Workhorse Group signed several partnership deals to leverage its intellectual property in electric trucks and drones in the third quarter while more than doubling its loss of a year ago.

General Motors Co. confirmed the sale of its shuttered Lordstown Assembly complex in northeast Ohio to startup Lordstown Motors Corp., which plans to build a battery-powered electric pickup truck focused on fleet customers.

Omnitracs reported that 99.9% of its electronic logging devices (ELDs) affected by a four-day connectivity issue are working again, meaning truck drivers can stop manually tracking their movements.

Semi-trailer manufacturer Wabash National reported higher revenue and profits in the third quarter led by growth in its final mile and commercial trailer segments.

The traditional ordering season for new Class 8 trucks opened in October with the highest activity in 11 months. Still, the number of orders placed was the weakest for an October since 2016 — and 51% below October 2018.

The costs of operating a for-hire Class 8 truck rose 7.7% in 2018, the biggest jump since 2010. It is the highest per-mile cost since the American Transportation Research Institute began tracking the data in 2008.

Travel Centers of America reported stronger profits and sales for the third quarter as it added locations and sold more fuel at higher prices. Watch for International House of Pancakes restaurants to begin to replace TA’s Iron Skillet and Country Pride eateries.

Western Star is recalling 2,546 heavy-duty trucks because the sleeper side door can detach while the truck is in motion, creating a risk of the falling door striking another vehicle.

The United Auto Workers voted 79% in favor of a new four-year contract at Mack Trucks following a 12-day strike that idled six facilities in three states and halted production at Volvo Trucks’ only assembly plant in North America.

Industry telematics leader Omnitracs is still chasing a fix for a connectivity glitch that caused some models of its electronic logging devices to stop reporting accurate time and location data on Nov. 2.

Truck maker TRATON Group S reported higher revenue and profit for the first nine months of the year, but warned of a tougher 2020 with an accelerating slump in orders and global economic uncertainty.

With diesel fuel powering 97% of all heavy-duty trucks, it seems silly to predict its industry dominance will end. But don’t tell that to California where the good can be the enemy of the great.

U.S. truck drivers possibly numbering in the tens of thousands are staring at non-working electronic logging device (ELD) screens after their Omnitracs’ systems shut down on Nov. 2. Omnitracs did not immediately confirm the outage.

The color of the Mack Trucks bulldog carries special meaning. Gold means all of the key components were homemade. Chrome says others’ parts are on board. Now, it comes in black.

BorgWarner Inc., which makes engine components and drivetrains for combustion, hybrid and electric vehicles, reported lower third-quarter earnings on slightly higher sales.

Navistar is skipping the chase for incentives on demonstration electric trucks to consult with customers on custom-built zero-emission medium-duty models with total cost of ownership rivaling a diesel truck.

Daimler Trucks North America, the industry sales leader, is not sweating the loss of big chunks of heavy- and medium-duty market share trucks through the first nine months this year.

Peterbilt Motors Co. will set prices for deliveries of battery-powered, zero-emission trucks by the middle of next year with limited sales by year-end. The Paccar Inc. (NASDAQ: PCAR) unit is […]

A telematics-based pay-as-you-drive program from Daimler Trucks Financial could help trucking firms on the financial brink because of high lease payments and insurance premiums.

The door to TRATON Group selling trucks in North American opened a crack with a memo of understanding between Navistar and TRATON to sell Scania mining trucks in Canada.

Mack Trucks is well on its way to making up lost production from a 12-day United Auto Workers’ strike and sees state-level infrastructure spending buoying its off-highway vocational truck business in 2020.

Great Dane is gathering all the key issues trailers can have into an integrated platform to make it easier for drivers and fleets to see when something is amiss.

Kenworth Truck Co. is finally satisfied that over-the-air software updates are safe for its trucks.

Daimler AG is targeting 2039 to sell only battery- and hydrogen-powered fuel cell electric trucks in its key markets. But the pledge comes with several caveats.

Camera monitoring systems could eventually replace bulky exterior mirrors on Class 8 trucks. Stoneridge Inc. and Robert Bosch are the only two suppliers deep into the safety and fuel-saving technology so far.

