Innovative Aluminum Flatbed Promises More Payload, Fuel Efficiency, Less Maintenance -Source TruckingInfo - October 19,2011

Innovative Aluminum Flatbed Promises More Payload, Fuel Efficiency, Less Maintenance
By Deborah Lockridge, Editor in Chief

A Canadian trailer maker is entering the U.S. market with a lightweight aluminum flatbed it says can save about 2,000 pounds over a regular aluminum flatbed, with additional cargo-capacity, aerodynamic and maintenance benefits as well.

Alutrec, based in Quebec, has been designing and manufacturing aluminum platform trailers for the Canadian market for over two decades. It says it has a revolutionary new way to manufacture trailers. The result is its Capacity flatbed, which it says is the first aluminum monocoque trailer in the world.

Monocoque is a construction technique that supports structural load by using an object's external skin, as opposed to using an internal frame that is then covered with a non-load-bearing skin. The term is also used to indicate a form of vehicle construction in which the body and chassis form a single unit.

In Alutrec's case, the monocoque body is built around the concept of a tube. This allows weight stress to be distributed throughout the structure and has the extra benefit of creating an aerodynamic underside of the trailer.

"We have been building trailers with parellel beam and crossmembers for 150 years," explained Stephane Labillois, vice president of business development. "Now this trailer is more like a tube. That's why it's so strong in torsion resistance. If you try to twist a bottle or tube, it's very difficult to twist or break."

High-density composite materials are used between all steel and aluminum contact points. And electrical and air components are located inside the tube, so they are no longer exposed to the elements, protecting them from corrosion and thus saving on maintenance costs.

Five years of research and development that involved two Canadian universities went into the product, which Alutrec says is the most aerodynamic, lightweight aluminum trailer in North American history.

In addition to the extra payload capacity offered by the lighter weight, the Capacity trailer is also 7-1/2 inches lower than a traditional flatbed, offering more height for loads as well as weight.

Two- or three-axle models are available. In addition, the third axle can be removed in just three hours for greater flexibility.

The trailer is more expensive than a traditional aluminum flat, but Alutrec's goal is for the extra up front cost for the Capacity to pay for itself with fuel savings, additional payload and maintenance savings within 18 months.



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"All Eyes on the Economy" Panel Offers Insights into Trucking, Energy, Growth - Source Trucking Info - October 18,2011

"All Eyes on the Economy" Panel Offers Insights into Trucking, Energy, Growth
By Deborah Lockridge, Editor in Chief

A panel of economic experts said while economic growth will still be too slow to make a dent in unemployment numbers, they don't see the United States sliding into a double-dip recession - and trucking can outperform the macro economy, especially if manufacturing continues to grow as it has been.

The panel, "All Eyes on the Economy," was held during the American Trucking Association's annual Management Conference and Exhibition in Dallas and was moderated by Stuart Varney of Fox News, who declared that "trucking, in my opinion, is the best indicator for what's coming in the general economy."

In dismissing the likelihood of a double-dip recession, Martin Regalia, economic forecaster for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, noted that many people were spooked by slower economic growth caused by the earthquake in Japan, floods in the Midwest, uprisings around the Mediterranean. "I think we're going to reaccelerate to the 2.25, 2.5% range over the next year," he said, referring to predictions for GDP growth, but noted that's not enough to create job growth.

What Government Can Do

Varney noted that "government gridlock is a major issue of contention and concern," and asked Regalia what the government can - and should - do to help the economy. Regalia listed five things:

1. Get trade agreements signed and operative, which they have started doing. "We're losing market share to competitors around the world," Regalia said.

2. Get the energy sector going again. There are projects not being done because they are waiting for government permits.

3. Make it easier for international travelers to come to this country and spend their tourism and vacation money while the dollar is weak.

4. Focus on infrastructure - not simply more spending, but better spending and better prioritization.

5. A better tax system, one that's more efficient and promotes growth.

Trucking

While acknowledging that the recovery is "choppy," especially for some sector of trucking, ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello pointed out that while the industry isn't back to where it was before the recession, "we have come back nicely."

Following on Varney's remark about trucking as an economic indicator, Costello said the industry has forecast recessions that didn't happen, but that the country has never had a recession that trucking did not predict. As a result, he feels confident we are not headed back into another recession.

He pointed out, for instance, that truckload volumes fell 23% during the recession but are back up about 10%. The industry shed itself of excess capacity after freight leveld plummeted; the number of tractors in the truckload industry is down 20% from where it was before the recession. In fact, Costello said, "if we are wrong and the economy takes off, I really don't think there are enough trucks out there to haul all the freight that would need to be hauled." Because of this tighter capacity, revenue per mile is increasing, he said. For large truckload carriers they are up 9.1% since January 2009; for small TL fleets, 3.2%.

Costello is not expecting fleets to add capacity quickly, but he did say there is a lot of activity now and in the future when it comes to replacing aging trucks in the fleets. The average age of a Class 8 truck is now nearly 7 years, and once trucks get past the half-million-mile mark, there is typically an enormous jump in maintenance costs. Of course, this is easier said than done, he noted, as we've seen the average price of a Class 8 truck rise about $30,000 over the past five years. Other capacity constraints include government regulations and the fact that carriers are already seeing the beginning of what Costello says will be the worst driver shortage the industry has ever seen.

Energy

Energy, of course, especially the price of oil and diesel, is a concern for the trucking industry as well as the general economy. John Felmy, American Petroleum Institute, shared his organization's belief that the government could do much to stimulate the economy as well as moving toward energy self-sufficiency.

When asked by Varney whether we truly could achieve the latter, Felmy said, "I think we can get close." New technologies have allowed the U.S. to access a massive amount of natural gas, as well as new oil sources in North Dakota and in deep water, he said. "If we were as a country focused on developing energy, as Marty said, we could double crude oil production, increase natural gas production by 60%, import oil from Canada through the new pipeline that needs to be finished. With that, along with biofuels, we could be 100% self sufficient in North America."

While crude oil prices rose sharply in the spring, rising as high as $113 per barrel, they recently fell to $75 and then back up to $86. What future prices will do, Felmy says, will largely depend on the European Union financial situation and other global supply and demand factors. The International Energy Agency, he noted, has predicted record demand for this year.

