“The competition has been carried to such an extreme which tends to undermine the financial stability of the carriers and jeopardises the maintenance of transportation facilities and service appropriate to the needs of commerce and required in the public interest. The present chaotic transportation conditions are not satisfactory to investors, labourers, or the carriers themselves,” said a US Senate Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce back in 1935. You could argue this comment would be true about the road transport industry in just about every developed economy in the world today.

The quote was a starting point for a recent article by US trucking commentator Tom Kretsinger, on Big Truck TV. It’s difficult to decide whether the unchanging nature of the trucking industry worldwide is comforting, we are all in the same boat, or depressing, it doesn’t matter what we do we will always face the same problems.

It may not be obvious but trucking businesses are there to make a profit and this concept seems to get lost in the cutthroat battle to win contracts and keep customers happy. Trucking operators are willing to take incredible risks in terms of capital outlay for, what is quite often, a very low return with minimal guarantees. Everyone else in the supply chain from the manufacturers to the shippers and the end customer would close up their business tomorrow if they had to work in such a fiercely competitive and price driven climate.

So, what are the chances of some real rationality being injected into the Australian trucking industry? Even if companies manage to make some extra profit in the really good times when demand is high and the supply of available transport services is relatively low, all the good work is quickly undone if a small blip in the market makes operators nervous and prices are cut. Once one of the operators breaks ranks and start heading to the bottom everyone else has to join them.

If the evidence of what has happened in the US trucking industry in the past 75 years is anything to go by, it looks like we are going to remain bottom feeders for the foreseeable future. It’s no good waiting for generational change, it doesn’t appear to make any difference. We can’t expect help from anybody else in the supply chain, they are happy making extra profits on the back of a struggling trucking industry. Twas ever thus!

The rookie driver interviewed is TruckerDesiree who can be followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/TruckerDesiree who was unleashed on the open road after taking a truck around the block a couple of times and passed her test in an auto.

There is also a very worrying story about a driver trainer accompanying a young driver being dead and several other horror stories. The whole industry should be extremely worried about what’s going on and can we be sure our new trainees are much better?

Thanks to Tachoblog for pointing out this story

Firstly, Kenworth’s, preferred, two engine strategy may be under threat. The Paccar company are very conservative, financially, and as a result of the recession, have delayed the commencement of production of the Paccar MX engine in the US for a year. In Australia, this engine was to become the alternative engine choice to Cummins after the disappearance of the Caterpillar engine this year. In an effort to reduce costs, Paccar will not produce any engines until they can afford the capital outlay.

This may not cause many problems for Kenworth dealerships but truck buyers who are not fans of the big red engine may look to other North American brands who can offer an alternative in the form of the Detroit Diesel.

Confusion reigns at the headquarters of the Navistar Corporation, makers of International Trucks, as they engage in a legal battle and a PR war of words with the rest of the truck manufacturing industry in North America. They are the only engine maker to offer a non-SCR heavy-duty diesel engine to meet the new US EPA 2010 exhaust emission regulations coming up next year. To a lot of observers in the US this plan lacks credibility and doubt has been cast over the practicality of reaching the extremely strict emissions limits just with high pressure fuel injection and a high percentage of EGR.

Navistar have embarked upon a legal battle to prove the SCR technology is environmentally dangerous and should not be endorsed by the US Environmental Protection Agency. They have pitted themselves against all of the other truck manufacturers in an effort to justify their decision to rely on an EGR solution. This tactic smacks of desperation and if it fails, as it is predicted to do, International Trucks could find themselves in some difficulty. Again, this could affect the viability of the International operation run here in Australia by Iveco.

Further uncertainty is being created by the mixed messages people are receiving from inside and outside of the Caterpillar organisation. In the US, the new Caterpillar branded trucks to be built in a joint venture with Navistar are being played down without a date being set for their release. On the other hand, here in Australia, reports from within Caterpillar suggest the new trucks are not very far away. These claims are being questioned by their competition who have seen little evidence of real trucks appearing in the metal any time soon.

Meanwhile over in Europe, all of the truck manufacturers seem to be having an equally hard time with massive falls in sales over most of their major markets. Although there have been no major casualties of the recession, so far, the troubled economic times have put pressure on some of the larger companies. Scania appear quite safe under the new Volkswagen ownership whereas MAN, also owned by VW, are struggling financially and fighting a corruption court case in the German courts.

