Transtex acquires RM2J
MONTREAL, ON - Canadian aerodynamic solutions company Transtex announced the acquisition of fleet safety technology company RM2J, yesterday. The transaction, completed in July, represents a strategic opportunity for Transtex, the company said in a release. The acquired technologies will provide products that increase fuel savings while reducing speeds for improved security, Transtex said.
OTA, officials to meet on road safety
TORONTO, ON - With several truck collisions this month shutting down major Ontario highways for hours at a time, the Ontario Trucking Association (OTA) and the Ontario Ministry of Transportation (MTO), and well as the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), are working together to create safer roads, and clear them faster after a crash. The groups announced the formation of two committees this week to address highway clearance procedures and strategic truck safety enforcement. OTA President Stephen Laskowski said by working together the groups could develop joint goals and strategies on these issues and more effectively execute them to improve highway safety.
Charges laid, OPP talking vehicle seizure
TORONTO, ON - Charges have been laid and changes are coming to the way police officers investigate and enforce dangerous driving behaviors involving commercial vehicle drivers in Ontario. In a morning press conference Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) Commissioner Vince Hawkes announced charges against commercial vehicle drivers in three separate incidents that occurred this year on Ontario 400 series highways. A Brampton, Ontario, man is charged with two counts of dangerous driving causing death in the Aug. 3 crash that took the lives of Todd Gardiner, 26, and Michael Glazier, 35, cousins who were driving in a pickup truck on Highway 401 near Port Hope, Ontario. A second Brampton driver is charged with two counts of dangerous driving causing death, two counts of dangerous driving causing injury, and one count of dangerous driving following a July 30 collision that took the lives of a 45-year-old woman and her 14-year-old son, while injuring her husband and 10-year-old son, as they returned from a camping trip. A third collision on July 27 on Highway 48 in the town of Georgina resulted in similar charges after the deaths of two and injuries to three more people, including a 10-year-old boy who was a passenger in an SUV.
Building starts on Polaris expansion
MISSISSAUGA, ON - Shovels are in the ground for Polaris Transportation Group (PTG), who announced today they have begun construction on the expansion of their Canadian head office. The group is creating additional office, cross dock, and warehousing capacity to meet the demands of business growth within their supply chain.
PCS promises fleet friendly web hosting
SHENANDOAH, TX - For fleets looking for an easier way to build a web presence, PCS Software has announced the release of a new product to help companies to create their own websites geared towards the transportation industry. TruckerHosting.com is a new website hosting service that includes customizable designs that PCS says fleets can build themselves without any coding or design experience.
Celadon receives filing deadline extension
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - Celadon Group is over a year behind on filling its quarterly and annual reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The group announced that it has received an extension from the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), subject to review on an on-going basis, that allows the company to take until May 2, 2018 to file the documents with the SEC.
Daimler launches electric Class 8
TOKYO, JAPAN - Daimler Trucks has a new product that's all charged up and ready to hit the road. Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation (MFTBC), the majority of which is owned by Daimler AG, announced the first fully electric Class 8 truck at the Tokyo Auto Show Wednesday. The truck was revealed as part of the E-Fuso line-up, the first product brand launched by an OEM exclusively dedicated to the electric mobility of trucks and buses. The Fuso launch comes on the heels of the launch of the Fuso eCanter, a Class 4 truck that will deliver later this year. It also comes ahead of a reported launch of an electrified Class 8 from Tesla, the electric car company owned by Elon Musk. The date for that launch was rumored to be this month, after it was pushed back several times. E-Fuso's electric heavy-duty concept truck - named E-FUSO Vision One - has a 300 kiloWatt hour battery with a range of up to 350 kilometers, and a Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW) of about 23 tons. The company says it can carry a payload of about 11 tons, only two tons less than its diesel counterpart.
Teamsters back proposed regs for port drivers
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Teamsters are standing behind two bills introduced this week in the United States designed to make jobs safer and more equitable for drivers working in major U.S. Ports. The bills, called the Clean Ports Act of 2017 and the Port Drivers' Bill of Rights, are being introduced by representatives Grace Napolitano (D-Calif.) and Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) after a USA Today report in June found clean air regulations banning older model vehicles for drivers working in ports were creating an environment of indentured servitude for drivers. Drivers were being forced to sign what the bills call exploitive truck lease or rental agreements.
OTA and government meet on parking
TORONTO, ON - The Ontario Trucking Association (OTA) is bringing the lack of adequate truck parking in the province to the attention of the government. The OTA hosted officials from the Ontario Ministry of Transportation (MTO) and other government consultants at a roundtable on the issue last week to discuss expanded parking options in Northern and Southern Ontario. The lobbying organization says the meeting was well attended by both officials and the group's carrier members who were able to lend a voice to the parking shortage issue, and that all attendees seemed to be on the same page about both long and short-term solutions to the problem.
Truckers committed to road safety: OTA
TORONTO, ON - The Ontario Trucking Association (OTA) is reassuring the public of their commitment to road safety. In a statement released today the OTA says despite the recent media coverage about fatal crashes involving commercial vehicles, trucks are the safest vehicles on the road. The statement comes as a fatal collision involving two tractor-trailers shut down eastbound lanes on Ontario Highway 401, and day after the Ontario Provincial Police charged three more commercial vehicle drivers in 10 deaths on Ontario's highways this summer.
FortisBC unveils new CNG station
KAMLOOPS, BC - Fleets using compressed natural gas (CNG) in British Columbia now have one more place to refuel. FortisBC held the grand opening of its newest CNG filling station in Kamloops, today. The utility offered a behind-the-scenes look at its operations to those on-hand for the big unveiling.
Penske opens new 12,000 sq.-ft. facility
DARTMOUTH, NS - Penske Truck Leasing has moved to new, larger digs in Nova Scotia. The truck leasing company announced the opening of their new 12,000 sq.-ft. facility in Nova Scotia's largest industrial park, situated near five 100-series highways, the Halifax airport, and port.
Tonnage hauled in Sept. up from 2016: ATA
ARLINGTON, VA - The September for-hire trucking market gave back some of the tonnage gains made in the previous month, according to American Trucking Associations' (ATA) Advanced Seasonally Adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index. Tonnage slipped 0.9% in September when compared with August, however it was still up 7.4% year over year. The ATA says year-to-date, compared with the same nine months in 2016, tonnage is up 2.4%.
Saying goodbye to a friend
SURREY, BC - Today the British Columbia trucking family will say goodbye to one of their own. Long-time friend and pillar of the community Kenneth John Tanner, 65, branch manager of the SAF-Holland Surrey, B.C. facility and sales representative for Western Canada and Alaska, passed away suddenly Oct. 15.