Felmy warned the audience to look out for a couple of things when it comes to demand issues that could drive up the cost of diesel fuel.

One, in some states in the Northeast, heating oil suppliers have pushed through some mandates for ultra-low-sulfur heating oil - essentially the same thing as ULSD diesel fuel. So that could lead to a surge in demand this winter.

Two, late last year, the federal government decided to sell its 2 million barrels of heating oil in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. The government announced just recently it would start refilling that reserve, and that's more additional potential demand.





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Diesel Up 8 Cents from Last Week, Oil Drops on Euro Debt Concerns - Source Trucking Info - October 18,2011

10/18/2011
Diesel Up 8 Cents from Last Week, Oil Drops on Euro Debt Concerns
By Truckinginfo Staff

The average price for diesel fuel at pumps across the country leapt 8 cents this week, putting the brakes on a five-week slide. Meanwhile, fears of a slowdown in the global economy and renewed uncertainty over European debt drove oil prices 42 cents lower on Monday.

The Department of Energy's weekly price survey released on Monday posted the national average price for diesel at $3.801 a gallon -- the highest price recorded in the previous month, and nearly 73 cents a gallon higher that it was a year ago.

Benchmark crude finished down 42 cents at $86.38 per barrel in New York on Monday, while Brent crude, used to price international varieties of oil, fell $2.07 to end at $110.16 a barrel in London, the Associated Press reports.

Oil has lost 24 percent since May. Investors are concerned about weak demand for gasoline here in the U.S., and budget problems in Greece.

Prices had begun to rise last week, but on Monday, German finance chief Wolfgang Schaeuble dampened expectations that European finance ministers would be able hammer out a solution at an upcoming summit.

Gasoline pump prices rose a half penny to a national average of $3.462 per gallon, according to the Oil Price Information Service. A gallon of regular has fallen about 52 cents from its peak near $4 per gallon on May 5, but it's still nearly 63 cents higher than the same time last year.


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Tanker Demand Will Match Supply by Winter 2012, Teekay Says

Saturday, 08 October 2011 00:00
Demand for oil tankers will match supply by the Northern Hemisphere’s next winter, lifting charter rates for the vessels, according to Teekay Corp., the largest U.S.-listed owner of the ships.“The tanker market is bottoming,” Chief Executive Officer
Peter Evensen said in an interview at a conference in London today, adding that the smaller-sized oil tankers which dominate Teekay’s fleet will recover before larger carriers. “We see a recovery in the winter of 2012 going into 2013, when demand catches up with supply.”The global fleet of aframax tankers, which haul 600,000 barrels of crude, will expand 1.6 percent in 2013, compared with 7.5 percent growth for larger suezmaxes, he said. The combined capacity of supertankers that can haul 2 million barrels of oil, known in the industry as very large crude carriers, will rise by 6 percent, the CEO forecast.A world excess of tankers might be curbed by further slowing vessel speeds, Evensen said. Dropping to 12 knots from 14 knots saved as much as 25 metric tons of fuel oil daily, he said. Each ton costs as much as $700, according to Evensen.Lack of FinancingConstruction of new ships is being delayed because owners are struggling to get finance to pay for them, he said. Teekay, based in Hamilton, Bermuda, is the largest operator in the six- company Bloomberg Tanker Index, with a market value of $1.56 billion.Charter rates for VLCCs loading West African crude for U.S. Gulf Coast ports jumped the most since January 2010 today, according to the Baltic Exchange in London. Costs measured in industry-standard Worldscale terms advanced 23 percent to 62.32 points.Delays in passing through the Turkish Straits are driving up charter rates for smaller tankers that carry crude from Black Sea ports to export markets, said Ben Goggin, a broker at SSY Futures Ltd., a unit of the world’s second-largest shipbroker. That is shrinking supply of larger supertankers and causing freight rates to rise, he said.The straits connect the Black Sea and the Aegean Sea.Source: Michelle Weise Bockmman, Alaric Nightingale, Bloomberg

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Rail Cargo Starts to Peak as Buffett Sees No Recession: Freight

Rail Cargo Starts to Peak as Buffett Sees No Recession: Freight

QBy Thomas Black and Natalie Doss -
Oct 7, 2011 4:16 PM ET

Rail Cargo Starts to Peak as Buffett Sees No Recession
Ken James/Bloomberg
Cargo passes on a Union Pacific freight train near the J.R. Davis Yard in Roseville, California.
Cargo passes on a Union Pacific freight train near the J.R. Davis Yard in Roseville, California. Photographer: Ken James/Bloomberg
Enlarge image

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Chairman Warren Buffett
Scott Eells/Bloomberg
Warren Buffett, chairman and chief executive officer of Berkshire Hathaway Inc.
Warren Buffett, chairman and chief executive officer of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Photographer: Scott Eells/Bloomberg

