The Business Magazine of Canadas Trucking IndustryTV Trucker Derek MartinTOUGH TALKNo wonder some companies pay you more if youre a team driver, PG. 16May 2012 www.todaystrucking.comBigger RigsANDBrighter LightsA COMPLETE ROUND-UP OF NEW PRODUCTS AND SERVICES, PG. 39PLUS:WE TAKEKENWORTHS NEW T680FOR A SPIN PG. 33HOW TO MAKEYOUR COMPANY SFWPG. 20Canadian Mail Sales Product Agreement #40063170. Return postage guaranteed. NEWCOM Business Media Inc., 451 Attwell Dr., Toronto, ON M9W 5C4. Registration No. 10788CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING+OWNER/OPERATORS & DRIVERS WANTEDOpposite Page 44ON THE ROAD?Use your smartphone to scan this code. GET THE FREE APP AT HTTP://GETTAG.MOBIWS/MC-A-449. Specifcations are subject to change without notice. Western Star Truck Sales, Inc. is registered to ISO 9001:2008 and ISO 14001:2004. Copyright Daimler Trucks North America LLC. All rights reserved. Western Star Truck Sales, Inc. is a subsidiary of Daimler Trucks North America LLC, a Daimler company.THE CURVES MAKE IT EFFICIENT.THE EDGE MAKES IT OURS.Western Star is known for building good-looking trucks. But with the Fuel Efciency (FE) package on a 4900SB, were also known for being the company that combined classic styling with aerodynamics, lightweight options and up to 530 horsepower under the hood to create the rst fuel efcient truck that is all Western Star. FIND OUT MORE AT WESTERNSTAR.COMMAY 2012 3OPINIONS5 LETTERS7 ROLF LOCKWOOD54 PETER CARTERSERVICE DEPT16 LESSONS LEARNED FROM ONE TOUGH TRUCKER19 TOP 10 TRUCKING LESSONS27 THE TRANSMISSION SHIFT By Tom Berg33NEWS & NOTES8DISPATCHES44UNPRECEDENTED BELLY ROOM: Presenting Internationals LoadStar,designed with input from drivers and fleet managers alike.COVER WHIRL: We take theKWT680 out for a spin.16SEMI-TOUGH: This reality shows for real.May 2012VOLUME 26, NO. 5WRESTLING WITHTRUCKINGS BIGGESTCHALLENGEFEATURES20DRIVERSHES JUST NOT THAT INTO YOUYour industry is going to need one million more people. Very soon. Heres how youre going to attract them. BY JASON RHYNO33TEST DRIVESTATE OF THE PACC-ARTKenworths T680 is a truck built for drivers who love trucks. BY JIM PARK39NEW PRODUCTSSOMETHING IN THE AIRIf the number of new product introductions is anything to go by (and it is) this industrys future looks as bright as LED headlights. Heres a special Spring roundup of new gizmologythatll rock your fleet. BY ROLF LOCKWOOD10 Far northern hospitality11 Trucking events to pencil in12 The British are braking!13 Whos where now?14 Sited on todaystrucking.com15 Truck sales statisticsEXTRA!!New Free-and-Easy ContestWere betting our hat you cantguess where this place is. PAGE532012 Goodyear Canada Inc. All rights reserved.THERES A NEW NAME FOR TOTAL FLEET SOLUTIONS eetHQTruckwise has always been there when you needed it the most. And now that its part of the eetHQ network, youll have access to even more innovative products, information and services at more places across the country! Our trained tire professionals can help you reduce downtime and save money with solutions like 24/7 support, consolidated billing and tire performance tracking. At eetHQ, your needs always come rst!To join the eetHQ network, look for the eetHQ sign at former Truckwise locations,or visit eetHQ.com/signup.MAY 2012 5VICE PRESIDENT, EDITORIALRolf Lockwood, MCILTrolf@newcom.ca 416/614-5825EDITORPeter Carterpeter@newcom.ca 416/614-5828ASSOCIATE EDITORJason Rhynojason@newcom.ca 416/614-5827CONTRIBUTORS: Jim Park, Allan Janssen,Steve Bouchard, Tom BergART DIRECTORTim Nortonproduction@todaystrucking.com 416/614-5810PUBLISHERJoe Glionnajoe@newcom.ca 416/614-5805NATIONAL ACCOUNTS MANAGERHeather Donnellyheather@newcom.ca 416/614-5804QUBEC SALES MANAGERDenis Arsenaultdenis@newcom.ca 514/938-0639PRESIDENTJim GlionnaCONTROLLERAnthony EvangelistaPRODUCTION MANAGERLilianna Kantorlily@newcom.ca 416/614-5815DIRECTOR OF CIRCULATIONPat GlionnaCIRCULATION INFORMATIONP.O. Box 370, Station B, Toronto, ON M9W 5L3416/614-2200 416/614-8861 (fax)Todays Trucking is published monthly by NEWCOM BUSINESS