Australia

Downhill driving presents particular safety risks to truck driving. Australian law requires truckers to shift to a lower gear and not use the primary brake for the descent. National telematics body Transport Certification Australia has launched a new app that records the details of the descent for the purposes of improving safety and creating an audit trail. (Photo: Shutterstock).

New truck sales figures broke records in Australia last year but, what goes up must come down. Expert analysts are worried that 2018 may have been a peak and that a decline in new sales is on the way. The Truck Industry Council reveals which brands of trucks sold best in Australia last year in each of the heavy duty, medium duty and light duty trucks along with the light duty vans. (Photo: Mitsubishi-Fuso).

Coming back for more: unsatisfied with having drenched the very far northern tip of Australia, ex-Tropical Cyclone Penny has done a U-Turn in the Coral Sea and is heading back to Queensland. Trucking operations are likely to be hampered by rain, strong winds and local flooding. (Graphic: Bureau of Meteorology and MetEye).

Although it’s early in 2019, there has already been a major restructure of Australia’s byzantine freight-related governmental advisory sector. Ownership of Transport Certification Australia has now transferred – by order of one of the nation’s top transport decision-making bodies – to Austroads.

China announced wide-sweeping changes to its import and export tariffs over the Christmas break; Australia-based expert China-watchers are divided as to Beijing’s motivations and what it might mean for Australia. Photo: Shutterstock.

Redstar Transport, a large long-distance and heavy-freight trucking business, collapsed in Australia after running out of cash just days before Christmas. Hundreds of people have been thrown out of work. Cargo has been returned to the depot. And the liquidation of Redstar may have wider consequences than is first apparent.

After a series of high-profile scandals involving the dumping of asbestos-containing waste on Sydney streets, the local authorities have welcomed a series of guilty pleas and court-imposed jail time on offenders. Meanwhile, the authorities have increased the value of fines and lengthened jail sentences for transport-related asbestos crimes.

CargoChain aims to make it easier for all the parties in the supply chain – shippers, truckers, ports, authorities, everyone, to share what data they want, with who they want, how they want, when they want. It uses BlockChain to provide security and trust.

Melbourne-based MaxiTRANS, an Australian manufacturer and supplier of trailers and road transport equipment, has bought a local live bottom trailer manufacturer. It has also disposed of its majority shareholding in a panel-making business in China.

Australia’s state and federal governments are together investing billions of dollars in much needed road infrastructure. “We need to invest in transport infrastructure and we require integrated solutions. That’s the guts of it,” say local experts.

The Nikola Motor tractor is powered by a hydrogen-electric engine and has earned the company Number 24 on the FreightWaves’ Research Institute Freight.Tech 25.

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA — A truck sales boom in Australia may have peaked this year. Although the year-to-date sales figures are up, the forward indicators are pointing toward a slowdown in 2019.

A major port operator in Australia is being sued in the nation’s Federal Court by the national competition watchdog, alleging an anti-competitive deal with a state government.

The year 2018 has been a big one for Nikola Corporation, and investors continue to line up to support the hydrogen-electric truck startup. Next year might be even bigger.

Tiger Spider, a Australian transport engineering consultancy believes blockchain and data standardization would be integral to creating an efficient and profitable freight transportation system.

The quest for alternative energy has taken over Australia. In an effort to jump on the bandwagon of electricity-powered vehicles, the government of Australia has decided to push forward with construction of a new electric super highway.

Seven fleets will participate in the North American Council for Freight Efficiency’s Run on Less program to showcase the benefits of fuel-saving technologies.