Aftermarket

By Denise Rondini

It is an old trucking industry adage that while the sales department sells the first truck, the service department sells the second, third and fourth trucks. According to David Gerrard, senior vice president of distribution at Navistar, “Without an effective relationship on the service side of the house, it is very difficult to maintain the customer relationship.”

Tags: Dealers

By Colin Dilley, Prestone

n the emerging days of the heavy-duty industry, as liquid-cooled engines were being developed and heaters were added to allow winter driving, finding the right coolant could be as easy as taking a trip to your pantry. Coolant is a lot more complex today, and the more you know about it, the better you can help your customers.

Tags: Maintenance, Aftermarket, Prestone, Coolant, Cooling Systems

By Denise Rondini

It is not too often in the trucking industry that regulation is seen as a good thing. Yet the recent Compliance, Safety, Accountability regulations may prove the exception to the rule, at least when it comes to the heavy-duty aftermarket.

Tags: Aftermarket, CSA, FMCSA

By Tom Berg

Every day, thousands of used trucks change hands. Last year, 190,000 were sold, and though this year's tally might be lower, it's still a healthy business that sometimes mirrors new-truck sales. That this market is intrinsically tied to new trucks becomes more apparent at times like now, when supplies of late-model power units are growing scarce.

Tags: Schneider, Used Trucks, Arrow Truck Sales, NTP

By Tom Berg

As truck and engine makers continue to move toward vertical integration, fleet managers and owner-operators are less likely to be able to spec what air filter they want on their trucks, and that has implications for aftermarket parts sellers and shops.

Tags: Maintenance, Filters

By Denise Rondini

Every shop wants its technicians to be as proficient and productive as they can. Yet most shops fail to see the things that are getting in the way of achieving this goal.

Tags: Aftermarket, Managing The Shop, Technicians

By Mark Dyer, Allegiance Capital Corp.

Today, succession planning is not just about having a plan in place for your eventual retirement, or in case you unexpectedly kick the bucket. You may end up selling your company. Here are five key things to keep in mind.

Tags: Mergers & Acquisitions, Business, Acquisition

By Denise Rondini

Dealers, distributors and repair garages that take core management seriously do well, and those who don’t take it seriously don’t do as well. It is as simple as that, according to Dave Clark, manager of consulting at Karmak. Don't do it well, and a profit opportunity could turn into a profit drain.

Tags: Remanufacturing, Aftermarket, Meritor, Karmak

By Deborah Lockridge

What type of engine systems and parts will you be dealing with in the future? From electric-drive turbos to waste heat regeneration, Derek Kaufman, president of C3 Network, examined powertrain trends during Heavy Duty Aftermarket Week earlier this year.

Tags: DPF, Aftermarket, HDAW, Engines

By HDT Staff

Which are the best of the best new products and equipment from last year's introductions? We've gone through an extensive process to determine HDT's 2013 Top 20 Products.

By Bill Wade, Wade & Partners

A fundamental challenge to our industry is our historical over-reliance on each other for insight. We seem to celebrate regurgitating and repackaging what ‘everyone knows’, rather than challenging ourselves to think different.

Tags: Aftermarket, Distributors, Wade & Partners

By Deborah Lockridge

The slow economic recovery and the federal government's new Compliance, Safety, Accountability enforcement program will help drive demand for aftermarket pads and shoes for Class 4-8 trucks, according to a new study by Frost & Sullivan, while increasing demand for disk brakes could prove a challenge to independent service providers.

Tags: Frost & Sullivan, disc brakes, Aftermarket, Brakes

By Deborah Lockridge

Do you think of outsourcing as something to be done because you simply can't get everything done you need to? If so, you may be missing an opportunity to think strategically and use outsourcing to help you focus on the "magic dust" that makes your business unique.

Tags: Outsourcing, Aftermarket, HDAW, Distributors

By Truckinginfo Staff

Fleets continue to say they want to outsource more service work, but they've been saying that for a while, and the actual amount of oursourcing has remained pretty stable, according to surveys done by MacKay & Company, a market research and consulting firm specializing in heavy-duty equipment.

Tags: Maintenance, Outsourcing, MacKay and Co.

By Denise Rondini

To understand Electronics Remanufacturing Co. (ERC), you need to first understand President Russ Schinzing and his passion for electronics. That passion helped lead to ERC being honored with Mike Hill Heavy Duty Remanufacturer of the Year Award.

Tags: Aftermarket, Remanufacturing, HDRG, Electronic, Transmissions

By HDT Staff

A record-breaking number of exhibiting suppliers and independent HD distributors participated in the 8th annual Heavy Duty Aftermarket Week (HDAW ’13) last month in Las Vegas. Check out our slide show to get a feel for the event.

By Deborah Lockridge

Attendees at the first Heavy Duty Aftermarket Dialogue in Las Vegas recently got some anecdotal insights into fleet parts and service buying trends via a panel discussion with three fleet representatives, including thoughts on OE vs. aftermarket parts, training, new vs. reman, and price.

Tags: Republic Services, Aftermarket, Remanufacturing, HDAW, Prime Inc.

By Denise Rondini

The airlines have started charging separately for everything from shipping your luggage to getting a better place in line. Maybe it's time for distributors to look at a similar "unbundling" strategy.