The United Auto Workers is ending its strike against Mack Trucks after 12 days. The first walkout in 35 years idled six facilities in three states and forced the layoff of 3,000 workers at Volvo Trucks only North American assembly plant.

Daimler AG reported high sales and earnings in the third quarter but is cautioning that tougher times lie ahead for its Mercedes-Benz car and Daimler Trucks businesses.

Designs of future vocational trucks by students at the ArtCenter College of Design may contain some long-term value for the Western Star Truck Sales subsidiary of Daimler Trucks North America.

Rush Enterprises Inc., the largest dealer network of commercial vehicles in North America, reported lower earnings and higher sales in the third quarter. But the company warned that a glut of used trucks is causing faster-than-normal depreciation and is hurting sales.

Electric truck maker Workhorse Inc. is selling its Surefly flying car project to aerospace and defense contractor Moog Inc. for $4 million and forming a joint venture with Moog to boost its truck-based drone delivery efforts.

United Road, which moves about 4 million new and used cars and light trucks a year, is expanding into Class 8 truck and equipment hauling with its acquisition of specialty hauler Team Drive-Away.

Hyundai Motor Co. is expanding its fuel cell ambitions to heavy-duty trucks and trailers with a pair of concepts for next week’s North American Commercial Vehicle show in Atlanta.

Paccar Inc. delivered 31,000 trucks in the third quarter, helping the parent company of Kenworth Truck Co. , Peterbilt Motor Co. and DAF beat earnings estimates.

AB Volvo through its venture capital group is investing in an Israeli cybersecurity startup while also combining all of its autonomous ventures into a single group.

Trailer orders in September were the highest since February, suggesting another strong year of production in 2020.

Swedish truck maker AB Volvo reported higher third-quarter profits and sales on Friday, October 18. But it warned that orders for new trucks in North America and Europe continue to decline and a strike at its Mack Trucks unit could pinch profits depending on how long it lasts.

The impact of a United Auto Workers’ strike at Mack Trucks will nearly double next week when Volvo Trucks North America lays off about 3,000 employees because of a lack of engines and transmissions that come from a Maryland plant the companies share.

Moving billions of dollars in coins and currency around the U.S. is a precise operation, but it doesn’t always go as planned.

Motiv Power Systems, which converts medium-duty trucks from gasoline to run on zero-emission electricity from batteries, is getting $60 million in equity funding from Winnebago Industries Inc. and a private holding company in Colorado.

The trucking industry and its supply chain rank fifth among all businesses at risk of cybersecurity attacks as the number of possible threats against the transportation sector has grown 100-fold in just four years.

A United Auto Workers strike against Mack Trucks could soon impact its sibling Volvo Trucks because both get engines and transmissions from the same plant in Hagerstown, Maryland.

The United Auto Workers plans its first strike against Mack Trucks in 35 years for Sunday, Oct. 13. A total of 3,500 union-represented workers at plants in Pennsylvania, Maryland and Florida would be affected.

Preliminary Class 8 retail sales for September set an all-time record, but large fleet deliveries likely inflated the results that erased the previous record set in December 2006. Meanwhile, the backlog of trucks waiting to be built is falling, which is leading to layoffs..

The American Trucking Associations urges a federal fuel tax increase to pay for infrastructure improvements, but ATA President Chris Spear sees that approach evolving in the next decade.

Volvo Trucks North America and its Mack Trucks sibling are partnering with connected transportation company Geotab to send electronic logging device data to the cloud and back for interference-free reporting.

The American Trucking Associations is working with UrbanVolt to sustainably makeover member facilities in a cash-free affinity deal in which companies would pay UrbanVolt about 30% of the money they save on energy bills.

Mack Trucks thinks it will weather the trucking industry’s expected downturn in 2020 by focusing on its off-highway models.

The American Trucking Associations is gearing up to fight against multimillion-dollar legal awards against truckers and their employers who are not at fault but blamed in many car-truck crashes.