Railroads are starting to see signs of a shipping peak ahead of the Christmas holiday season, signaling the U.S. economy is still expanding and fending off a repeat recession.
North American rail carloads reached a 2011 high in the week that ended Oct. 1, as did intermodal units, the containers that can move by rail, road and sea and usually carry retail goods, the Association of American Railroads said yesterday. Both cargo categories marked a third straight week of gains.
Traffic is rising from U.S. fall harvests, coal for winter heating and power, and gifts bound for store shelves, said Jeff Kauffman, a Sterne Agee & Leach Inc. analyst in New York. The late-arriving peak matches industry forecasts that the pickup in rail business wouldn’t begin until September, instead of the usual August, as companies make do with leaner inventory.
“The economy is slower, but it’s not shrinking,” Kauffman said in an interview. “Christmas will come. So, we’re going to have a peak season and we’re going to ship stuff.”
That’s welcome news to Union Pacific Corp. (UNP), CSX Corp. (CSX) and Norfolk Southern Corp. (NSC), the three biggest publicly traded railroads in the U.S. Warren Buffett’s Burlington Northern Santa Fe is second only to Union Pacific in sales.
“Our railroad carried 200,000 carloads last week,” Buffett said Oct. 4 at a Fortune magazine conference in Laguna Niguel, California. “That’s the highest total in three years. And that’s stuff moving around the country, supplying merchants and doing all kinds of things.”
Buffett, chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., added: “As of today, the recovery is still under way.”
Weekly Gains
The industrywide carload total, which includes commodities as well as finished goods such as autos, was 408,383 last week, up 4.5 percent from a year earlier, according to the Washington- based AAR. Intermodal units rose 4.1 percent to 313,026.
Intermodal shipping containers can carry everything from electronics to clothes to appliances. Union Pacific Chief Executive Officer Jim Young said in an interview last month he watches intermodal shipments, along with autos and parts, because consumer demand was the “wild card” in whether the U.S. slips back into a recession.
“While the economy has slowed somewhat in the second half, we remain optimistic that gradual, steady recovery will continue,” CSX CEO Michael Ward wrote in a Sept. 27 letter to the Surface Transportation Board about the Jacksonville, Florida-based carrier’s peak-season plans.
‘Trains Are Moving’
The U.S. economy will grow 1.6 percent in 2011, down from 3 percent last year, said Nathaniel Karp, chief U.S. economist for Spain’s Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA. (BBVA) Gross domestic product rose 1.3 percent in the second quarter, according to the Commerce Department, after a 0.4 percent gain in the prior three months.
“The trains are moving, the carloads are moving, but not as strong as you’d like,” Karp said. “It confirms the economy is expanding. It’s just that the growth rate isn’t that good.”
The risk is that low consumer confidence and negative sentiment surrounding the stock market may hurt spending and create a “self-fulfilling prophecy” to push the country into recession, Karp said in an interview.
Karp estimated the chance of a double-dip recession at about 35 percent. The U.S. recession that ran from December 2007 to June 2009 was the longest contraction since the 43-month slump of the Great Depression, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research.
Jobs Report
While the U.S. jobless rate remained unchanged in September at 9.1 percent, employers added 103,000 workers, the Labor Department reported today. That topped the median forecast of 60,000 in a Bloomberg News survey of economists.
Consumer confidence rose in September to 59.4 on the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan index, up from 55.7 in August. The last time that gauge was below 60 was in March 2009.
“It doesn’t feel like 2008 out there,” Jason Seidl, a New York-based analyst with Dahlman Rose & Co., said in an interview. At his firm’s recent transportation conference with trucking, rail and air carrier executives, “no one thought we were heading into a recession.”
Railroads have fared better with investors than many industries. While the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index was little changed in the past year, an S&P 500 gauge consisting of Omaha, Nebraska-based Union Pacific, CSX and Norfolk Southern rose 6.9 percent.
The best performer was Norfolk, Virginia-based Norfolk Southern, which gained 8.8 percent. It’s the biggest carrier of autos and vehicle parts.
Paring Inventory
Businesses’ preference for smaller inventory delayed the start of this year’s peak shipping season, Sterne Agee’s Kauffman said. Those stockpiles rose 0.4 percent in July, trailing analysts’ estimates of 0.5 percent and matching the lowest rate of growth since May 2010.
Retailers have to decide now whether to amass goods for a normal holiday season, because waiting until month’s end wouldn’t allow enough time for intermodal shipments from sources such as China to arrive by Thanksgiving, Kauffman said.
“If you have a semi-reasonable Christmas shopping period, you’re going to have a lot of stock-outs,” Kauffman said. “For the in-demand goods, you may end up with high air-freight bills.”
‘Fairly Muted’
That’s not likely to happen, said Justin Yagerman, a New York-based analyst at Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. who recommends buying Union Pacific and CSX. The peak season for shipments of imported goods has been “fairly muted” and probably will be over by the early part of this month, he said.
“Right now we don’t see that as a huge sustainable driver of freight levels looking out into the back half of the year,” Yagerman said. “That’s going to fade fairly quickly as we move through October.”
That outlook is in line with the one offered yesterday by FedEx Corp. (FDX) CEO Fred Smith, whose company operates the world’s largest cargo airline. He told an audience of business executives yesterday at a conference in Columbus, Ohio, that he expects a gain in holiday shipments that won’t be as large as last year’s, and a slow-growth recovery, not a recession.
Genco ATC, a third-party logistics company that helps shippers find carriers to move goods, has seen evidence of recovery and customers’ anxiety, according to Barb Pitroski, vice president of carrier and freight solutions.
While the Pittsburgh-based company has seen volumes increase in 2011, caution is the watchword among clients, she said.
“There’s growth,” she said. “But it’s cautious growth.”
To contact the reporters on this story: Thomas Black in Monterrey at tblack@bloomberg.net; Natalie Doss in New York at ndoss@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Ed Dufner at edufner@bloomberg.net

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United States Freight Transport Report Q3 2011 - new market research report

United States Freight Transport Report Q3 2011 - new market research report
London 10/12/2011 10:09 AM GMT (TransWorldNews)

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Our outlook for the US freight transport sector in 2011 is cautiously optimistic. We expect volumes at major ports, and on road, rail and air links to continue recovering from the downturn as the consumer outlook brightens slightly. Our basic view is that despite the current challenges to the global economic outlook, the US recovery will continue, but will remain at a very sub-par pace compared with previous recoveries. The key risk over the coming quarters is the potential for an oil price spike amid unrest in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) pushing up domestic energy prices and stifling the consumer recovery, a scenario which does not bode well for the freight transport sector. We have downgraded our 2011 US real GDP growth forecast to 2.9% from 3.1% previously. This is due mainly to base effects from a disappointing Q111, in which real GDP looks set to have grown by less than 2.5%, versus the 3.5% that we had pencilled in. Our initial optimism surrounding the payroll tax cuts agreed in December 2010 ended up being offset by bad weather and the twin shocks of the Japanese earthquake and the rise in oil prices surrounding the MENA crisis. We believe that momentum will pick up, however, with improvement across most sectors of the economy. This should translate in an uptick in freighted volumes.
Headline Industry Data- 2011
Port of Los Angeles tonnage throughput forecast to growth by 5.1%, with annual average growth of 5.1% during our forecast period, to 2015.- 2011
Port of New York/New Jersey tonnage throughput forecast to grow by 0.6%, with annual average growth of 0.9% during our forecast period.
- 2011 air freight tonnes/km growth forecast at 7%, with annual average growth of 6% during our forecast period.
- 2011 rail freight tonnes/km growth forecast at 4%, with annual average growth of 3% during our forecast period.
- 2011 road freight tonnes/km growth forecast at 4%, with annual average growth of 3% during our forecast period.

