Better times are ahead, and to make the most of the industry rebound, you need to prepare. Make sure you’re ready to meet growing customer needs – and maximize your profits – through strategic inventory building and careful cash flow management and budgeting.

Bruce Plaxton, president of BGP Marketing Solutions and a 30-plus year industry authority on distribution strategies, remanufacturing and branding, will explore actions you need to take now to make sure you’re not left behind when the market recovers. Plaxton – who has authored more than 100 technical and business articles and provided consulting to a broad range of businesses, including Fortune 100 companies.

View the archived “Surviving the Recovery”

Shell Lubricants on Friday, Aug. 27, introduced a revamped Shell Rotella heavy-duty engine antifreeze/coolant product portfolio that is led by Shell Rotella Ultra ELC, an extended-life antifreeze/coolant for use in heavy-duty diesel, gasoline and natural gas-powered engines.

“Shell Rotella Ultra ELC is an improved-performance next-generation extended-life engine coolant that is designed to meet the more severe operating conditions of new emissions-compliant engines,” says Stede Granger, technical manager for Shell Lubricants. “Shell Rotella Ultra ELC is the most technologically advanced coolant offered by the Shell Rotella brand.”

Shell Rotella Ultra ELC is joined in the line of heavy-duty coolants by Shell Rotella Fully Formulated, which has replaced Shell Diesel Ready Fully Formulated Coolant/Antifreeze, and Shell Rotella ELC. Positioning a complete line of coolants under the Shell Rotella brand complements the Shell Rotella portfolio of heavy-duty engine oils, which also offer high-performance protection for today’s heavy duty diesel engines. Shell Rotella Ultra ELC, Shell Rotella ELC and Shell Rotella Fully Formulated currently are available in bulk and drums and will be available in gallon bottles before the end of 2010.

“The inclusion of Shell Rotella Ultra ELC in the coolant portfolio is an important part of the continued growth and development of the Shell Rotella product line,” says Mark Reed, Shell Rotella global brand manager. “This further strengthens our position as technology leaders by providing a diverse line of coolants and engine oil products that are designed to meet the challenges of today’s and future heavy-duty engines.”

Jasper Engines & Transmissions announced it is offering fuel components with many of its popular complete diesel engine applications.

These components, including pumps, turbochargers and injectors, will be available for the following complete diesel engines: GM 6.5L and 6.6L Duramax, International 444 and 6.0L, Cummins ISB and Mercedes 2.7L.

“Anytime a customer inquires on any of these complete engines, we will offer to quote the fuel system components as well,” said Ryan Dooley, Jasper Diesel Fuel Room Manager.

“We feel this is a great opportunity for our installers to purchase remanufactured diesel fuel components at the same time they purchase the complete engine,” said Matt Weinzapfel, Jasper Diesel Division Manager.

A Jasper remanufactured complete diesel engine typically includes the block, head, crank, cam, rods, valve train, oil pump, oil pan and pickup tube, oil filter, oil cooler, inner and outer gear covers and finishing gaskets, based on application.

For more information, contact Jasper at 1-800-827-7455 or visit www.jasperengines.com.

Ransome, a Bensalem, Pa.-based Caterpillar dealer for nearly 80 years, now has been appointed by Navistar International to handle International truck sales, parts, service, leasing, rentals and engine overhauls in Philadelphia, Delaware and Chester Counties in Pennsylvania and in southern New Jersey.

“Our established expertise in truck and engine service makes this a sensible fit for us and for International, but especially for truck owners,” says Wayne Bromley, Ransome president. “We now handle truck sales, leasing, rentals and warranty service for International trucks, as well as maintenance and repairs for all other trucks and truck engines, regardless of make.”

Ransome’s facilities are located in Allentown, Whitehall, Fleetwood, Bensalem and West Chester, Pa.; Bear, Del.; and Toms River, Hammonton and Swedesboro, N.J. The company’s main truck facilities are located in West Chester and Swedesboro, while used truck sales, rentals, service and engine work also are performed at the other locations.

“Among our 550 employees, nearly 100 are highly trained truck technicians, qualified to service nearly every make and model of truck found in the U.S.,” says Lee Pearson, Ransome corporate marketing manager. “It’s almost a certainty that with our addition of International Trucks, we’ll be adding technical staff at several locations.”

There were 354,400 used commercial vehicles (GVW Class 3-8) registered in the U.S. during the first two quarters of 2010, according to Polk, a provider of data-driven solutions for the commercial vehicle industry. Polk says this number sets a new record for used commercial vehicle registrations in a six-month timeframe and represents nearly 68 percent of the commercial vehicle market. Additionally, this figure represents an increase of 28.8 percent over the same timeframe in 2009.

“The significant increase in used vehicle registrations so far this year is indicative of an uptick in the industry with the changeover of the commercial fleet,” says Gary Meteer, director of sales and client services at Polk. “Large fleet owners and operators are upgrading to new vehicles, and therefore the smaller fleet companies and independent owner-operators have great opportunities to find available clean used equipment.”

