Tata Motors, the Indian company that wants to run with the automotive big dogs in the global economy, announced yesterday its latest adventure – the World Truck.

The World Truck, the company says, will provide more power, carrying capacity and operating economy than its current lineup of trucks. The vehicle was developed in conjunction with two subsidiaries, Tata Daewoo Commercial Vehicle Company in South Korea and the Tata Motors European Technical Centre in the UK.

According to reports, the World Truck is Tata’s attempt to challenge Volvo and Mercedes Benz for global truck market share. “The developing infrastructure in India makes it possible for transporters to reap the benefit of trucks with higher power, speed and carrying capacity,” said Ratan N. Tata, chairman of Tata Sons and Tata Motors. “The new range from Tata Motors will meet those needs. It will also help us penetrate international markets more effectively and competitively.”

One of the standard options for the truck will be GPS tracking, a relative novelty in India as standard equipment. That should give it a leg-up on competition in the world’s fifth biggest truck and bus market. Whether that translates to other markets will be determined.

It is interesting timing for the announcement as world demand for trucks slows, or rather slams to a stop. Most major manufacturers are reporting big drops in sales, and then along comes a new player in the global marketplace. One, in fact, that reported just this morning a 51% drop in revenue in March and by various reports is struggling under debt it incurred to purchase Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford Motor Co. last year.

According to a New York Times article, analysts believed Tata needed to revamp its truck lineup to compete with Volvo and Daimler, both of which are now selling commercial vehicles in India. What once was the domain of Tata is no more.

Now, we’ll wait to see if Tata can compete with the global pack.

Kay Bailey Hutchison may become the best friend trucking has. The Texas senator has introduced a bill (S. 1115) into the U.S. Senate that would prohibit states, private entities and private-public partnerships from adding tolls on federal highways, bridges or tunnels that are built with federal funding.

Hutchison, the ranking Republican member of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, believes it’s unfair to charge motorists for use of the highway via tolls on roads they already paid for through taxes.

“I believe taxing Americans twice for the same asset is fundamentally unfair, and I oppose any effort to place tolls on existing interstate highways,” said Hutchison. “As we work to meet our transportation needs, we must think broadly and avoid band-aid solutions, like tolling, that will ultimately exacerbate congestion and divert traffic into residential neighborhoods and onto smaller, less safe roads.”

This is a battle Hutchison has been fighting for a long time, dating back to at least 1995. The fight continues this year. In April, the senator introduced the Highway Fairness and Reform Act of 2009 that would allow states to opt-out of the federal highway program, which distributes funds on a revenue-sharing basis. The bill would ensure that fuel taxes generated within a state stay within that state.

“Washington shouldn’t take Texas tax dollars and send them to other states,” Hutchison wrote. “Likewise, Texans shouldn’t be charged time and time again to drive on roads they already paid for with their hard earned tax dollars.”

While Hutchison has Texas’ best interests at heart with these bills, the benefits to the rest of the country are endless. From improved roads to lower transportation costs, trucking would be the beneficiary.

The Virginia Dept. of Transportation has scrapped its original plan to close 25 of the state’s 41 Interstate highway rest areas. Instead, the state will close just 19 and add 225 truck parking spaces at the remaining locations. The VDOT will also replace its two-hour time limit with a “no overnight parking” policy and ask Congress for permission to commercialize the rest areas.

I applaud VDOT, after taking heat from the American Trucking Assn., the Virginia Trucking Assn., and other trucking groups, for taking steps necessary to ensure truck drivers have a safe and readily accessible place to rest. The addition of 225 parking spaces is also a positive move. Let’s hope that more spaces will be added in the future.

“Creating new parking and removing two-hour parking restrictions at the remaining safety rest areas is critical for preventing driver fatigue and helping drivers meet federal Hours of Service regulations,” said ATA senior vp and general counsel Richard Holcomb.