Key Industry TrendsShippers Increase East Coast Imports, Trans-Pacific Conference Highlights Panama EffectsThe March 2011 Trans-Pacific Maritime Conference has highlighted the fact that, nearly 100 years since it was opened, the Panama Canal set to shake up the US port sector once more, potentially reshaping shipping and rail in the world's largest consumer state. Some major US importers are diversifying their US port gateways, increasing use of East Coast ports, in preparation for the completion of the Panama Canal expansion in 2014.CSX Braces For Panama Expansion Surge With US$160mn Rail InvestmentWe believe the steady recovery in US rail freight volumes will continue in 2011. Our outlook is reflected in the considerable investments being made by the major US rail freight players to improve infrastructure and boost capacity.CSX has announced that it is to invest US$160mn over the next few years to improve its ability to move freight from the port of Virginia to the US Midwest, a project that we believe will leave it well placed to take advantage of growing volumes when the expansion of the Panama Canal is completed in 2014. The improvements will complete the company's US$860mn 'National Gateway' project, a double-stack rail initiative designed to create a more efficient freight transportation link between mid-Atlantic ports and consumers in the MidwestAir Industry Slams Latest TSA Directive, Casting Doubt On 100% Screening PlanWe believe that the US Transport Security Authority (TSA) has caught the airfreight industry off guard by issuing an unexpected directive that calls for increased surveillance on high-risk international shipments. The directive has been subject to criticism within the industry for its sudden implementation and its lack of clarity. We believe the TSA will need to work more closely with the industry in future to ensure the success of tighter security measures.Risks to OutlookThe key risk over the coming quarters is the potential for an oil price spike amid unrest in MENA pushing up domestic energy prices and stifling the consumer recovery, a scenario which does not bode well for the freight transport sector.Other downside ownside risks to our outlook present themselves in the form of a slower than expected recovery in US consumer demand. Our lacklustre outlook for the US economy, and in particular, worries over sustained structural unemployment, could negatively affect consumer spending. In turn, this would have a negative effect on import levels and therefore the freight transport sector.A further downside risk is the possibility of a slowdown in China. Overheating of the Chinese economy could lead to withdrawal in 2011, which would put downwards pressure on US growth, negatively affecting our outlook for the US freight transport sector.Click for report details: United States Freight Transport Report Q3 2011
enquiries@companiesandmarkets.comwww.companiesandmarkets.com/market-report/united-states-freight-transport-report-q3-2011-651382.asp?prk=46556ed0fe0c3bb03365cce170a94792


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Short-Term Energy and Winter Fuels Outlook - Source EIA - October 16,2011

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Weekly Retail On-Highway Diesel Prices - Source EIA - October 16,2011

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Weekly Retail On-Highway Diesel Prices (Dollars per gallon, including all taxes) Region 09/26/11 10/03/11 10/10/11 Change from week ago Change from year ago U.S. 3.786 3.749 3.721 -0.028 0.655 East Coast 3.804 3.765 3.741 -0.024 0.676 New England 3.963 3.941 3.912 -0.029 0.794 Central Atlantic 3.922 3.881 3.860 -0.021 0.682 Lower Atlantic 3.739 3.699 3.674 -0.025 0.663 Midwest 3.738 3.699 3.671 -0.028 0.616 Gulf Coast 3.730 3.693 3.651 -0.042 0.669 Rocky Mountain 3.867 3.846 3.828 -0.018 0.743 West Coast 3.957 3.927 3.910 -0.017 0.671 California 4.039 4.007 3.977 -0.030 0.762

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Winds may affect high profile vehicles this weekend.

A low pressure system currently centered over the DelMarVa peninsula will bring high winds to the Mid-Atlandit and Northeast this weekend.  High wind advisories have been posted for the Western portions of North and South Carolina and extreme Northeast Georgia, as well as New York along lake Erie today.  This system will continue to move up the eastern coast bringing high winds to West Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania New Jersey Delaware and New York this weekend prompting more advisories.  Check your local forecasts or NOAA weather radio.



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White House Announces First Ever Oil Savings Standards for Heavy Duty Trucks, Buses -Source Movin Out- October,14,2011

White House Announces First Ever Oil Savings Standards for Heavy Duty Trucks, Buses

