It’s time to skip the highway and hit the city streets.

OK, maybe it’s not that simple. But according to research from the University of Buffalo, driving along surface streets rather than along highways could potentially reduce carbon monoxide emissions. The research, led by UB researchers Adel Sadek and Liya Guo, is part of a larger project the duo is undertaking evaluating the likely environmental benefits of green routing in the region.

According to computer simulations of traffic in Buffalo, NY,’s Niagara region, so-called “green routing” could reduce emissions of carbon monoxide by 27% for area drivers, while increasing the length of trips by an average of just 11%. more

Volvo Trucks is showcasing a new technology today that aims to solve the problem of a truck driver’s blind spot. The company is showing the technology at the Intersafe 2 EU demonstration in Wolfsburg, Germany.

“Above all, it is changes on the passenger side of the truck that the driver does not see. Pedestrians and cyclists, in particular, are really in danger here. This system alerts the driver about their movements on the right of the vehicle,” said Malte Ahrholdt, project manager at Volvo Technology.

By using laser scanners and ultrasonic sensors, the technology helps detect pedestrians and bicyclists who may be in a driver’s blind spot before the vehicle makes a right-hand turn, putting innocent people at risk. more

Part of the deal that President Barack Obama struck with Mexican President Calderon last week to allow Mexican trucks to cross the border and operate inside the U.S. was the requirement that those trucks install electronic onboard recorders (EOBRs).

What we now know about that deal is that FMCSA will pay for the installation of the EOBRs. Talk about a political football. Given how many feel about Mexican truck drivers on U.S. roads, I wonder if this provision was put in by the Administration to show Mexico that we were doing everything we could to comply with the requirements of NAFTA, while at the same time creating an out for the public and Congress.

For the record, I am in favor of opening the border and allowing Mexican trucks to haul into the U.S., just as American trucks should be allowed to haul into Mexico. As I’ve written before, though, those Mexican trucks should meet all U.S. rules and regulations, from safety to emissions to highway laws. There are many people, though, who disagree with this premise.

(Trucking leader says Mexican trucks can not meet EPA standards)

While I believe the specifics of the border trucking program should be debated. This revelation seems a lot like a poison pill designed to torpedo the program before it can be resurrected. According to reports, the reason the U.S. wants to pay for the EOBRs is so that the government “owns” the data the devices collect. Until someone can provide a valid reason as to why the government needs to own this data, I question why this is important. more

Just before Christmas, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) released the new hours-of-service proposal. Then, this morning, it did the same for an electronic onboard recorder (EOBR) rule.

What the agency failed to do, though, is use these rules to complement each to truly create safer roadways. It completely missed the boat.

Whether you are in favor of either rule or not, if they come to be, then the EOBR rule should be used to allow for more flexibility in a driver’s day. By failing to do so, FMCSA is wasting the advantages an EOBR can bring. more

Rising fuel costs, budget cuts, the ebb and flow of freight, and any number of other outside influences continue to put downward pressure on fleet budgets. Yes, the economy is recovering, but the Great Recession will likely leave a lasting impact on the way business in general, and fleets in particular, conduct their operations.

Long gone are the days when a middle manager could ask for a new piece of equipment and, trusting his loyal lieutenant, the president or CEO would simply answer, “Sure, go ahead and buy it.” Nowadays, that same request likely must be made along with cost-benefit analysis and return on investment timeframe. Then, maybe, it will be approved, if other value can be demonstrated as well.

So how does a manager work around this? Software packages, of course. There are a multitude of fleet management packages on the market today. All can help a manager justify and show how an idea can not only save a fleet money, but generate it as well.

Businesses are analyzing expenses like never before. Managers need to be prepared to defend those costs and show what they are doing to keep them in line. more

An analysis from Jay Thompson at the Gerson Lehrman Group correctly points out the problems with the new Hours-of-Service regulations proposed just before Christmas by the Dept. of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.



The rule requires time – something that is in short supply in an industry trying to meet deadlines.

“It’s one of those things where we try to balance highway safety against driver health against driver income against driver happiness (miles and home time),” Thompson wrote. “As one who follows and tries to make sense out of numbers, improving safety numbers from where we are now is extremely difficult. The other main ingredient in truck safety is the drivers’ attitude, which these rules have us potentially going in the wrong direction.”

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The Ohio Turnpike Commission is considering raising the speed limit on the Turnpike. According to Marilou Johanek of the Toledo Blade, the authority wants to raise the speed limit on the Turnpike from 65 mph to 70 mph.

Mostly, I think I have to agree with Johanek, who lays out a pretty good argument against the proposal. But she does lose some credibility when she highlights the additional dangers due to faster trucks on the highway. And she takes this argument because the Turnpike authority itself uses truck efficiency as a reason for the proposed increase.

“If the turnpike commission sets a higher speed limit for all vehicles using the 241-mile highway, it could soon give truckers even more reason to speed,” she writes. “Ever since truck speeds on the Turnpike were raised, the number of accidents involving trucks has increased, as has the number of deaths in such accidents.” more

Jim Cramer, perhaps best known as the host of CNBC’s widely popular “Mad Money” stock-advice show, is bullish on truck stocks. Why? Because, according to the official Mad Money blog written on Mad Money web editor Tom Brennan, sometimes there are longer-term trends that outweigh short-term reality.

