Posted by Karen Thomas on Sat, May 29, 2010 @ 06:20 PM
Portland, Oregon conjures many a thought. Rain comes to mind as does endless views of cascading pines, bubbling creeks, stormy beach fronts, and a couple of top notch college football programs. Portland, as well as several other cities in the state of Oregon are well known for their environmental activism. Considering its eco-friendly outlook, what better city for Navistar, Inc. to showcase its own eco-friendly truck, the eStar all-electric.
According to the company website, Navistar, Inc. is, " a leading producer of medium trucks, heavy trucks, severe service vehicles. Our products, parts and services are sold through a network of nearly 1,000 dealer outlets in the United States, Canada, Brazil, and Mexico and more than 60 dealers in 90 countries throughout the world," (www.navistar.com.)
The eStar all-electric vehicle, "has a GVWR of 12,100 lbs, with a payload capacity of 4,000 lbs. The front axle is rated at 5,730 lbs with a rear axle rating of 7,053 lbs. Steering is electro-hydraulic power assisted, providing a turning circle of 36 feet. And while doing all this, the eStar doesn't produce a single emission.
Production and the ability to bring the electric vehicles to market happened quickly. It was less than a year ago - last August to be exact - when President Barack Obama visited Navistar's manufacturing plant in Indiana to announce a $39.2 million federal stimulus grant to build electric trucks. A summer later and the city of Portland will be outfitted with 0-emission producing electric trucks that can pull their own weight and then some.
Posted by Karen Thomas on Sun, Apr 25, 2010 @ 05:32 PM
New controls for habitual Hours of Service (HOS) violators. On April 10th, the U.S.Department of Transportation's Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration issued a new rule that will require interstate commercial truck and bus companies with serious patterns of hours-of-service (HOS) violations to install electronic on-board recorders (EOBRs) in all their vehicles. Nearly 5,700 interstate carriers will use EOBRs after the final rule's first year of implementation.
HOS violations result in greater on-road risks including fatigued drivers handling hundreds of thousands of pounds of cargo. Carriers and drivers are responsible for complying with HOSs regulations which means writing down hours driven and ensuring trucks are put into park when the time comes. Some carriers and drivers though operate big rigs beyond the HOS limits to save time, and ultimately money. The FMCSA though is relying on technology to curb violations for repeat offenders.
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said, "We are committed to cracking down on carriers and drivers who put people on our roads and highways at risk," (www.fmcsa.gov.)
The technology those certain carriers and drivers will have to place in their fleets are called electronic on-board recorders, or EOBRs. They automatically record the number of hours drivers spend operating a given vehicle. What deems a carrier or driver a chronic violator? The new rule will require that carriers found with 10 percent or more HOS violations during a compliance review will be required to install EOBRs in all their vehicles for a minimum of two years.
The EOBR rule is slated to go into effect June 1st of 2012.
Posted by Karen Thomas on Wed, Mar 31, 2010 @ 10:29 PM
A steady beat was felt at one of the country's must influential ports. This afternoon, the Port of Long Beach put on its annual "Pulse of the Ports", which serves as platform for not only the POLB, but industry professionals to project where trade is headed in the next year and beyond. The past two years have not been easy for the trade industry and west coast ports in general. Thousands of Southern Californians rely on the POLB and the Port of Los Angeles for work. Job growth has paralleled that of the rest of the nation while keeping one's job has been hard enough for some individuals. Despite the discouragements, the Pulse of the Ports produced forecasts with with a positive tone as the industry and the economy show signs of strength.
The POLB website included the following statement from Dr. Joseph Magaddino - Cal State Long Beach's Economics Department Chair, who reported, "While the recession is over, the recovery remains weak," said Joseph Magaddino, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Economics at California State University, Long Beach, and one of the seven panelists. The morning event brought about 500 attendees to the Hyatt Regency Hotel in downtown Long Beach," (www.polb.com.)
Those signs of strength include reports that trade was up 13% this past January and February in both the LA and Long Beach harbors. In addition the Los Angeles Times reported that, "Peter Peyton, president of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, Marine Clerks Assn. Local 63 in San Pedro, said that dockworkers who had been getting only two or three days of work a week last year were now averaging three to four days," (www.latimes.com.)
The demand for retail still wanes though, reducing the need to ship foreign made products through Southern California's trade arteries. Worldwide, ocean freight carriers lost a reported $22 billion dollars - a large chunk of change to replace in a recuperating economy.
According to the Los Angeles Times, the international trade industry employs more than 300,0000 individuals in Southern California. With competition from Mexican and Canadian Ports, analysts are quick to point out the difficulties in boosting trade.
The sentiment in Long Beach today though was strong and steadfast, leaving attendees and the industry at large with the positive signs to move forward.
Posted by Karen Thomas on Wed, Jan 27, 2010 @ 10:04 AM
If you're a commercial driver reading this blog post while on the road and ready to make a comment - DROP THAT CELL PHONE! The Department of Transportation made its official statement today, banning commercial drivers from text messaging no matter was state he or she operates in.
Bus drivers, drivers of large trucks including owner-operators, delivery drivers and the like are included as part of the DOT's primary audience. U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood made the official announcement from Washington D.C. yesterday. And that very ban - starts now (or technically 24 hours ago when the announcement was made.)
After several months of deliberating on the dangers of text messaging, the DOT made it official - you just can't do it. Text messaging while driving (or in a restaurant, in the middle of a conversation or any other human interaction) is a proven distraction. Any distraction on the road is a hazard - and when those hazards can be controlled - the DOT will do so.
At yesterday's announcement Secretary LaHood said, "We want the drivers of big rigs and buses and those who share the roads with them to be safe. This is an important safety step and we will be taking more to eliminate the threat of distracted driving."
Those commercial drivers violate the no-texting regulation may be subject to civil or criminal penalties of up to $2,750.
Anne Ferro, Administrator for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) said, "Our regulations will help prevent unsafe activity within the cab," said Anne Ferro, Administrator for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). "We want to make it crystal clear to operators and their employers that texting while driving is the type of unsafe activity that these regulations are intended to prohibit."