Friday, May 30th, 2008
Freightliner is a name that is synonymous with the trucking industry. Nearly everyone in the world knows the distinction of this truck brand. But, do you know the history behind this company? Freightliner LLC was previously the manufacturer for many heavy duty trucks and semi trucks. Recently the company changed its name to Daimler Trucks North America. Still, millions of people around the world know and trust the name simply because they realize that this company has long been the number one producer of heavy duty trucks in North America.
Because Freightliner LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Daimler company, which is not an American but a German based company, it is not currently listed in the Fortune 500 rankings with other trucking manufacturers. It has been estimated however that if it were to be listed, Freightliner LLC would rank in the top 100 truck manufacturers for Fortune 500 companies.
A look into the history shows that Freightliner actually began in the 1930s with the inception of Consolidated Freightways idea to reconstruct Fageols to produce a more heavy duty truck that would have the sufficient power needed to climb steep grades which were then found in very mountainous regions of the western United States. These trucks were deemed Freightliners when they were first released from a Salt Lake City facility in 1942. The production of this truck line was temporarily interrupted during the Second World War but soon resumed operations. During the early 2000’s the company found itself with many trucks that it had trouble selling. Again a plan was put into action to turn the company around and today those earlier problems seem worlds away for the manufacturer of these trucks.
The company currently produces the most popular heavy duty trucks in commercial vehicles. From school buses to recreational vehicle chassis, this brand is definitely among the top rated choice for truckers in the United States and abroad Freightliner trucks. even throughout their troubled history, have remained a popular choice for truckers from all over the world. The comapny’s emblem brings with it an aspect of quality and history that many truck drivers simply can find no replacement for. The Freightliner’s Sterling Bullet ™ is currently leading the Class 4-5 cab chassis market for fuel efficiency. The trucking company is also performing other actions to help keep our world green. From research to offering free upgrades to improve fuel economy, Freightliner is and has been constantly striving to produce a better truck for drivers around the world.
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Wednesday, May 14th, 2008
New heavy-duty truck sales in April were up 15 percent from March, marking the third consecutive month of improvement since the dismal January report kicked off 2008.
According to figures provided to The Trucker by Ward’s Automotive, April Class 8 sales totaled 11,983 trucks in the United States, compared to 10,419 in March. The April surge matches positive swings registered in October and December last year, which also came in close to the 12,000 unit mark (11,769 and 12,034, respectively), and the month’s is third highest total since April last year.
In a year-to-year comparison, reported sales were 13,373 in April 2007, making for a decline this year of 10.4 percent versus the same period — far and away the best year-over-year comparison since the same time last year. The comparison, however, was not particularly challenging, as the year-ago total itself represented a 45 percent decline, and after which the sales routinely were down more than half from the record numbers posted in 2006. Likewise, the April 2008 figure marked the slowest April since 2002, about the midpoint in the previous industry downturn.
More severe than generally anticipated, the emissions mandate-driven slump of ’07 lingers, driven now by slow freight and excess capacity, high fuel costs, and, ultimately, by the bottom line struggle for profit by carriers, industry analysts say.
And while manufacturers and analysts agree substantial equipment changes required by 2010 standards should mean sales will return to peak levels late this year through 2009, the timing is likely to be set by the economy rather than by equipment replacement cycles.
In a closer look at the most recent Ward’s data, Daimler Trucks North America’s Freightliner brand regained the top spot in April on the sale of 3,177 units, as Navistar’s International slipped to second place with 2,573 trucks sold.
With the exception of International (down 2.4 percent), the Class 8 field all showed order book gains compared to March. Daimler’s Western Star (115 units) and Sterling (801 units) and Freightliner were up 25.2 percent, 24.6 percent, and 20.2 percent, respectively.
Among the other OEMs, compared to March, were PACCAR brands Kenworth (1,613 trucks, up 20.5 percent) and Peterbilt (1,614 trucks, up 12 percent); and Volvo Truck North America brands Mack (1,200 trucks, up 18.2 percent) and Volvo (884 trucks, up 4.8 percent).
Month-to-month numbers, it should be noted, can vary greatly — especially between quarters or from year’s end — depending on an OEM’s sales incentives and reporting procedures.
Four months into 2008, Freightliner’s year-to-date market share is 25.1 percent (10,605 units sold), and International’s is 23.5 percent (9,909 units). The sales pie also shows Peterbilt with a 12.6 percent slice (5,300 units), followed closely by Kenworth (12.5 percent, 5,289 units) and Volvo (11.1 percent, 4,689 units).
A year ago, Freightliner’s market share was 30.1 percent, meaning a shrinkage of 585 basis points in its wedge. International is the big gainer, improving 575 basis points, while Peterbilt and Kenworth each have gained about 100 basis points.
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Thursday, May 1st, 2008
One person was killed and at least three others were hurt Friday afternoon when a cement mixer crashed across a freeway median and struck two other vehicles.
Police said the driver of the truck was headed southbound on Highway 183 a short distance from the intersection with Interstate 35E at Mockingbird Lane.
Just before 3 o’clock, the big truck flipped into the northbound lanes, striking a motorcycle and landing on its side atop a red sport utility vehicle.
The 41-year-old driver of the SUV was killed, but a six-year-old girl in the same vehicle survived. She was hospitalized in critical condition.
The drivers of the cement truck and the motorcycle were hospitalized in serious condition.
It took an hour for two heavy-duty wreckers to lift the cement truck from the flattened SUV. Only then was a team of Dallas firefighters able to slide the wreck out from underneath the truck.
Northbound lanes of Highway 183 were shut down while the rescue efforts continued. Traffic in the southbound lanes was slowed by a light pole that toppled to the pavement, blocking at least one lane.
The Texas Department of Transportation said Highway 183 would be shut down at least through the early evening hours while the wreckage was cleared. Northbound traffic was being diverted to I-35E.
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