WASHINGTON...President Obama recently met with industry officials to discuss the first-of-their-kind fuel efficiency and greenhouse gas pollution standards for work trucks, buses, and other heavy duty vehicles and to thank them for their leadership in finalizing a successful national program for these vehicles. This meeting marks the administration’s announcement of the standards, which will save American businesses that operate and own these commercial vehicles approximately $50 billion in fuel costs over the life of the program. The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) developed the standards in close coordination with the companies that met with the president today as well as other stakeholders, following requests from companies to develop this program. The cost savings for American businesses are on top of the $1.7 trillion that American families will save at the pump from the historic fuel-efficiency standards announced by the Obama Administration for cars and light duty trucks, including the model year 2017-2025 agreement announced by the president in July. "While we were working to improve the efficiency of cars and light-duty trucks, something interesting happened," said President Obama. "We started getting letters asking that we do the same for medium and heavy-duty trucks. They were from the people who build, buy, and drive these trucks. And today, I'm proud to have the support of these companies as we announce the first-ever national policy to increase fuel efficiency and decrease greenhouse gas pollution from medium-and heavy-duty trucks." "Thanks to the Obama Administration, for the first time in our history we have a common goal for increasing the fuel efficiency of the trucks that deliver our products, the vehicles we use at work, and the buses our children ride to school," said DOT Secretary LaHood. "These new standards will reduce fuel costs for businesses, encourage innovation in the manufacturing sector, and promote energy independence for America." "This administration is committed to protecting the air we breathe and cutting carbon pollution – and programs like these ensure that we can serve those priorities while also reducing our dependence on imported oil and saving money for drivers," said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. "More efficient trucks on our highways and less pollution from the buses in our neighborhoods will allow us to breathe cleaner air and use less oil, providing a wide range of benefits to our health, our environment and our economy." Under the comprehensive new national program, trucks and buses built in 2014 through 2018 will reduce oil consumption by a projected 530 million barrels and greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution by approximately 270 million metric tons. Like the administration's historic car standards, this program – which relies heavily on off-the-shelf technologies – was developed in coordination with truck and engine manufacturers, fleet owners, the State of California, environmental groups and other stakeholders. The joint DOT/EPA program will include a range of targets which are specific to the diverse vehicle types and purposes. Vehicles are divided into three major categories: combination tractors (semi-trucks), heavy-duty pickup trucks and vans, and vocational vehicles (like transit buses and refuse trucks). Within each of those categories, even more specific targets are laid out based on the design and purpose of the vehicle. This flexible structure allows serious but achievable fuel efficiency improvement goals charted for each year and for each vehicle category and type. The standards are expected to yield an estimated $50 billion in net benefits over the life of model year 2014 to 2018 vehicles, and to result in significant long-terms savings for vehicle owners and operators. A semi-truck operator could pay for the technology upgrades in under a year and realize net savings of $73,000 through reduced fuel costs over the truck's useful life. These cost saving standards will also reduce emissions of harmful air pollutants like particulate matter, which can lead to asthma, heart attacks and premature death. By the 2018 model year, the program is expected to achieve significant savings relative to current levels, across vehicle types. Certain combination tractors – commonly known as big-rigs or semi-trucks – will be required to achieve up to approximately 20 percent reduction in fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions by model year 2018, saving up to 4 gallons of fuel for every 100 miles traveled. For heavy-duty pickup trucks and vans, separate standards are required for gasoline-powered and diesel trucks. These vehicles will be required to achieve up to approximately 15 percent reduction in fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions by model year 2018. Under the finalized standards a typical gasoline or diesel powered heavy-duty pickup truck or van could save one gallon of fuel for every 100 miles traveled. Vocational vehicles – including delivery trucks, buses, and garbage trucks – will be required to reduce fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 10 percent by model year 2018. These trucks could save an average of one gallon of fuel for every 100 miles traveled. Beyond the direct benefits to businesses that own and operate these vehicles, the program will also benefit consumers and businesses by reducing costs for transporting goods, and spur growth in the clean energy sector by fostering innovative technologies and providing regulatory certainty for manufacturers. More information is available on EPA's website: http://usepa.pr-optout.com/Url.aspx?518041x4475862x-3045138 and on NHTSA's website: http://usepa.pr-optout.com/Url.aspx?518041x4475859x-4599621

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E-Manifest Border Crossings Soon To Be Mandatory For Carriers Entering Canada - Source Movin Out - October 14,2011

E-Manifest Border Crossings Soon To Be Mandatory For Carriers Entering Canada

By now, carriers that run the route between the United States and Canada should be familiar with the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) program where manifest data must be supplied to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at least one hour prior to arrival at the border. What they may not know is that they will have to do the same for shipments going into Canada beginning in mid-late 2011. Carriers will have to transmit their cargo and conveyance data to Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) as part of the third stage of Canada's Advanced Commercial Information (ACI) program. The ACI program, similar to the ACE program, is designed to provide CBSA officers with electronic pre-arrival information so that they are equipped with the right information at the right time to identify health, safety and security threats related to commercial goods before the goods arrive in Canada. Highway carriers can expect an 18 month implementation timeline, starting in the summer/autumn of 2011. There will be a 12 month awareness period, followed by six months of informed compliance. At the end of the 18 months, carriers may be subject to monetary penalties or shipment delays for non-compliance. Delivery times could easily be affected if the correct information isn’t sent at least one hour prior to the arrival of the truck at the border. While this will pose a challenge for carriers entering Canada, there is hope. eCustoms has a solution that will simplify this mandatory requirement and is certified by both the CBSA and U.S. CBP. eCustoms' Visual Gateway™ Suite is a powerful collection of web-based solutions that help importers, carriers and customs brokers shipping goods into Canada and the U.S. comply with demanding advance electronic cargo and conveyance notification regulations. The e-Manifest solution enables carriers to easily validate, and electronically submit shipments and trips to customs prior to their truck arriving at the border. Visual Gateway™ offers easier compliance for busy carriers to get there and back efficiently and with less hassle by combining solutions for both the ACE and ACI into one affordable, web based service. "We are right at the cutting edge of the CBSA's highway plans. Our aim is to help highway carriers of all sizes to be able to comply with these mandatory regulations within the implementation time," said Jackson wood, Corporate Business Manager at eCustoms. "More importantly it means that carriers can submit all the relevant information to customs within the required time period to ensure their trucks cross the border as quickly and effectively as possible." eCustoms offers easy to use, feature-rich, reliable, cost effective solutions that help carriers, brokers or freight forwarders comply with U.S. and Canadian e-Manifest requirements. As a certified cross-border solution provider for over 30 years, eCustoms can keep you moving while helping you stay compliant. eCustoms has been delivering automated and integrated international trade solutions for over 30 years, with a focus on export regulations, customs compliance, tariff management and import/export documentation. In addition, eCustoms offers brokerage services and other customs consulting services, including support for managing domestic and international customs processes. For companies who want to maintain their competitive edge, the smart choice is to integrate eCustoms' suite of trade applications, including web-based solutions, into their existing IT infrastructure. For more information about eCustoms and its compliance solutions, e-mail info@eCustoms.com, visit http://www.ecustoms.com/ or call 1-877-328-7866.

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Mixed Reactions to Free-Trade Agreements - Source Industry Week - October 14,2011

Mixed Reactions to Free-Trade Agreements

Depending on whom you ask, free-trade pacts will either create or kill thousands of American jobs.

By Josh Cable

Oct. 13, 2011

UPDATED AT 4:34 P.M. EDT -- When long-stalled free-trade pacts with Columbia, Panama and South Korea sailed through Congress Wednesday night, it was a monumental victory for the National Association of Manufacturers.

The free-trade agreements were NAM's "top trade priority," association President and CEO Jay Timmons said.

"These free-trade agreements are key to our economic growth and competitiveness, and we hope the president will act quickly to implement them," Timmons said.

"Today's action by the Senate and House to pass these agreements is a big step toward creating much-needed jobs as we reach new markets. Manufacturers welcome today's votes after years of inaction."

