Good day,
Safety is no longer only for those that can afford new trucks. Bendix has announced its advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) such as the Wingman Fusion and Wingman Advanced, can now be retrofitted onto older truck models.
“Keeping a fleet equipped with the latest safety technology can be a never-ending challenge,” said TJ Thomas, Bendix director of marketing and customer solutions – controls. “It’s just not practical to scrap all your trucks and replace them overnight. The Bendix Retrofit Upgrade Program makes it possible to bring vehicles not originally built with selected safety systems up to speed with the latest increasingly essential systems. It helps enhance a fleet’s safety, while also contributing to an improved driver experience vehicle to vehicle.”
Systems available include the Bendix Wingman Fusion driver assistance system, Bendix Wingman Advanced collision mitigation technology, the Bendix VORAD (Vehicle On-Board Radar) VS-500, AutoVue 4G Lane Departure Warning (LDW) System by Bendix CVS, the Bendix BlindSpotter Side Object Detection System, and SafetyDirect from Bendix CVS. Additional technologies are slated for release throughout 2019 and beyond.
Bendix will launch a website in mid-May to serve as the hub of the Retrofit Upgrade Program:www.bendixcvsupgrade.com. The site allows fleets and vehicle operators to identify which retrofit upgrade options are available for specific vehicle make, model, and year configurations. It allows Bendix to connect registered customers with a network of Authorized Retrofit Dealers and Distributors that can assist fleets in securing Bendix retrofit installation and support.
Did you know?
Detention time for drivers is on the rise again after falling below 150 minutes on average, as measured by FreightWaves’ SONAR (WAIT.USA) data. WAIT, which measures the average of the time a trailer spends at a dock either loading or unloading, is now back above 170 minutes for March.
Quotable:
“Of course, we very much hope that the U.S. will remain a member of the Universal Postal Union. But as a UN Specialized Agency we also have to forge a consensus among all our 192 member countries.”
David Dadge, a spokesman for the Universal Postal Union, on support within the group for a U.S. plan to withdraw and set its own international postal shipping rates. Read more on the plan: Support lacking for U.S. plan to self-declare parcel rates
In other news:
Cutting the middleman
Walmart is going right to the source for goods, cutting deals directly with farmers to supply agriculture products to its stores. (Peoria Star Journal)
Bigger is better
Shipping giant Cosco is exploring even larger cargo ships following a study from one of its units showed promise for 25,000 teu container ships. (Lloyd’s List)
Night riders
TuSimply is now testing its driverless trucks at night thanks to improvements in its camera system that more clearly identifies objects in the dark. (Venture Beat)
Air cargo boom ending
Lufthansa Cargo is warning that the boom in air cargo over the past two years is now ending, as it reports its latest earnings. (Air Cargo News)
Pennsylvania approves hyperloop study
Pennsylvania officials have set aside $2 million to study hyperloop as a way to improve train times throughout the state. (Gov Tech)
Final Thoughts
Last fall, the U.S. announced it planned to withdraw from the Universal Postal Union (UPU) unless changes were enacted, including allowing member countries to set their own postal shipping rates for packages weighing up to 4.4 pounds. The UPU was designed to make it easy to ship goods globally. President Trump believes the program is unfair to U.S. companies such as FedEx (NYSE: FDX) and UPS (NYSE: UPS) that must pay more to move goods than companies in other countries. Two-thirds of UPU member countries, though, must vote in favor of any change and it appears that only about 15 percent support the U.S. initiative, possible leaving Trump with a choice to make.
Hammer down everyone!
