posted by admin on Jun 15
* USA - Caterpillar exits on-highway engine businessA Caterpillar-branded heavy vocational truck will hit the market in 2010. Significantly will have a Cat-branded engine manufactured by Navistar
PEORIA,ILL,USA -
Today's Trucking -13 June 2008: --
Following months of speculation, Caterpillar has announced that it’s leaving the heavy-duty on-highway truck engine business by 2010, before the next round of emissions legislation kicks in... At the same time, after yet more speculation and frequent denials, Caterpillar and Navistar announced that they’ve signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding that will see them pursue global truck business opportunities together and “co-operate” on engine platforms. The agreement is expected to be firmed up in the coming weeks but the first fruit of this joint effort seems solid – a Caterpillar-branded heavy vocational truck will hit the market in 2010, aimed at construction, oilfield, and other severe-service on/off-road applications. Significantly, the truck will have a Cat-branded engine manufactured by Navistar, says George Taylor, director of Cat’s global on-highway business... (Photo: Cat's 2007-spec C15 engine will be sold through 2009)
* Europe - Volkswagen wins approval to buy Scania
Brussels,Belgium -
Xinhua (Beijing,China) -June 15, 2008: --
Germany's Volkswagen has won the approval from the European Union (EU) to buy Swedish truck and bus maker Scania... "The transaction would not give rise to competition concerns" in the European Union (EU), the European Commission, the EU's antitrust watchdog, said in a recent statement after examining the operation... Volkswagen mainly produces passenger cars and light commercial vehicles, including spare parts and accessories, while Scania manufactures trucks with a gross vehicle weight of more than 16 tons for long-haulage, construction haulage and distribution of goods...
Although Volkswagen holds a minority shareholding in MAN, a German producer of medium-sized and heavy trucks, buses and engines, the activities of Volkswagen and Scania do not overlap as far as their core business is concerned, the commission said... (Xinhua/Reuters File Photo - A worker cleans the windscreen of a truck at the plant of Swedish truck maker Scania in Sodertalje, outside Stockholm, September 13, 2006)
* Eaton Wins CALSTART 2008 Blue Sky AwardCleveland,OH,USA -
Today's Trucking -13 June 2008: --
Diversified industrial manufacturer Eaton Corporation announced it has received the CALSTART 2008 Blue Sky Award for innovation and advancement in sustainable transportation technology. The annual award recognizes outstanding marketplace contributions to clean air, energy efficiency and the clean transportation industry overall... Eaton produced both hybrid electric and hybrid hydraulic systems, including the Hydraulic Launch Assist (HLA®) parallel hybrid system. This breadth of technology was a driving force behind Eaton's winning the Blue Sky Award and is a key advantage for customers who are able to select the system best suited to their business and market needs... Depending on hybrid application and driving patterns, reported fuel savings range from 30 to 60 percent, with similar reductions in harmful emissions and particulates...
Tags:
hybrid,
transportation,
trucks
posted by admin on Jun 12
Use of hybrid engine technology in commercial trucks remains very much in its infancy. Expect that infancy to last a while, even with diesel prices soaringNew York,NY,USA -
Forbes, by Andrew T. Gillies -11 June 2008: --
... A hybrid big rig costs 50% more than a conventional one, too rich a premium for most consumers. The federal government, while interested in promoting more efficient trucks, isn't a likely savior here... All this was up for discussion at a Tuesday Capitol Hill hearing, held by the House Committee on Science and Technology's Subcommittee on Energy and the Environment... It's not for lack of trying: For 15 years, the federal government has worked on bringing about that shift, through both military efforts and Department of Energy programs like the Advanced Heavy Hybrid Propulsion Systems initiative and the 21st Century Truck Partnership... Meanwhile, the private sector has been pushing ahead with hybrid systems, which combine gas and electric motors, in passenger cars... But, as several panelists pointed out Tuesday, passenger cars and commercial trucks are very different beasts...