The combined registrations of new and used commercial vehicles in the first half of 2010 were 524,700, representing an 18.9 percent increase over the same period last year. New commercial vehicle registrations saw just a slight increase of 3.1 percent in the timeframe.

The national retail price of on-highway diesel dipped 1.9 cents to $2.938 per gallon during the week ending Monday, Aug. 30. The price of diesel, which dropped for the third consecutive week, is 26.4 cents higher than the same week last year, according to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration.

Diesel prices declined in all regions except the Rocky Mountain states, where prices inched up 0.3-cent. The Rocky Mountain region also was the only area where prices rose the week before. The Gulf Coast region enjoyed the largest price decline at 2.8 cents, followed by the Lower Atlantic at 2.4 cents.

As usual, prices were highest in California at $3.15 a gallon, followed by $3.101 in other West Coast states. The nation’s least expensive diesel by region, $2.886, was found in the Lower Atlantic region.

Average retail prices for all regions are available on EIA’s website.

During a presentation at the Commercial Vehicle Outlook Conference in Dallas, Rob Abbott, American Trucking Associations’ vice president of safety policy, reviewed a number of safety-related issues facing the trucking industry, including Comprehensive Safety Analysis 2010 (CSA 2010), electronic onboard recorders (EOBRs) and the pending hours-of-service rulemaking.

“CSA 2010 is a step in the right direction,” said Abbott. “It’s a positive well-thought-through program. It does a lot of things that the industry and ATA has asked for over the last 15 years,” including performance-based analysis, real-time compliance measurements and a focus of limited enforcement of resources. “FMCSA is to be applauded for listening to the industry … and making a genuine attempt to address some of the issues that we’ve raised.”

Abbott went on to highlight some of the remaining issues ATA has with the new system, including crash causation, inappropriate severity weights, variability in state crash reporting and measurement of flatbed carriers. “We’ve been calling on FMCSA to remove from consideration crashes that weren’t the carrier’s fault or couldn’t have been prevented,” Abbott said. “The FMCSA has demonstrated a willingness to look at this issue and have committed that eventually they will do so, but have indicated that their process to do that would be tied to a future rulemaking on making using CSA 2010 to assign safety fitness determination ratings. There are a few things that have to be improved in the program if it is going to work appropriately and effectively identify unsafe carriers.”

On the issue of an upcoming hours-of-service rule, Abbott speculated that possible changes could include reduction in driving time, mandatory rest breaks, nighttime restrictions, longer restarts and sleeper berth flexibility.

Reducing driving time would increase new driver entrants to the market, which poses a potential safety issue, Abbott said. “If you have to add new drivers, you’re adding inexperienced drivers who are potentially more crash-prone.”

Abbott discussed concerns with a proposed EOBR mandate expected by the end of the year that potentially could broaden the scope of the current mandate to include new entrants and hazmat carriers. “Based on pressure from Congress and the National Highway Transportation Safety Board, this mandate will be far broader than that.”

Issues that Abbott believes the industry will face in the near future include a formal texting ban with specific penalties for drivers and a proposed rule on handheld cell phone use and other distracting devices.

American Trucking Associations Chairman Tommy Hodges on Thursday, Aug. 26, offered a guarded assessment of the trucking industry during the Commercial Vehicle Outlook Conference in Dallas.

About 5,500 carrier failures have led to nearly 200,000 fewer trucks in the marketplace. This tightening of capacity and stronger consumer confidence has Hodges more optimistic for the short-term outlook.

Are for the economic downturn, “we’ve hit the bottom,” Hodges said. “We are in a replenishment mode. We have hit the bottom in consumer confidence, and consumers are feeling better.” As for the long term, Hodges pointed to various think-tank groups that are forecasting a 30 percent increase in freight tonnage over the next decade.

The trucking industry does face some regulatory challenges in the next few months, Hodges said. He would like to see highway reauthorization at the top of the list of important matters, but he sees cap-and-trade, truck size and weight, electronic onboard recorders, Comprehensive Safety Analysis 2010 and the revamped hours-of-service rules as the current hot-button issues for the trucking industry.

Hodges briefly outlined each issue:

• Proposed cap-and-trade legislation that could put a 47-cent increase on refineries will have a residual effect on trucking, he said.
• Hodges said legislation concerning size and weight of trucks is the most decisive issue for the industry, and it’s difficult to get a consensus.
• As for EOBRs, “Get ready for them,” he said. “They are coming.” This could result in a $1,750 price increase for each truck.
• Hodges called CSA 2010 “free agency for drivers,” as it puts drivers with good safety records in the driver’s seat to make wage and benefits demands on trucking companies.
• Hodges expects the rewrite of the HOS rule to create a productivity hit on the industry. He said driving time may be reduced by one or two hours per day, and the industry could see the loss of the 34-hour restart provision. “This could mean an 18- to 19-percent loss of productivity if we lose two hours of driving time.”

A panel of fleet executives talked about the changes they made to their operations during the recent recession, what they are doing today during the transition and what they see for the future in terms of the cost and productivity challenges they will face.