Elsewhere in Germany, Daimler have sold a large share of their company to a Middle Eastern investor, suggesting there long-term future will see the ownership pass out of Europe, increasing uncertainty. The Volvo group are also seen to be struggling financially and it has been suggested they may drop the Renault truck brand in the near future, concentrating their efforts on the core Volvo brand in Europe.

As is always the case for buyers here in Australia, we will just have observe from afar. Our preferences and our choices are not important enough on a global scale to affect decisions. It is simply a matter of waiting and seeing what plays out elsewhere in the world and working with what we’ve got as a result.

Nationally, the maximum mass allowable is 80,000 lb or just over 36 tonnes. The heaviest trucks given general access throughout the country are semis, consisting of a 6 x 4 prime mover and a tandem axle trailer.

Initially, the American trucking industry will be pushing for a limit of 100,000 lb, over 45 tonnes, on a six axle combination. Currently, trucks like this are up able to travel around on specified routes on state-by-state basis and are not allowed on the major interstate freeways used by the vast majority of US freight.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJonte7YZjY&eurl=http://fleetowner.com/video/truck_weight_reform1_1211/&feature=player_embedded]

Hamstrung by the strength of the driver unions, with transport industry in the USA had been unable in the past and to get acceptance of more productive vehicles. However, with a combination of a severe driver shortage and fuel prices increasing exponentially, notwithstanding recent decreases in prices, more productive vehicles have become an imperative for an industry struggling to keep up with the current freight task on US roads.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0zJtYcEx1c&eurl=http://fleetowner.com/video/truck_weight_reform2_1211/&feature=player_embedded]

How it has taken so long to reach this point remains a mystery to every other transport industry across the globe, for most operators the need to improved productivity has driven change in just about every first world country.

Even the, normally extremely regulated, European Union has made concessions to operators allowing more productive vehicles on the roads. This recent example, from Sweden, shows timber hauliers taking up ideas developed here in Australia to increase productivity without compromising safety.

This particular combination used for hauling logs in Sweden will look a little strange to Australian eyes, but the load on the prime mover will be possible because of the much higher front axle weights allowed in Europe.

The Cummins Westport ISL G, an 8.9 litre that already meets US EPA 2010 emissions requirements with three-way exhaust catalyst that requires no maintenance, powers the new Sterling with ratings up to 320 hp. The company says the operating range for a single tank of LNG is over 440 km.

Sterling also used the occasion to show the first Detroit Diesel DD13 engines in their Sterling chassis. The new 12.8 litre engine is closely related to the DD 15 introduced earlier this year, it shares 65% of its components with its big brother but comes out almost 100 kg lighter.

The new engine  is an in-line six cylinder and will be offered in ratings from 350 to 450 hp with peak torque outputs of 1,350 to 1,650 ft lb.

These figures predate the announcement of Cat’s exit from the US market at the end of next year and indicate an increasing trend in the last two years.

“Many of the truckers were already moving away from Cat prior to the announcement of its withdrawal,” said Eric Starks, president of transport forecasting firm FTR Associates as quoted by Transport Topics magazine. “This change happened in fairly short order during 2007 and derived from the problems Caterpillar had getting their engine up to standards.”

Another shift in market preferences can be seen when examining the figures for truck makers fitting their own proprietary engines. The trend in recent years has been for a decrease in engines from an out side supplier.

This has seen Cummins share in those brands with their own engines falling but rising for those who do not have a proprietary alternative. Cummins supply 72% for Kenworth, 69% for Peterbilt, 54% for International but have slipped to 7% for Freightliner, 43% in Volvo Trucks, 31% at Sterling and 1.6% of heavy duty Western Star trucks sold in the US.

In the US, the Mack organisation has been feircely independent keeping its distance in the public eye from owner Volvo. Meanwhile in the background many of the company’s functions have been integrated including the major Volvo/Mack engine plant and testing facilities at Hagerstown, Maryland.

In conjunction with this restructuring, an investment of about $57 million is planned to install a new engine block machining line at the Hagerstown powertrain facility. Manufacturing of all Mack trucks is to be concentrated in their main plant in Mcungie, Pennsylvania. Highway trucks are currently made in the Volvo plant in New River Valley, Virginia. All of the Volvo trucks will continue to be built in New River Valley.