Motor carriers and commercial drivers agree on just four of the Top 10 challenges facing the trucking industry, according to the American Transportation Research Institute’s annual study.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is working with the trucking industry to educate small fleets and owner-operators about advanced driver assistance systems that could reduce crashes and fatalities.

Four of six major truck makers are reducing production line speed and/or laying off manufacturing workers. Market leader Daimler Trucks North America will cut 900 jobs in North Carolina on Oct. 14.

Preliminary September orders for Class 8 trucks improved over August but remained stagnant as fleets delayed booking new equipment in the face of ongoing trade tensions slowing swaths of the manufacturing economy.

The urgency to get zero-emissions trucks into testing in climate-conscious California continues with Penske Truck Leasing’s purchase of a Kalmar Ottawa battery-electric model.

Anheuser-Busch is one of the biggest customers in line for hydrogen-powered fuel cell electric trucks from Nikola Corp., iNow, it is jumping into California’s electric truck demonstration race with 21 BYD battery-electric beer delivery trucks.

The civil equipment industry is thriving in the face of an overall manufacturing and industrial slowdown with demand for 5G fiber-optic cable installations and state-funded infrastructure projects among the main reasons.

Peter Voorhoeve recently passed his first anniversary as president of Volvo Trucks North America after five years running Volvo Group’s (OTC: VLVLY) Australian operations. During his brief tenure, Volvo’s market […]

Cummins and Hyundai Motor Group will work on fuel cell electric systems for heavy-duty truck makers in North America as well as stationery fuel cells for data centers and critical infrastruture.

Used truck sales continue to fall but for the first time since January 2018, so are the prices asked for them.

Additive manufacturing, also known as 3D printing is no longer a fad in truck making. Companies are making greater use of the technology to save time and money although the technology itself is still expensive.

After a record year for orders in 2018, fleets and dealers are holding back on placing many new trailer orders, a situation that analysts say could improve in the fourth quarter.

As the gaps between tractors and trailers shrink through aerodynamic design, making connections safer is only one concern for standards-writing engineers who must account for autonomous trucking in the near future.

California moved as expected Friday, Sept. 20, to sue the Trump administration over stripping its waiver to set tougher emissions standards for passenger cars and light-duty trucks than the federal government.

Navistar is building a new Industry 4.0-ready plant near San Antonio, Texas that will help raise earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.

Navistar plans a new manufacturing plant near San Antonio, Texas and aggressive financial goals into the middle of the next decade.

Fuel cell startup Loop Engency received a cash infusion from engine maker Cummins Inc. on Sept. 18. It was Cummins second investment in fuel cells this month.

Daimler Trucks and Buses has entered a long-term supply agreement for lithium-ion batter technology for its coming range of electric trucks.

Volvo Trucks North America (VTNA) is on track to deliver five Class 8 VNR electric trucks to California for its multi-partner Low Impact Green Heavy Transport Solutions (LIGHTS) program before the end of the year, but the infrastructure to charge them may be lagging.

Preliminary used Class 8 truck sales fell for the 10th consecutive month in August as used trucks hit the market in bigger numbers because of new truck deliveries from record orders placed in the latter half of 2018.

Volvo Trucks will offer its Dynamic Steering system as an option in 2020. Volvo says it reduces the strain of maneuvering a heavy-duty truck steering wheel by up to 85 percent.

Class 8 truck manufacturers are beginning to pare production as the backlog of record orders from 2018 shrinks and new orders continue to be slow.

Greenhouse gas regulations are the sticks and incentives are the carrots in driving the heavy-duty truck and commercial vehicle industry to embrace electrification.

Cummins Inc. closed its $290 million purchase of fuel cell maker Hydrogenics on September 9, the second major investment in fuel cell technology in less than a week.

Allison Transmission Holdings Inc. is paying $103 million to acquire two suppliers of critical components to its automatic transmissions. The company said the acquisitions will no impact its fiscal year earnings.

Daimler Trucks is moving closer to its goal of commercially producing Level 4 autonomous trucks with public road testing in Virginia.

Bendix is growing its air disc brake manufacturing facility in Bowling Green, KY again, this time to the tune of $65 million and 100 new jobs.