MEDIA INC.,451 Attwell Dr., Toronto, ON M9W 5C4. It is produced expressly for ownersand/or operators of one or more straight trucks or tractor-trailers with grossweights of at least 19,500 pounds, and for truck/trailer dealers and heavy-dutyparts distributors. Subscriptions are free to those who meet the criteria. For others: single-copy price: $5 plus applicable taxes; one-year subscription: $40plus applicable taxes; one-year subscriptioninU.S.:$60US;one-year subscription foreign: $90 US. Copyright 2012. All rights reserved. Contents may not be reproduced by any means, in whole or in part, without prior written consentof the publisher. The advertiser agrees to protect the publisher against legalaction based upon libelous or inaccurate statements, unauthorized use of photographs, or other material in connection with advertisements placedin Todays Trucking. The publisher reserves the right to refuse advertisingwhich in his opinion is misleading, scatological, or in poor taste. Postmaster:Address changes to Todays Trucking, 451 Attwell Dr., Toronto, ON M9W 5C4.Postage paid Canadian Publications Mail Sales Agreement No.40063170.ISSN No. 0837-1512. Printed in Canada.We acknowledge the financial support of the Governmentof Canada through the Canada Periodical Fund (CPF) forour publishing activities.The Business Magazine of Canadas Trucking IndustryKenneth R. Wilson Award WinnerCanadian Business PressMemberNEWCOM BUSINESS MEDIA INC.451 Attwell Dr., Toronto, ON M9W 5C4416/614-2200 416/614-8861 (fax)For Industry News, Weekly Features, Daily Management Tips, Truck Sales Stats, Product Reviews, and MORE!Go Onlinetodaystrucking.comLetters EditortotheEmail peter@newcom.ca or send a letter to Newcom Business Media, 451 Attwell Dr., Toronto, ON M9W 5C4The founding editor of this magazine has been named one of the (if notthe) most influential trucking journalists in North America. Rolf Lockwood, currently Vice-President Editorial of NewcomBusiness Media, which produces Todays Trucking, Truck World, TransportRoutier, Truck and Trailer, Plumbing & HVAC, Canadian Technician, Canadian Car Ownerand their attendant websites was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Truck Writers of North America (TWNA) at the organizations annual dinner onThursday, March 22.The award celebrates a person who exhibits the highest standard of journalism orcommunications within the trucking industry over a career. The magazine earned several other writing awards. Lockwoods feature on natural-gastrucks Doing without Diesel, won two gold medals. And his editorial called Hi-TechSide Up earned a silver. Former Senior Editor of Todays Trucking and current VPCommunications and New Media at the Ontario Trucking Association (OTA) MarcoBeghetto earned a gold for an HOS feature called Going Back in Time.Contributing editors Steve Bouchard and Allan Janssen earned silvers; Bouchard for aclear-eyed analysis of the local-food movement called Grains of Truth; Janssen for alook at unlicensed truck drivers called Papers, Please.Todays Trucking Editor Peter Carter collected a silver for his column Rear View, whichappears on the back page of each issue.If we dont blow our horn who will?One Sussex-ful ConvoyAnother year has come and gone and ourlocal Convoy for Wishes held our ThirdAnnual event on Aug. 27, 2011.A warm sunny day blessed us all as thetrucks lined up at Four Corners WheelerRoad, starting at 10:00 a.m. At 11:00, 80trucks and a few support vehicles wentdown the highway and through Sussex.People lined the roadside to watch thetrucks all gather in Princess Louise Park infront of the Sussex andArea Seniors Complex. We organizers wouldlike to thank the spon-sors for making this asuccessful event and we certainly plan to beback once again in support of the ChildrensWish Foundation in August, 2012.Coordinator,Judy Jordan,Picadilly, NBTop 100 and countingWith 174 straight trucks, 633 tractors,1,143 trailers, 156 owner-operators and1,140 employees, the Erb Group of BadenON is the 20th largest for-hire fleet inCanada, but because of an oversight