Collision Warning Systems Prove Effective After more than three years of collecting data on more than 1,900 vehicles, results indicate that vehicles equipped with Eaton VORAD EVT-300 collision warning system (CWS) are far safer than those without the system, and VORAD has more than 1.5 billion miles of on-road experience to prove it.
Lee McCleery, VORAD national sales manager, said, "We saw an overall reduction of accidents of 78%. On top of that, six fleets that were monitored reported 100% reductions."
Other highlights of the data, which covered eight fleets in various applications, include:
- One fleet cut rear-end and lane-change accidents from 0.33 per million miles traveled to zero.
- Another fleet reduced fixed-object accidents by 81%.
- A third fleet reduced lane change accidents by 80% in 1998. The next year, that number was reduced by 76%.
- Another fleet with VORAD-equipped trucks was involved in 14 rear-end and lane-change accidents in 1999 versus the firm's non-VORAD units that were involved in 264 similar incidents.
For more information, visit www.roadranger.com or contact Eaton Corp, PO Box 4013, Kalamazoo MI 49003.
Companies Reap Awards for Battling Hunger America's Second Harvest, a charitable hunger-relief organization, has announced its 2000 Hunger's Hope Awards. The awards are presented each year to corporate, private, and philanthropic organizations that make extraordinary donations of time, money, and/or food to the group's network of more than 200 food banks and food rescue organizations. Contributions helped feed 26 million hungry Americans. Thirty-seven donor organizations were recognized for contributions to America's Second Harvest.
Donor of the Year award was presented to ConAgra Inc for ConAgra Inc and its Feeding Children Better program. The company has made a three-year, $11.5-million commitment to battle hunger.
Grocery Distributor of the Year was awarded to the Kroger Co, which provided more than 16 million pounds of food last year in at least 35 states served by the America's Second Harvest network.
Sponsor of the Year award went to the Pampered Chef Ltd, a direct seller of kitchen tools through in-home demonstrations. Since 1991, Pampered Chef has raised more than $4 million for America's Second Harvest food banks across the nation.
New Donor of the Year award was awarded to Johnson & Johnson for its contribution of 1.7 million pounds of specialty health products and the cost of transporting the product.
Special recognition was also paid to two technology companies. Hewlett Packard created a new web-based donations service - Resource Link. Through this service, companies of all sizes can make donations to America's Second Harvest online.
Cisco Systems donated hardware, software, and expertise to build a wide-area network for America's Second Harvest and its affiliates.
Crude-Oil Prices Soar to 10-Year High Oil prices reached their highest level in nearly 10 years recently, signaled by concerns that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) won't raise production enough to meet world demand.
The news gets worse for the trucking industry. The Department of Energy reported that the average price per gallon of diesel fuel rose from $1.536 per gallon August 28 to $1.609 per gallon September 4.
Despite the increase, an analysis by Oil Price Information Service (OPIS) shows that street prices for diesel fuel have not been affected yet by the price-per-barrel increase.
According to OPIS, average wholesale costs for diesel moved up by more than $0.25 per gallon in August, surpassing $1 per gallon in most portions of the nation. But retail diesel prices have only matched 30% to 60% of the wholesale gains.
Once higher wholesale numbers work their way downstream, trucking companies and other large fleets may have to pass on another round of fuel surcharges, OPIS predicts.
The jump of $.073 per gallon in one week is the highest in years, and it follows an increase of $.065 per gallon the week before. The Central Atlantic region reported the highest prices again. A gallon of diesel there costs an average of $1.656. The Gulf Coast and Lower Atlantic regions both had the lowest average price, $1.58 per gallon.
West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery rose $1.07 to $34.90 a barrel after setting a new 10-year high of $34.95, which is the highest it's been since November 1990 - right before the Gulf War. By early October, oil prices dropped to $32 a barrel. Analysts say oil prices could even top the all-time high of $40.42 set in October 1990.
