Economy

Heavy-duty orders start to yield

NEW YORK -- North American class 8 orders in April but have begun to slow for the first time this year.

519 businesses unite

STRATFORD, Ont. -- Business leaders and government officials in Ontario's Southwestern corner are looking to join forces by creating an economic powerhouse that rivals the GTA and other markets globally.

German truckmaker MAN finds Navistar stake appealing; OEMs expanding component ties

FRANKFURT, Germany -- Navistar International and MAN Nutzfahrzeuge have strengthened ties in recent years and now the German truckmaker says it could envision a day where it owns a piece of its Chicago-based partner.

Michelin leader dies in boating accident

PARIS -- Edouard Michelin, managing partner of leading global tiremaker Michelin, died in a boating accident during a bass fishing trip near Brittany. He was 43.

FedEx buys LTL firm; Canadian ops included

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Parcel delivery giant FedEx Corp. is acquiring Watkins Motor Lines, a North American LTL general goods carrier, for $780 million.

NAFTA surface trade highest ever

WASHINGTON -- Surface trade among the U.S., Canada and Mexico rose to the highest monthly level on record this past March.

ArvinMeritor workers locked out of Ontario brake plant

TILBURY, Ont. -- ArvinMeritor has temporarily ceased operations at its Tilbury, Ont. brake plant after labor negotiations between the commercial vehicle component manufacturer and the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) Local 1941 fell apart last night.

SelecTrucks extends warranty program to MD trucks

PORTLAND, Ore. -- SelecTrucks has extended its comprehensive warranty program to medium-duty trucks. Entitled Buyer's Assurance, the SelecTrucks plan was originally developed to cover class 8 vehicles.

Curtains draw on first Canadian Hino plant

WOODSTOCK, ONT-- All eyes in the central Ontario community of Woodstock were on Hino Motors Canada Tuesday when Company President Hiroyuki Omori and a collection of local and Japanese dignitaries cut the ribbon to officially open Hino's new assembly plant.

Navistar International has edge going into ’07 slowdown, says CEO

WARRENVILLE, Ill. -- Navistar International says its combined truck and engine business will rake in $15 billion in revenues with 10 percent segment margins by 2009.

Merchandise imports rise, exports fall in April

OTTAWA -- For the third time in the first four months of 2006, Canada's merchandise exports fell while imports continued to gain ground. As a result, the nation's merchandise trade surplus with the rest of the world dropped to its lowest level -- $4.0 billion -- in six months, says Stats Canada.

OEMs gear down for ’07 slump; Next spike will ‘dwarf’ this pre-buy, analysts predict

NEW YORK -- After a string of record months for 2006 class 8 orders, market forecasters are predicting sub-10,000 orders beginning in July.

Volvo testing new mobile anti-idling technology

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Volvo Trucks North America and North Carolina State University (NCSU) have announced that two supplier and fleet partners have been chosen for their mobile idle reduction technology (MIRT) field operational test.

Trucking gave Canadian economy another boost in ’05

OTTAWA -- Economic activity among the three major transport modes increased substantially for the second year in a row.

Volvo pumps $150M into Mack flagship engine plant

HAGERSTOWN, Md. -- Mack Trucks has been building engines and transmissions at its Hagerstown, MD powertrain facility since 1961, and there's every indication that production will continue under that 45-year-old roof for some time to come.