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce struck a similar tone, hailing the bipartisan agreements as the potential foundation of "an aggressive new trade agenda."

"Passing these trade agreements represents a victory for American workers, American competitiveness and American leadership," said Thomas Donohue, president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber.

"It means we will immediately stop losing jobs to our competitors who have cut their own deals and we can start creating hundreds of thousands of new jobs for Americans."

In a rare gesture of support for the Democratic administration, the chamber lauded President Obama, White House Chief of Staff Bill Daley as well as Republicans in Congress "for successfully carving a path forward to complete the trade agreements."

"At a time when many people think Washington is broken, members of Congress from both parties and the administration put American jobs first by making these trade agreements a reality," Donohue said.

"Let's make the approval of these agreements a foundation for moving bipartisan, job-creating policies forward."

Donohue urged lawmakers to build on passage of these agreements with an aggressive new trade agenda, including swift negotiation of a Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement.

He also said the United States needs to explore eliminating all tariffs on trade with the European Union, the nation's largest economic partner. The chamber believes such a move could boost transatlantic trade by $120 billion over five years.

The Association of Equipment Manufacturers also welcomed the passage of the free-trade pacts.

"Not only will these agreements help level the playing field for U.S. manufacturers, increasing their global competitiveness, but there is widespread agreement that these export agreements will help job growth and boost our overall economy," AEM President Dennis Slater said. "High tariffs on U.S. exports have stunted job growth in manufacturing and other sectors. Seeing these agreements move forward is crucial for our member companies to have the ability to compete in vital global markets."

Nothing that the United States already has trade pacts with 17 other countries, Marianne Rowden, president and CEO of the American Association of Exporters and Importers, asserted that the free-trade deals "will create thousands of U.S. jobs and bring in billions of dollars for the U.S. economy."

Another NAFTA?

Not everyone believes the free-trade agreements will be a boon to American manufacturing, particularly in the nation's heartland.

Prior to Wednesday night's vote, U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur, who represents the Rust Belt region stretching from Toledo to Lorain County near Cleveland, likened the free-trade pacts with "the NAFTA deal that killed American jobs."

"These latest agreements simply continue the failed trade policies embodied by NAFTA," Kaptur said. "We have seen how these agreements have led to the outsourcing of U.S. jobs and production. We need a new direction in trade policy that puts the needs of working American families first."

Kaptur said she is particularly concerned that the auto industry -- her region includes an embattled Chrysler assembly plant in Toledo -- could be hit hard by the trade pact with South Korea. She cited Economic Policy Institute estimates that the U.S.-South Korea agreement would cost America up to 159,000 jobs.

"We have lost 6 million manufacturing jobs in the past decade," Kaptur said. "Enough is enough."

Ford President and CEO Alan Mulally, however, welcomed the passage of the free-trade agreement with South Korea.

"Last night's approval of the U.S.-Korea free-trade agreement will open new opportunities for Ford to reach even more Korean customers by selling them more American-made Focuses, Tauruses, Mustangs, Escapes and Explorers, among other cars and trucks," Mulally said.

Mulally said the automaker "deeply appreciate[s] the tireless efforts of the Obama administration and Congress to both improve the agreement and make this opportunity a reality."

Suppression of Labor Rights a Concern

Kaptur, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and other Democrats voiced concern about labor rights in Columbia and Panama -- a concern shared by the AFL-CIO.

"A deal with Colombia is not just bad policy, it's immoral," asserted AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka. "Colombians who try to organize to lift their families out of poverty are often murdered with impunity. Just last year, 51 trade unionists were assassinated. Would we pass a trade agreement with a country where 51 corporate CEOs had been murdered?

"And in Panama, we're not just destroying American jobs, but entering into a trade deal with a country that routinely tramples workers' rights and shelters money launderers and corporate tax dodgers."

NAM, meanwhile, focused on U.S. manufacturers' desperate need to boost exports.

"Much more work remains to be done in order to meet the president's goal to double exports by 2014, and manufacturers are committed to expanding access to markets overseas because 95% of consumers live outside the United States," Timmons said.

"These free-trade agreements are key to our economic growth and competitiveness, and we hope the president will act quickly to implement them."

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U.S. Trade Deficit with China Hits $29 Billion - Source Industry Week - October 14,2011

U.S. Trade Deficit with China Hits $29 Billion

Exports reached a record $177.6 billion and imports reached $223.2 billion.

By . Agence France-Presse

Oct. 13, 2011

The U.S. trade deficit with China rose to a record level in August, according to figures produced by the Commerce Department on Oct. 13.

As Congress weighs hitting Beijing with sanctions over its currency policy, the department said the deficit with China stood at $29 billion in the month, passing the previous record set in August 2010.

The figure, which was not adjusted for seasonal variations in trade, will likely fuel allegations in Washington that China keeps its currency artificially weak in order to make its exports cheaper.

Although leaders in the House of Representatives have signaled they would block a bill that China has warned could trigger a trade war, anti-China sentiment is on the rise ahead US elections in November 2012.

The bill envisions retaliatory duties on Chinese exports if the value of the yuan is judged unfairly "misaligned."
Beijing has denounced it as "a ticking time-bomb" that threatens to blow up economic ties between the economic superpowers, parts of the US business community opposed it, and the White House has criticized it.

The broader U.S. trade deficit with the world was largely unchanged in August, reaching $45.6 billion.

Exports reached a record $177.6 billion and imports reached $223.2 billion.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2011

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Congress Approves Free-Trade Deals With Columbia, Panama and South Korea

Congress Approves Free-Trade Deals With Columbia, Panama and South Korea

The accords will boost U.S. exports and 'support tens of thousands of good-paying American jobs,' Obama declares.

By Olivier Knox, AFP

Oct. 13, 2011

Congress has approved long-stalled free-trade agreements with Colombia, Panama and South Korea that President Barack Obama trumpeted as engines of growth and job creation.

The accords will "significantly boost exports that bear the proud label 'Made in America,' support tens of thousands of good-paying American jobs and protect labor rights, the environment and intellectual property," Obama cheered after the pacts were approved on Wednesday.