Freightliner Takes Action in ABS Recall Freightliner LLC has mobilized its North American dealer network to assist customers with authorized inspections of about 45,000 trucks, tractors, and buses it has determined are equipped with defective Bendix antilock braking system (ABS) EC 17-103OR electronic control units (ECU). Vehicles built between Feb 13, 1998, and Aug 16, 2000, and equipped with air brakes and this Bendix ABS ECU are included in the recall.
The first priority recall was for bus and emergency vehicles, and Freightliner recalled 6,000 of its school bus units August 28. The balance of the recall includes 39,000 trucks and tractors about which Freightliner notified customers September 8. Of the 39,000 trucks and tractors recalled in phase two, 35,400 are Sterling-branded and about 3,600 are Freightliner-branded trucks and tractors.
While the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has not yet required truck and tractor phases of the recall, Freightliner has recalled all its vehicles with the defective Bendix ABS system. According to Bendix, this braking system defect involves 300,000 vehicles industrywide.
Both Freightliner and Sterling dealers will be authorized to perform warranty work on any Freightliner LLC vehicle included in this recall.
New ECUs will become available from Bendix in limited quantities beginning in mid-September to address the first phase of recall, which involves buses and motor coaches. To complete the next phases, Bendix advisories have said ECUs would be available by spring 2001.
Freightliner will continue to advise customers to call local Freightliner, Thomas Built Buses, or Sterling dealers with any other questions or to schedule inspections and repairs.
Bendix Working Overtime to Replace ABS Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems suppliers and factory workers are working overtime to produce EC-17 antilock braking systems (ABS) to replace potentially defective ones that have been recalled by truck OEMs.
The company announced Aug 22, 2000, that as many as 300,000 school buses, transit buses, and heavy trucks are at risk of brake failure at speeds of 20 mph and slower because of an ABS defect. Vehicles at risk are those equipped with the Bendix EC-17-1030R air brake system manufactured since 1998.
At least 40 incidents of brake failure have occurred, according to Bendix. Sixteen of the incidents involved school buses, which have been made a recall priority by the brake manufacturer.
The firm said defective brakes were installed on as many as 46,000 school and transit buses, as well as 254,000 heavy trucks of various makes: Ford, Freightliner, Volvo, Magnum, Mack, Ottawa, International, and General Motors.
Bendix said the replacement effort will start with school buses and should be completed by the end of November. Brake system replacement in other vehicles will not be complete until sometime in first-quarter 2001.
Tom Musgrave, a spokesman for the Honeywell subsidiary, said Bendix is "ramping up production in fourfold" to produce the units.
Bendix officials said the braking problem is caused by the ABS control units picking up an erratic signal from the wheels created by chafing wires. Musgrave said the problem is not electromagnetic interference, but rather the sound made by the wires as they rub against the wheel rim.
Musgrave said the company sent its first shipment of EC-17s to OEMs, and that the company is filling the orders as fast as it can. Bendix and its suppliers are working 22 hours a day, seven days a week, to produce EC-17s, said Musgrave.
Volvo Recalls Trucks with Bendix ABS Volvo Trucks North America has announced a recall of vehicles equipped with Bendix EC-17 antilock braking systems (ABS). Volvo said it will recall 18,000 trucks in North America that are equipped with faulty antilock air brake controllers.
Spokesman Phil Romba said Volvo has begun notifying customers who own trucks with Bendix ABS built between December 1997 and August 7, 2000. Romba said the truck maker has received five reports of incidents that may be related to the brake defect, but knows of no accidents or injuries.
The company has stopped delivery of new trucks equipped with the Bendix system, Romba said. Volvo did not identify which models are affected by the recall.
Toll Road to Open Near US-Mexico Border The Camino Colombia toll road will hold its grand opening ceremony Oct 18, 2000, at the Camino Colombia Visitors Center in Laredo TX. Located on private, undeveloped land 17 miles northwest of downtown Laredo, the $85-million border region toll road is a four-lane, 22-mile limited-access highway constructed to Texas Department of Transportation standards. The first private toll road in Texas, Camino Colombia will ensure unimpeded passage in and out of Mexico for the more than 14,000 trucks that cross the border daily.