Another positive move, in my eyes, is the move to commercialize the rest areas. Quite likely, a private enterprise could and would run the areas more effectively than any state does. And help address budget shortfalls. In addition, more services may be added and that is a win-win for drivers of any vehicle.

For a while last year, one of the most popular searches on our web site was for Ice Road Truckers. Not having access to the History channel last year (it’s a rather long story, but I digress), I had never seen the show.

Then, while vacationing in New Hampshire, I came upon the show one day and sat transfixed by it for nearly three hours of back-to-back episodes – as was my mother, who is in no way interested in trucking.

The good news I found in my in-box this morning is the show is back for its third season. Debuting Sunday, May 31 at 9 p.m., Ice Road Truckers will chronicle Carlile Transportation as it hauls construction materials and oversized drilling rigs along ice roads to the oil camps of Alaska’s North Slope. According to the History Channel, Ice Road legends Hugh “Polar Bear” Rowland and Alex Debogorski return along with veteran George “King of the Haul Road” Spears and Jack Jesse. Joining the cast this year will be Tim Freeman, a rookie from Minnesota, and Lisa Kelly, the first full-time female driver to be seen on Ice Road Truckers, the channel said.

For anyone who has ever hauled in minus-70 degree temperatures or on ice roads, this show provides a reminder of the difficult conditions they faced. For those who never have, after watching the show, you probably will never want to. But it’s still great enjoyment to watch. I know I will.

An interesting story I found posted on Livemint.com yesterday brought to mind (again) the economic crisis and how it has affected all corners of the globe.

According to the article, the number of operators who are behind on payments on their trucks is growing, primarily because of deteriorating economic conditions. What’s changed, however, is the number of lenders repossessing those vehicles. It’s dropped.

““Our tolerance levels have increased as we see no point in seizing the vehicles,” said R. Sridhar, managing director of India’s largest truck financier Sriram Transport Finance Co. Ltd.

The reason for the increased levels of tolerance? The lenders can’t resell the vehicles. In fact, according to the article, many lenders are now providing loans only up to 75% of the vehicle’s cost. With a one-year-old used truck selling for just half its original value these days, it’s easy to see why.

Given the reluctance in this country of banks to foreclose on homes these days, I assume the same policies are taking place with trucks as well. According to John Schultz, an analyst with Gerson Lehrman Group, there may still be more than 25% overcapacity in the U.S. market right now.

While acknowledging that allowing people behind on their payments to keep their trucks is good for the individual, I wonder if it’s good the industry as a whole?

At a time when so many states are considering shutting down rest areas to save money, one family is pushing to find funding for areas for truck drivers to stop and get a good, and safe, night’s rest.

The family of Jason Rivenburg, who was killed in a robbery attempt at an abandoned South Carolina gas station, has created a web site to generate interest in providing safe places for truckers to stop. Several U.S. representatives and senators, including bill sponsors Rep. Paul Tonko (D-NY) in the U.S. House and Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) in the Senate, are pushing bills appropriately nicknamed “Jason’s Law.”

The bills, H.R. 2156 and S. 971, would provide government funding for creating, improving and public awareness of rest stop areas for truckers. The bills have the support of the American Trucking Assn. and should have your support as well.

“ATA supports this critical legislation and urges quick action in Congress,” said Gov. Bill Graves, ATA president & CEO. “The parking shortage for commercial motor vehicles comprises the safety of drivers out on the road and requires a comprehensive solution involving all interested parties.”

Jason Rivenburg left behind his wife Hope, a two-year-old son, Joshua, and twins, Logan and Hezekiah, who were born shortly after his death. Jason was just 12 miles from his destination when he was killed, having stopped for the night before making an early morning delivery of milk.

“Jason always said not to say ‘I can’t; you do not know unless you try,’” reads a statement posted on the family’s web site. “We are trying; it is too late for Jason, but hopefully we can save another family from going through this horrible, senseless act. Please keep passing the word on about ‘Jason’s Law’ and doing whatever you can to help get this legislation passed to protect all of the truckers out there.”