Max Fuller, co-chairman of U.S. Xpress; Leo Suggs, chairman and chief executive officer of Greatwide Logistics Services; and Tom Kretsinger, president and CEO of American Central Transport, shared their strategies and ideas in a panel discussion moderated by Avery Vise, editorial director of Commercial Carrier Journal, Successful Dealer and Truck Parts & Service during the Commercial Vehicle Outlook Conference.

“Every day is a bold move,” Fuller said when describing current struggles. “If you are not making bold moves, you will not be here for long. We had to change the way we did business during the last two or three years. We did damage control, and now some of the things that we tied down we will have to loosen up and move forward aggressively and give good service.”

Suggs said that if there is any silver lining to a recession, “it is that it causes you to look at every part of your business and eliminate inefficiencies. Those who survived the recession have come out of it much stronger.”

The panelist agreed that one of the biggest challenges they face is capacity, which is impacted by the ability to find and retain drivers. “The priority today is what do we need to do to find capacity, and we will have to do things we have never done before,” Suggs contended.

One bold move, according to Suggs, may be recruiting in Eastern Europe.

The discussion also focused on equipment and 2010 engines. The U.S. Xpress fleet is already using some 2010 engines, and Fuller said that drivability and reliability are good so far, but that the big problem is cost. “And it is not just the cost of the engine, but the cost of the truck as well,” he said.

Kretsinger said that equipment decisions are tough to make and that the new engines “cause sticker shock at a time when we have come off of 18 months of cost-cutting.” He believes owner-operators are not in a position to purchase the newer vehicles.

The driver shortage also likely will have an impact on the type of equipment fleets purchase. The fleet executives agreed that fleets will have to focus on driver amenities and ways to keep drivers comfortable and safe.

The regulatory environment is very much on the minds of fleet executives. Kretsinger believes that Comprehensive Safety Analysis 2010, electronic onboard recorders and hours of service all are tied together and will have an impact on fleet management. His fleet already is using EOBRs that allow him in real time to see what his drivers are doing.

Suggs believes the convergence of these three items can have a catastrophic impact on trucking. “If you couple the likely reduction in hours of service with CSA 2010 and the driver shortage, we have a crisis shaping up,” he said.

The panel wrapped up by talking about what they think the next five years will look like. Kretsinger said that instead of fleets focusing on miles, they will be focusing on driver time. “We will be looking at how to put drivers’ time to good use.”

Better utilization of equipment is what Suggs sees on the horizon. “We can’t afford to have drivers and equipment sitting on the side of the road for 10 to 12 hours.”

Kicking off the inaugural Commercial Vehicle Outlook Conference in Dallas on Wednesday, Aug. 25, Dan Sobic, executive vice president of Paccar Inc., set the stage for a recovering truck market that will demand the highest levels of quality and cooperation from vehicle and supplier manufacturers.

Paccar’s focus on quality and operational improvement through programs such as Six Sigma, Sobic says, are fundamental to the company’s success. These same commitments are necessary from the supplier base, especially as the market strengthens and production increases.

He outlines what Paccar expects from its supplier partners:

• Global capabilities and global support;
• Investment in technology and quality systems;
• Less than 50 ppm (parts per million) defects or errors;
• A commitment to Six Sigma;
• Investment in capacity to support Paccar’s global growth;
• Reducing product complexity without compromising performance and quality;
• Increasing design collaboration;
• Jointly providing low-cost solutions for customers; and
• On-time delivery.

Regarding the latter, Sobic says, “If there’s one message I can leave you with from the parts aftermarket business, it is not ‘location, location, location.’ It is ‘availability, availability, availability.’” He says as truck production ramps up, Paccar is looking to its supplier base to provide a 97 percent fill rate.“We are taking steps to increase our parts inventory goals to ensure that our customers will have the part when it is required.”

While North American truck sales continue to struggle, Sobic noted that Paccar’s aftermarket performance was strong. He said Paccar Parts grew by 7 percent year-over-year with $1.9 billion in revenue. The parts division operates 13 global distribution centers and has implemented new technologies such as a voice recognition system that provides a 30 percent improvement in pick productivity and error reduction of 1 in 40,000 lines picked. “Suppliers have asked us if we are willing to share these technologies,” Sobic says. “The answer is a resounding ‘yes.’”

Sobic also discussed the company’s development and introduction of its new lineup of MX engines that use selective catalytic reduction to achieve the 2010 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency emissions standards. “When we bought DAF in 1996, many in the European press asked why?” Sobic recalled, noting that the company was in bankruptcy and not noted for high-quality products. The appeal, he says, was the company’s experience in global engine manufacturing with more than 900,000 engines produced within 50 years.

The acquisition, bolstered by a nearly $1 billion investment, laid the foundation for the company’s new lineup of Paccar MX engines. Sobic says the engines have undergone more than 300,000 test-cell hours and more than 50 million North American test miles. The feedback from customers, he says, is improved fuel economy, quiet operation and ample pulling power. The engines have EPA/California Air Resources Board 2010 certification in all 50 states.

When asked if the company has any plans to introduce engines with exhaust gas recirculation technology, Sobic responded, “I think we are very comfortable with our SCR strategy.”