Prime Inc, an international refrigerated, flatbed, and liquid bulk truckload carrier headquartered in Springfield MO, recently constructed a 12-foot electronic sign to welcome its drivers. As drivers enter the company's terminal, they see their names in lights.
When a truck nears the company's main gate, a sensor reads the signal from a transponder mounted on the truck's window. The signal then is relayed to Prime's main computer system, where the truck number and driver's name are identified. Using custom software designed for the project, the sign displays the driver's name in lights as the truck enters the property.
Constructed with a bronze metallic automotive acrylic finish base, the sip features a low-voltage electronic display. The interface with Prime's computer system was designed and developed by the company's computer department.
South American fruit exports are expanding as growers in Brazil and Argentina boost production of higher-quality produce and build new overseas markets. Crowley American Transport (CAT), specialists in South American marine transport and intermodal logistics services, are playing a key role in helping exporters open up these markets.
CAT provides weekly northbound sailings from the Brazilian port of Suape to major fruit markets in the eastern United States and Canada. Transit times are 11 days to Philadelphia and 12 days to New York.
The Brazilian Fruit Institute (IBRAF) helped boost overseas demand starting two years ago when it ran Consumer and Buyer tasting programs in both Europe and the United States to promote the taste and quality of Brazilian apples, mangoes, melons, grapes, and papayas. As a measure of the program's success, Brazilian fresh fruit exports will grow 35% to 40% this year over last, according to IBRAF estimates.
More than 6,000 tons of grapes - about 1.34 million crates - began flowing to US markets in August from the Sao Francisco Valley in Brazil's States of Bahia and Pernambuco. The Valley is the largest irrigated fruit growing region in the nation and produces 97% of the country's export crop.
The mango crop, already the region's top export fruit, exceeded 40,000 tons in 1999, and that figure is expected to jump by 10% this year. 1,300 TEUs of mangoes were shipped to the United States/Canada in 1999 with more than 80% of that volume moving in the fourth quarter.
Asche Transportation Services Inc has completed a $7-million investment with Churchill Environmental & Industrial Equity Partners LP. Under terms of the investment, Churchill invested $7 million in Specialty Transportation Services Inc (STS), a subsidiary of Asche. A portion of the money was used by STS to make an intercompany loan of $2,250,000 to Asche in exchange for which Churchill was issued:
- A subordinated convertible promissory note in the principal amount of $7 million, convertible at any time into at least 70% but not more than 85% of the outstanding common stock of STS.
- A five-year warrant to purchase the number of shares of Asche common stock that, when aggregated with all Asche common stock held by Churchill when the warrant was issued (after allowing for acceleration of Churchill's equity adjustment feature under the stock purchase agreement among Asche, STS, and Churchill dated Aug 17, 1999), would result in it holding 53% of outstanding Asche common stock. Churchill currently holds about 49% of Asche common stock.
Lykes Lines has appointed Hesco Agencies Ltd as its new operating agent in Japan, effective Oct 1, 2000. The line will continue to have it own sales and marketing team in Japan, and the agent will be responsible for bill of lading issuance and release, the freight desk, logistics functions, and port operations.
In May 2000, Lykes Lines launched another service into the region: the Asia-South America service, sailing once every two weeks between Asia and Central and South America.
The weekly Pacific Sprint service calls Hong Kong, Kaohsiung (Taiwan), Pusan (Korea), Kobe, Yokohama (Japan), Los Angeles CA, Ensenada, Manzanillo (Mexico), Yokohama, Kobe, and Hong Kong.
Port rotation for the Asia-South America service is: Kaohsiung, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Pusan, Los Angeles, Manzanillo, Puerto Quetzal, Puerto Caldera, Guayaquil, Callao, Iquique, San Antonio, Callao, Buenaventura, Puerto Caldera, Salina Cruz, Manzanillo, Los Angeles, and Kaohsiung.