Transport Topics Magazine
LAS VEGAS — Domestic trucking should continue to benefit from a decent economy this year and into 2013, and truck makers are looking at steady global economies — with the crucial exception of Europe, economists and analysts said here at a heavy-duty industry meeting.
The extent of Europe’s economic damage — and how far it will spread — was the greatest uncertainty discussed at Heavy-Duty Dialogue on Jan. 23. While no one mentioned a return to recession in the United States as being likely soon, they did list concerns including: unemployment at or above 8 percent because economic growth will stay below 3 percent; a gridlocked political system that probably will not fix federal finances; and peculiarities in manufacturing that allow it to generate large amounts of revenue and profits while employing ever fewer people.
Fleet Equipment Magazine
U.S. trucks may look different from the vehicles that operate in other parts of the world, but underneath there are many similarities, and they are increasing. The vehicles in our industry are part of an ever-expanding global market. Every truck maker in this country has a presence in the world market and shares successful vehicle technologies across its product lines and markets.
Take Daimler, for instance: It develops and produces vehicles in a global network under the brands Mercedes-Benz, Freightliner, Western Star and Fuso. The division’s 28 production facilities are in the NAFTA region (11 in the U.S. and three in Mexico), Asia (five), Europe (seven), South America (one) and Africa (one). In Brazil, Daimler Trucks will expand its production network in 2012 with the addition of a plant in Juiz de Fora, where heavy-duty Mercedes-Benz Actros trucks, as well as medium-duty Mercedes-Benz Accelo trucks, will be produced for Latin American markets.
Truck Parts and Service Magazine
Bill Graves, president and CEO of the American Trucking Associations, was the featured speaker during the opening session of HDAW 2012 at The Mirage in Las Vegas on Tuesday.
The duration of Graves’ presentation was spent detailing the slow growth the U.S. economy is showing since the recession of the last decade, and the positive effect that growth is showing in the trucking industry.
LAS VEGAS. Accuride Corp. chose the 2012 Heavy Duty Aftermarket Week Conference (HDAW) here this week to announce that the company expects to make additional investments of approximately $75 million in 2012 to continue to strengthen product availability, quality and reliability; upgrade its manufacturing processes; and improve customer service. Rick Dauch, president &CEO, made the announcement during a press briefing. The scheduled 2012 investments follow the $35- million investment made in 2011 to increase the firm’s aluminum-wheel production capacity.
The first phase targets new machining lines and related equipment in the wheels business and is already underway. A second phase involves improvements at Accuride’s Gunite operations.
Truck Parts and Service magazine
Independent distributors Carolina Rim & Wheel of Charlotte, N.C., and Fleet Brake of Calgary, Alberta have been named co-winners of Truck Parts & Service’s 2011 Distributor of the Year award, sponsored by Minimizer.
The award was given out during the opening session of HDAW 2012 at The Mirage in Las Vegas. This is the third time in the award’s 10-year history that multiple winners have been selected. Other 2011 nominees were Tidewater Fleet Supply of Chesapeake, Va. and Weldon Truck Parts of Oklahoma City.