Distinguished economist, Dr. Jeffrey Rosensweig, Director of the Global Perspectives program for the Goizueta School of Business at Emory University and founder of Globalguru.com will lay a foundation for the day's discussions by opening with a discussion on global, macro-economics. He will cover facts, forecasts and outlooks pertinent to the rest of the conference program, as a benchmark for data that will impact the commercial vehicle industry, as well as manufacturing and transportation.
From a global macro-economic discussion, to strategic considerations on the future of the On and Off Highway, Heavy Duty Commercial Vehicle Industry; Heavy Duty Dialogue will include rare appearences from highly sought after thought-leaders with advanced forecasts, predictions and trends for the industry for the next three to five years.
ETrucker.com
New and net trailer orders in October rose to the highest level since April and May at 19,408 units and 17,384 units, respectively, ACT Research said.
Seasonally adjusted, October’s backlog rose 1.5 percent month over month. “With orders and production in line, there is nothing to suggest an upwards move from current production levels, at least not until we know the outcome of peak season orders,” said Frank Maly, director CV Transportation Analysis and Research with ACT.
Fleet Equipment Magazine
With older vehicles in the fleet, looking for new parts and remanufactured parts for older vehicles right now can be a challenge. Even though new truck sales are ramping up with vehicle orders, there are still a number of used trucks in service.
Andreas Renschler, the Daimler board of management member responsible for Daimler Trucks and Daimler Buses, commented recently that in the coming years, the [new truck sales] prospects for the U.S. market remain promising because, “…the average age of truck fleets here has now reached the highest level in about 30 years. So there’s a great demand for replacements.”
National Association of Manufacturers – Chief Economist
Americans received a number of good economic reports last week. On the all-important topic of jobs, the unemployment rate fell to 8.6 percent – its lowest level since March 2009 – with 120,000 net employees hired in the month of November. This unemployment rate was much lower than many analysts had forecast which could be due in part to an increase in discouraged workers. Nonetheless, much of the employment news was positive. For manufacturers, though, the latest news also suggests that jobs in the sector continue to grow more slowly, with an increase of just 2,000 for the month.
I believe that the manufacturing jobs picture will improve as we move into 2012. A number of areas of activity have improved in recent months, and employment – a lagging indicator – will soon follow. The Federal Reserve Board's Beige Book noted that manufacturers mostly saw increases in new orders, shipments and production, with a few exceptions. This trend also was observed in various regional sentiment surveys, including ones from Chicago and Dallas released last week. Most importantly, these same studies suggest higher confidence over the coming six months, including additional hiring and capital spending.
Overdrive Magazine
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration said it has issued an imminent hazard out-of-service order against Clock Transport, which the agency said had been set up to avoid a previous shutdown order against Gunthers Transport.
Maryland-based Gunthers had been ordered to cease operations for a number of safety violations and seven crashes in the past year.
HDMA members should not miss the chance to participate in MEMA’s annual Legislative and Regulatory Priority Issues Survey to give MEMA’s Washington office your input on what the legislative and regulatory priorities of supplier industry should be as we head into 2012. Please click here to begin the survey, which should take less than 15 minutes to finish.
NLRB actions, tax issues, regulatory overreach, technology funding, energy and transportation are all issues that will be in front of Congress next year. Additionally, 2011 brought unprecedented regulatory activity at the federal level. State legislatures and regulatory agencies have also become much more active given the gridlock in Washington. These trends are expected to continue and your input is needed on these critical issues.