Fleet Management

Another round of fraudulent U.S. DOT letters is being distributed, largely by fax, to motor carrier officials in an attempt to obtain banking information from the targeted carriers, warn the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and the U.S. Transportation Department’s Office of Inspector General.

Tags: FMCSA, Office of Inspector General, DOT

The parent of the less-than-truckload operation, Con-way Freight, recently provided an update on first quarter trends of this part of its business, ahead of it releasing first quarter financial results the first of May while competitor Old Dominion Freight Line did the same just before a freight transportation summit in Chicago last week.

Tags: Con-way Freight, LTL, Old Dominion Freight Line, Fleets, Tonnage

Cascade Sierra Solutions announced its newest Green Truck Center location in Dallas, Texas. Its staff will provide educational outreach and financial services to commercial trucking businesses.

Tags: Expansion, Cascade

The American Trucking Associations' Truck Tonnage Index rose 0.6% in February, marking the fourth straigth month of increases -- which hasn't happened since late 2011.

Tags: Economy, ATA, Truck Tonnage Index

Lawmakers in Idaho’s House voted almost unanimously on Monday in favor a bill to make permanent a 10-year pilot project that allows trucks up to 129,000 pounds along 35 southern routes in the state.

Tags: Idaho, Truck weight

Pilot Flying J now offers diesel exhaust fluid at the pump at 3,000 fuel lanes across the U.S. Pilot Flying J first started offering DEF at the pump in 2009. The company has now invested more than $165 million in expanding its network of DEF at the pump.

Tags: DEF, Pilot Flying J

Great Dane Trailers is recalling certain model year 2011 Dry Freight semi-trailers. Welds at the bottom of the I-beam bogie frame may have been improperly applied.

Tags: Kenworth, DTNA, Recall, Great Dane

As part of an ongoing effort to improve service to customers and maintain an efficient network throughout the Northeast, UPS Freight reopened its service center in Nanuet, N.Y.

Tags: Expansion, Fleet news

The Timken Co. announced its acquisition of Interlube Systems Ltd., which makes and markets automated lubrication delivery systems and related components to end market sectors including commercial vehicles, construction, mining, and heavy and general industries.

Tags: Acquisition, Timken

Phillips 66 Lubricants recently announced that Ann Oglesby, a 25-year veteran of the oil and natural gas industry who most recently served as Phillips 66’s vice president, Communications and Public Affairs, has been named the new general manager of Phillips 66 Lubricants.

Tags: Leadership, Phillips 66

Accuride Corp., a supplier of components to the North American commercial vehicle industry, announced the appointment of company and industry veteran Tony Pape to the newly expanded role of Director, Aftermarket Strategy & Sales.

Tags: Leadership, Accudride

The Technology & Maintenance Council of American Trucking Associations awarded its highest honor — the Silver Spark Plug Award — to five trucking industry professionals during the Council's 2013 Annual Meeting, March 11-14, in Nashville, Tenn.

Tags: TMC, Silver Spark Plug

Vipar Heavy Duty has announced that Carolina Powertrain is the newest stockholder to join its network of distributors. Based in Charlotte, N.C., with a branch location in Hickory, N.C., Carolina Powertrain is led by its president and owner John Phillips.

Tags: Vipar, Carolina Powertrain

Kirk Altrichter, vice president of Gordon Trucking, Pacific, Wash., was installed as the 2013-2014 general chairman and treasurer of the Technology & Maintenance Council, a technical council of American Trucking Associations, during TMC’s 2013 Annual Meeting and Transportation Technology Exhibition in Nashville, Tenn., March 11-14.

XRS Corp. (formerly Xata Corporation) announced that it will launch its Driver Xperience Board - a "listening panel" made up of truck drivers from diverse segments of the industry - with a special event during the Mid-American Trucking Show, Thursday, March 21 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Tags: XRS, MATS, Event

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration yesterday posted rule exemptions for agricultural transporters that were ordered up in last year’s highway law.

Tags: FMCSA, HOS exemption

Most serious traffic accidents occur when drivers are making a left-hand turn at a busy intersection. When those drivers are also talking on a hands-free cell phone, "that could be the most dangerous thing they ever do on the road," said Dr. Tom Schweizer, a researcher at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto.

Tags: Distracted driving

Modern semitrailers for the most part do a good job of keeping passenger vehicles from sliding underneath them, greatly increasing the chances of surviving a crash into the back of a large truck, recent tests by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety show. But in crashes involving only a small portion of the truck's rear, most trailers fail to prevent potentially deadly underride.

Tags: IIHS, NHTSA, Underride guard

The National Insurance Crime Bureau warned drivers in the Las Vegas area to be on the lookout for criminals targeting trucks in a deliberate attempt to cause an accident for the purpose of collecting insurance money.

Tags: Accidents