Tags: Aftermarket, Distributors, pricing, HDAW

By Deborah Lockridge, Editor in Chief

LAS VEGAS -- The aftermarket, like the trucking industry at large, has been in a bit of a slump the last six or seven months, and Stu MacKay, president of MacKay & Co., thinks it will continue for at least a little while

Tags: Issues, HDAW, MacKay and Co., Aftermarket, Remanufacturing

By Deborah Lockridge, Editor in Chief

LAS VEGAS -- Meritor launched two new product series, Meritor AllFit and Meritor Green, with new all-makes shock absorbers the first in the Meritor AllFit line

Tags: Meritor, Aftermarket, reman, all makes

By Deborah Lockridge, Editor in Chief

LAS VEGAS -- Rick Dauch, president and CEO of Accuride, has fielded a lot of questions -- or perhaps accusations would be a better word -- from distributors who want to know why his promises to support the aftermarket are any different from those of a string of executives befor

Tags: Business, Aftermarket, Wheels, Accuride

Heavy Duty Aftermarket Week 2013, being held this week in Las Vegas, has yielded record-breaking exhibitor and distributor registration numbers, as well as a larger-than-expected group of registrants for the new SOLD! (Service Opportunities and Learning Day) program, marking an overall growth of 10% in the size of the conference over last year

Tags: Business, HDAW, Aftermarket

By Deborah Lockridge

Three years from now, you'll see a new API diesel engine oil-service category, designed to help meet federal greenhouse gas/fuel economy standards, which have a final phase-in date set for model year 2018 trucks.

Tags: Under The Hood, API, oils, Chevron, Shell

Now, owners of any brand of vehicle lift can add Spotline to the bay, thanks to a new retrofit kit that makes the laser spotting guide compatible with most in-ground and surface lifts

Tags: In The Shop

The Automotive Parts Remanufacturers Association has joined two other trade associations in filing a friend of the court brief in the United States Supreme Court opposing the right of a patent holder to impose post-sale restrictions on the use of its patented products.

Tags: Issues, APRA, Parts, Aftermarket

By Jim Park, Equipment Editor

Your customers are going to be seeing a lot more of that ubiquitous yellow engine-shaped icon on their dashboard with the latest model trucks.

Tags: In The Shop, EPA, Diagnostics

By Tom Berg, Senior Editor

If you're wondering about whether parts and service for natural gas engines will be in your future, it might be useful to take a look at what engine and truck makers will be offering

Tags: Issues, Natural Gas, Alternative Fuels, Aftermarket

By Deborah Lockridge, Editor in Chief

'People continue to sell as if they were in a quaint Norman Rockwell painting. That no longer works like it used to." Instead, says Rich Farrell, president of Tangent Knowledge Systems and author of the book "Selling has Nothing to do with Selling," a salesperson should play the role of a "change agent" rather than the more typical product-centric transactional approach

Tags: Business, sales, Aftermarket

By Deborah Lockridge, Editor in Chief

One of your customers gets sued when his truck is involved in a fatal crash. Faulty brake parts are blamed. Before you know it, you get dragged into court because you sold it to him. You may say, "I didn't make it! I didn't know it wasn't safe!" The answer from the courts may well be, "You should have.

Tags: Issues

By Jim Park, Equipment Editor

SAN ANTONIO -- Almost 100 truck technicians from across the Rush Truck Centers dealer chain are gathered in San Antonio, Texas, this week to test their skill levels against their peers

Tags: In The Shop, Dealers, Rush

By Jim Park, Equipment Editor, and Tom Berg, Senior Editor

You don't have to go far to find a fleet having trouble with engines, spelling opportunities for aftermarket parts and service. In its 2012 U.S. Heavy-Duty Truck Engine and Transmission Study, J.D. Power and Associates found 46% of owners of one-model-year-old engines experienced some type of engine-related problem, up from 42% in 2011

Tags: In The Shop, Engines

Aftermarket truck and trailer parts distributor FleetPride has been sold to U.S.-based TPG Capital, one of the largest private equity investment firms globally, for more than $1 billion

Tags: Business, Aftermarket, FleetPride, Parts

By Deborah Lockridge, Editor in Chief

When the Massachusetts state Legislature passed the nation's first right to repair law earlier this year, it excluded vehicles over 10,000 pounds. Last week, state voters overwhelmingly approved a different version of the law, which includes all motor vehicles sold in the state

Tags: Issues

Investcorp is selling heavy-duty truck and trailer parts retailer FleetPride Inc. to global investment firm TPG. FleetPride, based in The Woodlands, Texas, was established in 1999 as a result of the merger of Quality Distribution Service Partners and HDA Parts System Inc. It was bought by Bahrain-based Investcorp in 2006.

Tags: Issues

As medium-duty truck engine technology advances, more complicated repairs lead to more unscheduled downtime, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2012 U.S. Medium-Duty Truck Engine and Transmission Study

Tags: In The Shop

By Jim Beach, Contributing Editor

Cloud computing has been getting a lot of attention in the information technology space. Before you put your head in the cloud, though, there are some things you should understand about the concept of cloud computing

Tags: Technology

By Deborah Lockridge, Editor in Chief

What are some of the most common weaknesses of aftermarket parts sales staff, and how can you work to correct them? Find out in this Q&A with Chuck Udell, senior partner of Essential Action Design Group, Leawood, Kan., management consultants specializing in heavy-duty and automotive aftermarket operations

Tags: Business

By Deborah Lockridge, Editor in Chief

If you have customers who think a filter's a filter, you've got an opportunity to educate them about why today's high-tech engines need a correspondingly sophisticated filtration system. For instance, take the plunger out of a fuel injector from one of today's diesel engines and hold it in your hand. The warmth of your hand will make the metal expand so you can't get the plunger back inside the barrel

Tags: In The Shop