Tags:
big rig,
hybrid,
motors,
trucks
posted by admin on Jun 12
* Kenworth To Show T370 Hybrid Utility Truck
USA -
Layover -11 June 2008: --
Kenworth Truck Company will display a medium duty diesel-electric hybrid utility truck and participate in a drive-through demonstration at the 55th annual Electric Utility Fleet Managers Conference (EUFMC) in Williamsburg, Va., June 15 to 18... Kenworth goals for the medium duty hybrids are to enhance fuel economy by up to 50 percent in utility operations and by up to 30 percent in pickup and delivery applications. The Kenworth hybrid utility truck is equipped with a utility bucket atop a boom. While a non-hybrid utility truck must idle to operate its lift, the hybrid's lift typically operates on electric power, which saves fuel and reduces emissions... 
Tags:
Delivery,
hybrid
posted by admin on Jun 10
As costs rise for the trucking industry, our costs riseMilwaukee,WI,USA -
The Milwaukee Small Business Times, by F. James Sensenbrenner -June 9, 2008: --
... Commercial traffic is vital to the American economy, and no industry is more affected by rising energy costs... The additional price of the truckers' fuel raises the price of our food, health care, manufacturing, retail, waste removal and other goods and services ... The answer is not to burden these businesses with additional taxes for the carbon dioxide they release... Technological advances can mitigate the fuel crisis just as effectively as tax increases. Congress should encourage the development and introduction of technologies that will reduce fuel costs and consumption.In this case, the technologies we need already exist. We just need research to adapt them to the trucking industry. Everyone has seen hybrid cars, which combine gas and electric motors for a powerful and efficient engine. Hybrid technology can be even more effective in trucks, because trucks consume so much more fuel...
Tags:
hybrid,
motors,
trucks
posted by admin on Jun 6
Mr Williams said the board had decided on growthAltona,VIC,Australia -
The Age -6 June 2008: --
Peter Williams has a clear message: the McColls transport business is still open for business... McColls is also part of the Pure Logistics ship, but operates separately from the cold chain unit... McColls, with its 200 prime movers that carry food, petrol and chemicals, is a solid, medium-sized presence in the transport sector. Annual turnover is $150 million... Shareholders include private equity players such as ABN Amro Capital, and debt holders... In the past two years, McColls' business has grown more than 30%, but like all transport companies, it is facing the crunch of rising fuel prices and the issue of greenhouse gas emissions... The company aims to replace half its 200 prime-movers over the next two years with more fuel-efficient and greenhouse-friendly vehicles... Greenhouse issues are also on the agenda. McColls is testing four local-haul trucks that are a gas-diesel hybrid... (Video fromYouTube, by
DingosGotMyBaby - January 22, 2007:
"McColls Convoy" Convoy For Kids Geelong 96)
Tags:
fuel prices,
hybrid,
trucks
posted by admin on Jun 5
Environmental Protection Agency officials said they expect to begin testing heavy- and medium-duty trucks for fuel efficiency later this summerWashington,DC,USA -Light & Medium Trucks/
Transport Topics, by Daniel P. Bearth/Automotive Digest -3 June 2008: --
... Cheryl Bynum, a program manager with EPA’s SmartWay Transport Partnership, said testing would begin “by the end of summer,” but added, “I don’t think a final protocol can be completed before mid-2009.”... Bynum spoke at an EPA-sponsored workshop in Washington, D.C., to solicit feedback from industry representatives after the agency published a draft test protocol in November. Agency officials had been working closely with trucking officials and equipment manufacturers to develop fuel testing procedures since last year... Under the draft EPA test protocol, EPA proposed testing a variety of different commercial truck configurations, including an over-the road tractor-trailer combination and regional haul truck, a drayage truck, a parcel or beverage delivery vehicle, a garbage truck, a utility service truck and a transit bus, based on simulated average loads and duty cycles... Initial testing would be conducted simultaneously on a test track and a chassis dynamometer to determine if there is any difference in performance... A separate procedure for testing diesel-electric hybrid trucks would also be developed... 