Brennan writes: “These are the longer-term trends in business that supersede any short-term fluctuations in the market or the economy. Like these Cramer faves taking place right now: the mobile Internet tsunami, agriculture, autos and aftermarket auto parts, cloud computing, shoes, aerospace and trucks.”

“Now, the benefit of trading these bull markets is that they lend you the confidence you need to weather those aforementioned fluctuations. Oil’s down? A bad unemployment number? China’s raising interest rates? Whatever—just use the weakness to buy your secular bull market stocks,” Brennan wrote.

The blog states that Cramer recommended buying into Cummins (NYSE: CMI) back on June 2. His belief was that there would be a resurgence in the truck market, and sure enough, Cummins rebounded, closing at $105.03 on Friday, up some 63% since June 2.

By the way, Cramer is also suggesting Paccar (Nasdaq: PCAR) and Navistar (NYSE: NAV). If he’s right, we’re all probably in for a successful 2011.

Support for increasing weight limits has been gaining ground in the last several years for a number of reasons, including improving productivity, increasing safety due to fewer trucks on the road, and environmental reasons.

And just as that support continues to grow, proponents of the higher weight limits suffered a setback on Wednesday night when the U.S. House of Representatives stripped out a provision in a funding bill that effectively kills the state of Maine’s pilot program to allow trucks up to 100,000 lbs. on Federal Interstate highways in that state.

“I am so disappointed that the House has passed a Continuing Resolution that does not include either a permanent fix or an extension of the current pilot program. Given the time constraints and voting rules in the Senate, it is unlikely that we can restore the truck weights language that the House took out, thus jeopardizing the fate of what has been a successful pilot project,” said Sen. Susan Collins, the Maine Republican who authored the legislation setting up the pilot program.

The provision had been included in a bill known as a Continuing Resolution (CR). The CR provides funding for programs through Sept. 30, 2011.

The pilot program will end at the end of the day on Dec. 17, forcing carriers in Maine to make some quick decisions.

“Permanently allowing the heaviest trucks to use federal Interstate highways in Maine has always been one of my top priorities,” Collins said in a press release. “The pilot project, that I authored, has clearly provided economic, energy, and environmental benefits and has made our secondary roads and many downtowns safer. That is why the President agreed to my request to include a provision to make the pilot project permanent in his proposed CR.”

The pilot program, begun last December, allowed six-axle trucks weighing up to 100,000 lbs. to travel in Interstates in Maine, including I-95, I-195, I-295, and I-395.

Collins’ office released the results of a preliminary study conducted by the Maine Dept. of Transportation that said the program saved both money and time while improving safety.

“For example, on a trip from Hampden to Houlton, a truck travelling on Interstate 95 saves 50 minutes over Route 2 and avoids more than 270 intersections and nine school crossings. The driver also saves approximately $30 on fuel by traveling on the Interstate,” the report stated.

Collins, who is on the Senate Appropriations Committee, has tried to work with the Administration to make the program permanent.

Just last week, experts speaking at the “Moving the World: The Future of Freight Transportation,” forum in Washington DC addressed the issue of heavier trucks and the role they can play in a more efficient supply chain.

“Truck productivity is limited by policy in this country, not technology,” said John Woodrooffe, director of the transportation safety analysis division at the University of Michigan’s Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI). “Size and weight policy is frozen by politics and what we’re saying is let science guide policy instead.”

John Runyan, executive director of the Coalition for Transportation Productivity, said the climate for allowing heavier trucks is changing.

“The political reality surrounding this issue is shifting,” he noted at the conference. “Two years ago, when we started our group in the wake of the summer fuel price surge, I would never have thought states like Maine and Vermont would be pilot-testing heavier trucks on their highways.

“But the political landscape has shifted due to this conflux of environmental, fuel consumption, and highway congestion,” he added. “So we have a shot at this.”

Increasing truck weights still has a shot to win the war, but at least one battle seems to have been lost.

After 14 years leading the world’s second-largest truck maker, Leif Johansson will step aside. The president & CEO of Volvo Trucks has told the board of AB Volvo will he resign next summer as he approaches his 60th birthday.

“My years at Volvo have been a fantastic period in my life and this is by no means a light-hearted decision, but at some point it’s time to leave,” said Johansson. “The timing is good both with respect to my personal situation and with respect to the more stable situation for the company.”

Johansson will also leave the board.

“I made this announcement today because I wanted to give the Board ample time to arrange with an orderly replacement process,” he said, adding that he has no plans to move to a different company.

“I have been CEO and president of public companies for 20 years now and have no intention to move on to a CEO position elsewhere, but I might consider new board assignments,” Johansson said.

Johansson will turn 60 in August 2011 and has been CEO & president of Volvo since 1997. He is also on a number of other boards with other companies, including Bristol Myers Squibb and SCA. He is currently also chairman of the European Round Table of Industrialists.

“Leif Johansson has done an impressive job during his years at Volvo and although I regret his decision I have full respect for it given his many years of hard work,” said Louis Schweitzer, chairman of the board of Volvo. “The board will now focus on finding his successor.

Johansson led Volvo’s purchase of Renault Trucks and Mack Trucks and, according to the Reference for Business, was behind the decision to sell the Volvo car brand to Ford Motor Co. in 1999.

Johansson was not afraid to make the tough decisions in his career. Somehow, I’m betting this was another one.