The three deals sailed through by wide margins despite stiff opposition from labor unions historically allied with Democrats and from lawmakers fearful that the pacts could finish off their home states' wounded manufacturing sectors.

The Republican-led House also approved a Senate-passed measure aimed at helping U.S. workers displaced by overseas competition, which the White House and its Democratic allies had made a precondition for advancing the trade deals.

"The landmark trade agreements and assistance for American workers that passed tonight are a major win for American workers and businesses," the embattled president said in a statement.

Obama had made passing the accords -- negotiated and signed some five years ago under his predecessor, George W. Bush -- a core part of his strategy to battle 9.1% unemployment ahead of November 2012 elections.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also hailed the agreements' passage, describing South Korea, Colombia and Panama as "three important partners in strategically vital regions," and adding that with the approval of the pacts, the United States has "delivered for our friends and allies."

The Obama administration said the deals will boost U.S. exports by $13 billion and benefit U.S. agriculture and manufacturing, as well as bolster diplomatic ties to all three countries.

It also has warned that the United States stands to lose ever more market share to global competitors like the European Union or China as those economies have secured new trade deals.

Worries in the Nation's Heartland

The pacts' Republican and Democratic backers had been keen to pass them on the eve of visiting South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak's speech to a joint session of Congress, a rare diplomatic prize.

Lee and Obama were to travel to Michigan on Friday to tour a General Motors plant that Washington hopes will benefit from the agreement with South Korea.

"These significant trade pacts will provide new opportunities for American small businesses, farmers and manufacturers to expand and hire more workers," said Republican House Speaker John Boehner.

But many Democrats, notably from the hard-hit heartland, expressed worries about possible U.S. jobs losses.

"Now is not the time to pass more wrongheaded free-trade agreements," said Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, who represents the rustbelt state of Ohio. "We must put American jobs and American workers first."

And major labor unions -- whose sweeping get-out-the-vote drives have been critical to Democratic politicians -- said the accords only will hasten the bloodletting in the country's wounded manufacturing sector.

The AFL-CIO, representing an estimated 12 million U.S. workers, waged a television advertising campaign to defeat the agreements.

The ads pointed to a study by the Economic Policy Institute think tank in Washington that found the South Korea deal would cost some 159,000 U.S. jobs.

They also revived concerns about violence against labor activists in Colombia, where 51 were killed last year and 22 have been slain in 2011, and charged that Panama is a haven for money laundering and tax cheats.

The White House said late Tuesday that Bogota had approved an "action plan" to improve labor rights and vowed to ensure it has been "successfully implemented" before Washington fully brings that accord into force.

But many Democrats opposed the Colombia deal.

"I lost my faith in the legislation" when efforts to include the labor-rights provision in the actual agreement failed, said Democratic House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi. "If it's not in the bill, it doesn't exist."

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, in a national address, said Obama "kept his word" and expressed "gratitude" to the U.S. president, Bush and Congress.

Panama's President Ricardo Martinelli also hailed the agreement, calling it a "tool for the economic development" of the country.

The South Korea deal awaits approval of the parliament in Seoul, where the opposition vowed Thursday to resist the agreement, saying it would worsen inequality and hurt farmers.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2011

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Blackberry Outages Continue

This article is from today's New York Times:

Research in Motion said Thursday that it is still trying to restore full service for BlackBerry customers spanning five continents.
The  company, which not only makes the phone but also operates the worldwide BlackBerry network, said on its Web site that services across  Europe, the Middle East and Africa had  improved significantly, and that services  in the United States, Canada and Latin  America were “progressing well.”
“We’re seeing steady improvements,” co-chief executive Mike Lazaridis said in a video posted on the site. “We expect to see continued progress and possibly some instability as the system comes back to normal service levels everywhere.”
Service interruptions began on Monday, and initially affected BlackBerry owners in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. By Tuesday, the problem migrated to Brazil, India, Chile and Argentina. On Wednesday, users in North America began complaining of the same disruptions. The failures have left subscribers in the affected regions without access to BlackBerry’s instant messaging service and the Web.
This week’s hit couldn’t come at a worse time for the handset maker, which is fending off a growing crowd of agitated investors, who are calling on the company to explore strategic options and new leadership. Shares of the company have fallen nearly 60 percent this year as smartphone buyers increasingly choose Android phones or iPhones. On Wednesday, as news of the spreading network problems caused shares of RIM to dip even lower, falling more than 2 percent to close at $23.88.
Analysts say that RIM was battling to restore more than service to the millions faced with glitches to BlackBerry cellphone service. The company was also fighting for its foothold in a rapidly changing industry.
“It’s symbolic of what’s going on at the company,” said Colin Gillis, an analyst at BGC partners who follows the telecom industry. “It’s a bloodbath.”
The Waterloo, Ontario, company’s grasp on the global smartphone market has steadily declined over the past few years. In 2008, the company commanded 46 percent of the market share for mobile devices around the world, according to data from IDC, a research firm. But by the first half of 2011, that hold had weakened under the surging popularity of the products from rivals, sliding to 12 percent. The company had hoped to revive its business and dazzle consumers with the BlackBerry PlayBook, a 7-inch touch-screen tablet, but the device has yet to gain traction among a broad audience.
At the same time, dozens of sleek new Android devices are arriving on store shelves in time for the holiday season and Apple is releasing the latest version of the iPhone on Friday.
On Wednesday, in a conference call to address the problems, David Yach, the chief technology officer for software at RIM, said that the company did not find any traces of a security breach. Instead, Mr. Yach said that a switch that links its internal network to the Internet had failed to function properly. Backup systems designed to support the infrastructure in such instances also failed to work properly and a backlog of unsent messages began to pile up, choking the system and knocking other portions of the infrastructure offline, he said.
“We have global teams working around the clock on this,” he said. “Our top priority is to return services to our customers.”
By late Wednesday afternoon, some BlackBerry owners were reporting that service had returned, but Research in Motion executives did not say when they expected normal service.
Ken Dulaney, an analyst with Gartner, said that the biggest remaining question was whether the recent hiccups would prompt current BlackBerry owners to switch to other handsets. "Wireless access has become mission critical and people depend on it,” he said. “Any kind of outage is a serious problem.”
Frustration erupted on social media sites like Twitter and online forums that cater to the owners of BlackBerry devices. “Uugh. If i don’t get back to you today, this is why. BlackBerry outage appears to be spreading,” a user named Diana_Knight posted to Twitter on Wednesday.
On CrackBerry.com, a popular online forum that caters to BlackBerry owners, a thread called “Enough is Enough” had attracted thousands of views and hundreds of comments by Wednesday afternoon. “This is it. This is the boiling point. Someone has to go over to Waterloo and slap those in charge at RIM,” wrote a user going by the name BlackLion15.
Such failures are not rare occurrences for RIM. Last month, BlackBerry’s popular messaging service crashed for several hours in parts of Latin America and Canada. 
Because RIM sends its data through its own servers, any disruptions are felt by larger swaths of users than for other handset makers. That can be infuriating for wireless carriers who are helpless at the annoyances of their customers who are using BlackBerrys on their network.
Representatives for Verizon, AT&T and Deutsche Telekom, all of which sell BlackBerry phones, declined to comment, deferring to RIM to address the outages.
By Wednesday morning, Wall Street was alight with e-mails from technology departments notifying employees of the problem. Bankers’ meetings fell through when attendees couldn’t look up the locations. Employees were reduced to leaving voice-mail messages.
The RIM failure coincided with a major wireless industry conference in San Diego, where many companies that carry RIM’s traffic complained of getting little or no information about just what had gone wrong or how long it will take to fix. Others were less concerned about the industry than their own communications. “With this outage, people will say enough is enough.” said Frank Nein, an industry analyst with 9Sight2020, who said he had met representatives of RIM Tuesday. “And they didn’t have any answers about the network. They didn’t have any decent response to all these consumer devices coming into their turf."
Mr. Yach said that the company was not currently exploring options such as compensating customers for the period of time their services were offline.
“Our priority is getting the service back up and running,” he said. “At the end of the day, that’s what is going to make our customers the happiest.”
A few financial professionals saw a small silver lining on Wednesday. Alex Maloney, a director at Perkins Fund Marketing, a placement agent for hedge funds, said the service interruption was actually a nice vacation from gloomy e-mails.
“This is not necessarily the worst time for an outage,” he said. “It’s not like people are getting a whole lot of positive e-mails this day, given the turmoil in the financial markets.”