Tags:
Delivery,
fuel efficiency,
hybrid,
regional,
trucks
posted by admin on May 29
Diesel-electric engines cut fuel consumption
Vancouver,BC,Canada -
The Province, by Frank Luba -May 28, 2008: --
Green is joining red in Coca-Cola's corporate colours... The soft-drink giant announced yesterday that it's launching a fleet of heavy-duty, diesel-electric hybrid delivery trucks... The 22 trucks, 10 of which will be based in the Lower Mainland, cost 50-per-cent more than traditional vehicles but use 37-per-cent less fuel, produce 32-per-cent fewer emissions and run more quietly, the company said... While the trucks' 215 horsepower diesel engines run continuously, the 14,969-kilogram vehicles run primarily on electric power up to about 50 kilometres per hour, the company said... The diesel engine is engaged when more power is required and the batteries also recharge during braking... After Canada, Coke will start using the Quebec-built hybrids in the U.S. and hopes to add 120 vehicles there. The fleet of 142 will be the largest hybrid, heavy-duty distribution fleet in North America, the company said... (Picture by Jon Murray - The Province: Coca-Cola Canada president Kevin Warren, park board chairwoman Korina Houghton and Vancouver Mayor Sam Sullivan mark Coca-Cola's green-truck initiative)
Tags:
batteries,
Delivery,
hybrid,
trucks
posted by admin on May 22
Washington,DC,USA -
Today's Trucking -22 May 2008: --
A government-corporate partnership led by Calstart's Hybrid Truck Users Forum has selected Hybra-Drive Systems LLC to build three Class 6 trucks for real-world testing by UPS, FedEx Ground and Canada's Purolator... Hybra-Drive hopes the evaluations will demonstrate up to a 60 percent cut in fuel use along with an accompanying reduction in emissions.In a hydraulic hybrid truck, a high-efficiency diesel engine is combined with a unique hydraulic propulsion system, replacing the conventional drivetrain and transmission... The vehicle uses hydraulic pumps and hydraulic storage tanks to store energy, similar to what is done with electric motors and batteries in hybrid electric vehicles. Fuel economy is increased in three ways: vehicle braking energy is recovered that normally is wasted; the engine is operated more efficiently; and the engine can be shut off when stopped or decelerating...
Tags:
batteries,
hybrid,
motors,
trucks
PEORIA,ILL,USA -Today's Trucking -13 June 2008: -- Following months of speculation, Caterpillar has announced that it’s leaving the heavy-duty on-highway truck engine business by 2010, before the next round of emissions legislation kicks in... At the same time, after yet more speculation and frequent denials, Caterpillar and Navistar announced that they’ve signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding that will see them pursue global truck business opportunities together and “co-operate” on engine platforms. The agreement is expected to be firmed up in the coming weeks but the first fruit of this joint effort seems solid – a Caterpillar-branded heavy vocational truck will hit the market in 2010, aimed at construction, oilfield, and other severe-service on/off-road applications. Significantly, the truck will have a Cat-branded engine manufactured by Navistar, says George Taylor, director of Cat’s global on-highway business... (Photo: Cat's 2007-spec C15 engine will be sold through 2009)
Brussels,Belgium - Xinhua (Beijing,China) -June 15, 2008: -- Germany's Volkswagen has won the approval from the European Union (EU) to buy Swedish truck and bus maker Scania... "The transaction would not give rise to competition concerns" in the European Union (EU), the European Commission, the EU's antitrust watchdog, said in a recent statement after examining the operation... Volkswagen mainly produces passenger cars and light commercial vehicles, including spare parts and accessories, while Scania manufactures trucks with a gross vehicle weight of more than 16 tons for long-haulage, construction haulage and distribution of goods... 
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