HeavyDuty Trucking – Issue

Past Issues

December 2017

Cover Story By Deborah Lockridge

How to Make Data Work for You

Analyzing data can improve operations, safety, uptime, profits, and more, but for a lot of fleets the hardest question to answer is where to begin?

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Features

7 Mistakes to Avoid for Smooth Roadside Repairs Having the right information helps determine if a technician with tools should be sent to the site of the repair or if a tow truck is needed. Photo: Ryder

Having the right information helps determine if a technician with tools should be sent to the site of the repair or if a tow truck is needed. Photo: Ryder

By Denise Rondini

Even with the greatest preventive maintenance programs, you still are going to have some failures.Yet not all fleets do a good job of managing the breakdown process. Here’s a look at common mistakes fleets make when it comes to emergency roadside service.

Truck Cabs Designed With Drivers in Mind A comfortable, quiet, productive and homelike cab was a major design priority for the new Volvo VNL highway tractor. Photo: Volvo Trucks

A comfortable, quiet, productive and homelike cab was a major design priority for the new Volvo VNL highway tractor. Photo: Volvo Trucks

By Jack Roberts

Even while headlines gush about advanced vehicle technologies, a great deal of the enhancements on the latest round of Class 8 trucks are primarily focused on making drivers more comfortable and productive while they’re on the road, as well as increasing their chances of coming home safe and sound.

The Next Generation: HDT's 2017 Emerging Leaders

By David Cullen

Our second annual Emerging Leaders honors 10 top trucking achievers under age 40 – and their thinking on how fleets can attract more young talent.

Blockchain Shows Promise for Trucking

By Jim Beach

Blockchain is a combination of technologies that allow transactions between parties via a trusted, shared ledger. It's a complex sounding process but the shared record-keeping technology is showing promise for trucking applications.

Departments

Making Tank Trailers Safer There are plenty of ways drivers can get hurt with tank trailers. Industry is taking steps to make them safer to work on and around. Photo: Jim Park

There are plenty of ways drivers can get hurt with tank trailers. Industry is taking steps to make them safer to work on and around. Photo: Jim Park

By Jim Park

Statistically, cargo tanks, both liquid and dry bulk, are statistically among the safest vehicles on the road today. But the tank sector does face certain challenges that are inherent with the job.

Taking Tire Pressure Management to the Next Level More and more information management options are becoming available today as tire pressure management systems begin to integrate with telematics and connected vehicle systems. Photo: PressurePro

More and more information management options are becoming available today as tire pressure management systems begin to integrate with telematics and connected vehicle systems. Photo: PressurePro

By Jack Roberts

Tire pressure monitoring and inflation systems are a proven way for fleets to manage one of their biggest consumable items and ensure safe operation. New technologies will take the capabilities of these systems to the next level.

Daseke Gives Drivers a Stake in the Company Stock grants will be awarded to the 2,100 drivers who are employed by Daseke operating companies and will be offered to new drivers after a quarter of service. Photo: Daseke

Stock grants will be awarded to the 2,100 drivers who are employed by Daseke operating companies and will be offered to new drivers after a quarter of service. Photo: Daseke

By Steven Martinez

By awarding drivers with stock in the company, Daseke hopes to give them a sense of pride and ownership in their work - and improve retention.

5 Compliance Tips for Straight-Truck Drivers With more fleets looking at adding straight trucks to their operations because of the rising interest in providing last-mile delivery services, the issue of safety becomes more complicated than just simply answering, “Since I have a straight truck, what rules do I have to follow?” Photo: J.J. Keller

With more fleets looking at adding straight trucks to their operations because of the rising interest in providing last-mile delivery services, the issue of safety becomes more complicated than just simply answering, &ldquo;Since I have a straight truck, what rules do I have to follow?&rdquo; Photo: J.J. Keller

By Rick Malchow

With the rising interest in providing last-mile delivery services, more and more fleets are looking at adding straight trucks to their operations. But a question often asked of compliance experts is, 'what rules do I have to follow?' It's a simple question that lacks a simple answer.

Analysis: Freight Payment Index Offers Helpful Regional Benchmark Regional quarter-over-quarter % change in spending. Source: U.S. Bank Freight Payment Index

Regional quarter-over-quarter % change in spending. Source: U.S. Bank Freight Payment Index

By Evan Lockridge

If you want to know how your trucking operation is stacking up against other freight shipping businesses, there is a new barometer available, U.S. Bank's Freight Payment Index, and it offers some features that have not been seen before, says business contributing editor Evan Lockridge in his December Hotline column.

Test Drives

Quick Spin: HX Series - International's Refined Linebacker The new International HX’s exterior bears more than a passing resemblance to the older PayStar it replaces. But inside the truck is completely different story. Photos: Jack Roberts

The new International HX&rsquo;s exterior bears more than a passing resemblance to the older PayStar it replaces. But inside the truck is completely different story. Photos: Jack Roberts

By Jack Roberts

The new International HX Series severe-duty tractor resembles the PayStar it replaces but it has a tough, no-nonsense stance and a quiet and ergonomic interior - much like International's other new trucks, the LT and RH.

Test Drive: International's A26 Engine We drove the A26 engine in a 2018 International LT chassis. Photos: Jim Park

By Jim Park

With the industry’s appetite for smaller-displacement engines on the rise, International’s new A26 is nicely sized, and well positioned to pick up a good chunk of the company’s truckload carrier business.

Editorials

Commentary: An Update on Right to Repair

By Denise Rondini

The independent aftermarket — and by extension fleets — are better off today because of Right to Repair efforts, says Aftermarket Contributing Editor Denise Rondini in her December column.

Commentary: Civility is an Important Trait

By Rolf Lockwood

My mandate with this column is to write about the tools that keep our trucks rolling, the hardware and software and operational tricks that make the difference between earning a buck and going broke. But if you think about it, people are one of the most important tools you can have.

Commentary: 5 Takeaways From 2017

By Deborah Lockridge

One of the reasons HDT Editor in Chief Deborah Lockridge enjoys covering trucking is because there’s always something new to write about. Here are her top 5 takeaways from the changing trucking landscape in 2017.