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ATA Urges State Department to Move Forward on Keystone XL Pipeline - Source Trucking Info - October 12,2011

ATA Urges State Department to Move Forward on Keystone XL Pipeline

The American Trucking Associations has asked the State Department to issue a presidential permit for the Keystone XL pipeline. The project will provide jobs, as well as affordable access to reliable energy, for and the entire U.S. economy, ATA says.

"Diesel fuel is, and will likely continue to be, the lifeblood of the American trucking industry," ATA President and CEO Bill Graves said. "The State Department can help ensure that the 18-wheelers that deliver America's essential goods like food, fuel and medicine have reliable access to that fuel by approving the Keystone XL project. Approving this project would give a green light to thousands of new jobs and a much needed economic stimulus."

"Trucks move 70% of our nation's freight tonnage and earn 82% of the nation's freight revenue, consuming over 35 billion gallons of diesel fuel and 14 billion gallons of gasoline to deliver virtually all of our Nation's food, clothing, medicine, and other essential commodities," Graves said.

Richard Moskowitz, ATA vice president and regulatory affairs counsel, testified on behalf of the federation during the State Department's hearing that importing petroleum from Canada, rather than unstable regimes in other parts of the world, will help the trucking industry, he said, by increasing the stability of supply and making the price of diesel less susceptible to price spikes.

"Recent events in the Middle East should serve as a wake-up call on the need to improve U.S. energy security," Moskowitz said.

"The development of Keystone XL will provide a stable, long-term supply of crude oil from Montana, the Dakotas and Canada - one of our strongest and most loyal allies - to refineries in the United States," Moskowitz said. "The United States reliance on imported oil places U.S. consumers at greater risk of supply disruptions and damaging price spikes. Volatile diesel prices harm the trucking industry and jeopardize the U.S. economy."



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TransCore Sees Gains in Spot Market Demand, Rates - Source Trucking Info - October 12,2011

TransCore Sees Gains in Spot Market Demand, Rates

TransCore's Freight Index was up 45 percent in September compared to the same month in 2010, with rates showing modest increases in all freight sectors.

Over the last 10 years, September load volumes declined four times and increased six times compared to August, for an average increase of 2.3% month-over-month. This September's spot market freight availability gain was the highest same-month increase since the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina rocked the transportation industry in 2005. Compared to August, spot market freight volume increased 3.2 percent in September.

Alongside the increase in spot market demand, rates rose modestly in September for all equipment types. National average rates increased by 2.3 percent for dry vans compared to August and by 3.9 percent compared to September 2010. Refrigerated van rates were up 1.3 percent versus August, and 2.1 percent compared to September 2010. Flatbed rates were stable month-over-month with a 0.6 percent increase compared to August, but that segment gained 10.2 percent year over year due to high demand.

Spot market rates are paid by brokers and 3PLs to the carrier.

Looking ahead to November, select Midwestern states are expected to offer relatively high freight volume and a good ratio of outbound loads. Top choices include: Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Michigan and Kentucky.



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Weekly Retail On-Highway Diesel Prices - Source EIA - October 11,2011

Weekly Retail On-Highway Diesel Prices *

Weekly Retail On-Highway Diesel Prices (Dollars per gallon, including all taxes) Region 09/19/11 09/26/11 10/03/11 Change from  week ago Change from year ago U.S. 3.833 3.786 3.749 -0.037 0.749     East Coast 3.853 3.804 3.765 -0.039 0.768        New England 3.983 3.963 3.941 -0.022 0.901        Central Atlantic 3.968 3.922 3.881 -0.041 0.786        Lower Atlantic 3.792 3.739 3.699 -0.040 0.747     Midwest 3.799 3.738 3.699 -0.039 0.709     Gulf Coast 3.765 3.730 3.693 -0.037 0.773     Rocky Mountain 3.892 3.867 3.846 -0.021 0.822     West Coast 3.977 3.957 3.927 -0.030 0.762     California 4.062 4.039 4.007 -0.032 0.828

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