onour end, Erbs name was omitted from ourlist of Canadas Top 100 carriers in theMarch issue of Todays Trucking. (Erb is actually tied for 20th place withthe XTL Group.)Further, according to our listing, GeorgeLeger Transports of Valleyfiled, PQ wasthe 100th largest carrier on the list, but it came to our attention after the mag-azine was published that the companyhad gone into bankruptcy and ceasedoperations in late 2010. So the 100thlargest for-hire carrier is now J.D. Smith &Sons, of Concord, ON.We regret any inconvenience the errorsmight have caused.Scan this QR code to visit the ofcial Cat CT660 website.2012 Caterpillar | All Rights Reserved CAT, CATERPILLAR, their respective logos, Caterpillar Yellow and the Power Edge trade dress, as well as corporate and product identity used herein, are trademarks of Caterpillar and may not be used without permission. Its herethe only truck that brings together nearly a century of heavy equipment engineering and four decades of on-highway engine experience. Delivering all the power, performance and durability you expect from Cat products, the Class 8 CT660 is loaded with the features and options you told us you wanted in a next-generation dump truck, concrete mixer, waste carrier or heavy hauler. Its designed to maximize payloads, driver satisfaction and uptime in dozens of applications. And its backed by the best dealer support and parts availability in any industry.Contact your Cat dealer or visit DriveCat.com to put the only truck worthy of the Cat name to work for you.HERE TO WORK.MAY 2012 7Who is it that trucking depends on most? Im talking aboutthe freight world, not the various corners of vocationaltrucking. And you know what Im going to say next.With the possible exception of the people who provide thefinancial wherewithal to launch the whole thing in the first place,theres really only one answer.Drivers.Whether were talking owner-operators or employees, nothingwould happen if there werent someone sometimes going throughhell to get that load of tightly strapped drywall to the next stageof its journey from factory to market. All of it for too little money and, nowadays especially, toomuch heartache. Ill hazard a guess and say that for some, owner-operators especially, the situation goes way beyond heartacheand into the realm of mental health. Its bad out there, only getting worse.Frankly, Im a bit tired of writing about this, and you may well be tired of reading it. But Ive seen it all and I can say withutter conviction that almost nobody respects drivers enough.Themselves included.Yes, there are many exceptions, and more of them all the time.But at the heart of things in alot of fleets both large andsmall, even in the midst of aso-called shortage, the driverremains a commodity.You may have heard by nowthat theres a move afoot tochange things. The CanadianTrucking Alliance (CTA) has formed what it calls a Blue RibbonTask Force on the Driver Shortage and its stated aim is to devel-op a coherent direction for moving forward on the issue.The CTA task force is made up of people sitting on its board ofdirectors, from across the country. I know a lot of these guys pret-ty well, count some as friends, and theyre a smart bunch withgood intentions. Self-serving intentions of course, but whatsgood for them is good for drivers. So this is all great news, even if it comes awfully late in the day.Its not as if the shortage of qualified drivers is new. Its not as if legitimate moans and groans havent been emanating fromthousands of cabs for 10 years or more. Is this a case of better late than never? Yes, but Ive alreadyheard a bunch of comments from drivers and owner-opsexpressing a predictable skepticism. Sure, sure, they say, wherehave I heard this before? Words, words, words.Well, you could hardly expect otherwise, but some of the wordsat least sound right...Drivers are the industrys number one resource, the backboneof the industry, says the task force in its initial report. Withoutthem there is no trucking industry. It should not take a crisis toaddress the