Economic activity drives the freight market, but paying attention only to indicators of the economy’s overall health doesn’t tell the whole story of what may be ahead for trucking.
Volvo's Dynamic Steering adds a lot of flexibility to a truck and the ability to control steering inputs more precisely, taking a lot of the load off of the driver.
At its Technology Summit, Volvo Trucks North America highlighted a number of new products and upgrades, including a glimpse of an all-electric Class 8 VNR slated for production next year.
Volvo's electric VNR tractor is set to be deployed at the ports of Southern California as part of the Volvo Lights project to see how a battery-electric truck would fare in real-world operations. Jim Park has this first look.
At the Technology Summit at the Volvo Customer Center in Dublin, Virginia, Volvo Trucks not only highlighted its latest technology; it also gave reporters a report on the state of the North American truck-building industry and the company's position within it.
The interest in truck-mounted concrete pumps continues to grow amid the push for ever-higher productivity gains on modern construction sites.
Hino's new forray into the Class 8 truck market is the XL 8 straight truck. Equipment Editor Jim Park was able to take it for a spin recently and found that this "Baby 8" will go head to head with any competitor and come out ahead in several ways.
Early reports on Class 8 truck orders for the month of August show a modest increase compared to July, but as manufacturers open up slots for 2020, it seems that fleets are in no hurry to fill them.
There looks to be a shift away from spec'ing 14L engines in new Class 8 trucks in favor of powerplants that range from over 10L to under 14L in displacement, according to ACT Research and Rhein Associates.
Daimler Trucks North America presented the keys to its first two production eCascadia battery-electric tractors to Penske and NFI on Aug. 21 in Napa Valley, California.