The bills have been sent to committees for review, but they are essential pieces of legislation, in my view, that will protect the drivers who deliver so much of our daily goods. To give them, and their families, the piece of mind of knowing they will return home safely is priceless.

To show your support for Jason’s Law, visit jhlrivenburg.com to sign an online petition urging passage of the bill, or call, write or email your local congressman. The time is now.

While I am sympathetic to the concerns of the agricultural industry, I believe changes to the hours of service rules regarding agricultural haulers are needed.

The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s (CVSA) director of policy & programs, Steve Keppler, told Fleet Owner’s Sean Kilcarr that CVSA, which is pushing for a change, is only interested in changing the statutory exemption agricultural haulers enjoy to a regulatory exemption, not eliminating the exemption as some fear.

The difference, Keppler said, is a regulatory exemption would allow the policy to be reviewed periodically. “There’s already a regulatory process established for obtaining HOS exemptions and we feel they should use it,” he said. “Our concern is that crashes and out-of-service rates for vehicles and drivers have increased in the agricultural sector over the last four years that this exemption has been in place. That’s the wrong direction [to go] in terms of highway safety.”

The agricultural industry claims the statutory exemption, allowing it to extend HOS rules if the carrier is operating within a 100-mi. radius of its base of operations, is necessary to hold down consumer food prices as the commodities they haul have finite shelf lives. The exemption was put in place in 2005.

“It is critical that agriculture in the U.S. is able to depend on this exemption to move their commodities from farm to fork,” David Schroyer, president of Schroyer Truck & Trailer Sales told Kilcarr.

“The issue is the agricultural industry has a limited time window for harvesting and food processing, as well as the planting and fertilizing of seed – a time window dictated by Mother Nature, not humans,” Schroyer added. “Repealing this exemption will have a devastating impact on agriculture and could result in price increases for food products for consumers.”

The problem is that a recent study by the U.S. Dept. of Transportation’s Volpe National Transportation Systems Center showed that agricultural carriers operating within the 100 mi. radius had a 19% higher crash rating from 2005 through 2007 than similar carriers operating outside that radius.

Is that a statistical anomaly or a trend? Hard to say. But in my view, when safety is at issue, it’s better to err on the side of caution. If the agricultural haulers are indeed safety conscious, then facing a regulatory exemption that is reviewed periodically should not scare them in the least.

The old saying, if you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to worry about holds true. If safety is an issue, than a periodic review will identify that and maybe lives can be saved.

I’d pay more for that.

So, as the economy plods along in its present state, one subsection of the trucking industry continues to feel the pain, and will likely feel the pain even after an economic turnaround.

Trailer manufacturers are certainly hurting as fleets aren’t buying. Wabash National reached agreement with its bank yesterday on a forbearance agreement revolving line of credit to help it manage its debts. Just last week, it announced it would not be bringing back 790 employees that have been on an extended holiday break since Christmas.

Wabash is not the only manufacturer struggling, though. The whole industry, which saw a huge drop in trailer output from 2007 to 2008 (from 218,422 units to 151,641), expects to see even further declines this year.

The problem, as I see it, is the durability of trailers. Even when the economy improves, will fleets purchase new trailers. Maybe, maybe not. Trailers will last longer than tractors, so if a fleet has to decide where to spend its money for the next several years, guess where it’s going?

That is more bad news for the manufacturers, and potentially bad news for the whole industry long term. As fewer trailers are purchased, the likelihood of several trailer builders going out of business increases. The end result is decreased competition. The lack of competition hurts in several ways, notably the slowdown of technological achievements as companies may not see the need to invest in advancing aerodynamics, cost reduction technologies, and more. Ultimately, with fewer players, it might also lead to higher prices.

Hopefully, I’m just being pessimistic and this scenario will not play out.