Nikola Corp. revealed two more funding sources of its heavy-duty fuel cell truck on Thursday, September 5. German supplier Robert Bosch LLC and South Korean solar panel maker Hanwha Group each invested at least $100 million cash in earlier funding rounds.

Class 8 truck orders fell again in August as fleets stayed on the sidelines while taking delivery of a record number of heavy-duty trucks ordered in 2018.

Women drivers wait longer to load and unload their freight than their male counterparts because they are less prone to pitching a fit over delays.

Navistar International Corp. blew past revenue and earnings estimates for its third fiscal quarter. It is reducing production but expects to gain market share in a softening market.

U.D. Trucks, the Japanese unit of Swedish truck maker AB Volvo. conducted the first test of an Level 4 autonomous truck in the island nation. The test run at a sugar processing facility in Hokkaido prefecture is partially aimed at addressing a shortage of truck drivers worsened by an aging population.

Nikola Corp. expects to raise more than $1 billion in its Series D runding raising. That starts with London-based CNH Industrial that invested $250 million in cash and in-kind help.

The U.S. Army is conducting live-fire testing on an armored heavy-duty dump truck from Mack Defense, the first of up to 683 trucks included in a $296 million contract.

The engine displacement in Class 8 commercial tractors is expected to drop in coming years as stricter federal emissions standards take effect in the next decade.

Daimler Trucks North America celebrated the 750,000th build at its plant in Cleveland, North Carolina as its parent company prepares to build its heavy-duty Actros at its joint venture. in China.

Nuvera Fuel Cells is working with its parent Hyster-Yale Group to make fuel cell engines for medium- and heavy-duty truck applications, mostly for drayage and other return-to-base port activities.

Anthony Levandowski, a star engineer at Google and Uber, is charged with 33 counts of theft and attempted theft in a federal indictment unsealed Tuesday, August 27.

Daimler is recalling more than 8,000 Mercedes-Benz and Freightliner Sprinter vans because of a software defect that can dim or extinguish the rear taillights.

Partially synthetic lower viscosity 10W-30 and 5W-30 oils are supplanting the industry standard 15W-40 heavy-duty oil. The new formulas cost more but can bring up to 2 percent better fuel economy with longer intervals between changes.

Hino Trucks is already increasing its investment in a new plant in West Virginia, where it will build Class 7 and 8 trucks in addition to medium-duty models.

Freight tonnage will grow 25.6 percent by the end of the next decade, the American Trucking Associations (ATA) predicts in its annual ATA Freight Transportation Forecast: 2019 to 2030.

The retirement of Mike Freeland as president and chief operating officer of engine maker Cummins Inc. led to a chain reaction that elevated four other executives.

The concept of customer experience has been around for decades but it is getting new emphasis in trucking as electric and autonomous technology arrives.

Already the undisputed Class 8 sales leader, the 2020 Freightliner Cascadia arriving this fall is a technological tour de force that allows the truck to do most of the work of driving.

Trucking software supplier Drivewyze is adding the dangerous mountain passes of Colorado to its safety alerts for subscribers of its PreClear weigh station bypass program.

The on-again, off-again trade war between the U.S. and China is a great threat to commercial vehicle forecasts, already buffeted by too many trucks and slowing freight growth.

Navistar is the first to slow production lines for new trucks. It is targeting medium-duty units because inventories are up 30 percent year over year.

The July Cass Information Systems Inc. Freight Shipments Index sounded dire warnings for an economic contraction following the eighth consecutive month of negative year-over-year numbers.

Reaction is mixed among stakeholders to hours-of-service rule changes proposed by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

Meritor, Inc. is growing its manufacturing footprint in India by 25 percent with a $36.5 million axle assembly facility at Automotive Axles, its joint venture with Kalyani Group in Mysore, India. Meritor also is opening a research and development center in Mysore.

Payback for a record run of new trailer orders last summer continued in July with fewer than 10,000 new orders placed, a dramatic drop from the same month in 2018. Typical during summer months, low orders suggest a possible return to normal order patterns after an overheated second half in 2018.