the steering wheel, but his frantic, heroic attempts to save the day did no good: His long-nose tractor slid into the fallen oak with a resounding “WHOMP!” Doe’s bumper was brutalized, and his mood was similarly traumatized when he received a warning letter for a preventable accident from his safety director.

Doe contested the ruling, and the National Safety Council was asked to resolve the dispute. NSC immediately upheld the preventable ruling, noting that Doe clearly had been overdriving his headlights and driving too fast for blizzard conditions with deep snow on a dark road.

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