situation and there is no guarantee the industrywould emerge stronger following a crisis, where it could losewhatever ability it currently has to exercise at least some controlover its destiny.The Blue Ribbon Task Force is not content, nor does it believethat the right thing to do is to sit back and wait for a crisis. Theindustry will always be captive to market forces, but it can also takeaction to help itself and ensure its continued dominance in thefreight market. It just cannot do it without drivers. There will be noquick fixes, no magic bullets that will easily solve the industryshuman resources challenges. In the short to medium-term, the sit-uation and its resulting impact on capacity, is unlikely to change.Addressing the driver shortage will require a long, multi-year effort.To its credit, the task force report correctly identifies three keycompensation issues, and Im quoting here: Truck drivers should have an improved ability to predict whattheir weekly pay is going to be; Truck driver compensation packages need to be competitivewith or better than alternative employment options and moretransparent; Truck drivers should be paid for all the work that they do andearn enough to cover all reasonable out-of-pocket expensesincurred while on the road for extended periods. I really do welcome this effortdont get me wrongbut I havea few observations to make.One, were already in crisis; theres nothing to wait for.Two, Id say theres no driver shortage at all, rather a shortageof jobs fit for qualified drivers.And three, I think this task force is not aptly named. It shouldbe called the Blue Ribbon Task Force on the Culture of Trucking.Its one thing for the suits to decide on a course of change, quiteanother to get folks further down the ladder to buy in. This is a challenge that has to be met from the bottom up. EditorialA Blue Ribbon Tsk ForceWhat industry leaders are saying to fleets: Tsk tsk. What industry leaders should hear: If you want to really fix the driver problem, look deep within yourself... then act.By Rolf LockwoodRolf Lockwood is vice-president, editorial, at Newcom Business Media.You can reach him at 416-614-5825 or rolf@todaystrucking.com.Id say theres no drivershortage at all, rathera shortage of jobs fitfor qualified drivers.8 TODAYS TRUCKINGIve grown up in theindustrythird generation after mygrandfather and fatherand Ive talked about thismany times with myfather, Ben Lehman, adriver with six years experience, tells me over the phone. He says its almost likewhen he was drivingthere hasnt been thatchange that there shouldbe with the modern times. The conversation started on Twitter afterthis magazine tweeted alink to a story on theCanadian TruckingAlliances (CTA) muchanticipated Blue RibbonTask Force on the Driver Shortage. What Lehman wasreferring to, specifically,was the rate of pay in thetrucking industry for driverssomething theBlue Ribbon report notesas one of the key issues ofthe driver shortage, amongmany other core problems. The report is refresh-ingly honest in tone andapproach, not wishy-washylike much of the literatureon the subject. It also putsthe burden of the drivershortage directly onto the carriers. It is the carrierstheentities that hire, fire,determine what and howto pay their drivers, whoprice their service and dealwith their customerswhoare ultimately responsiblefor their businesses andtherefore for ensuring theyhave the people to do thework, the report states. While governments,customers, and associa-tions all have a role to play,nothing is going to changeuntil the carriers first takeaction themselves, thereport concludes. But there are a couple of things that need to happen before a full-blownaction plan can be put into motion, the reportsoberly states.The first most basicthing the industry needs todo is to quantify the drivershortage in the comingyears and forecast itspotential impact on theCanadian economy if notaddressed [] The industrycannot rely upon out-datedor anecdotal information.The Blue Ribbon reportBY JASON RHYNOMemo to Carriers:Solve the Driver CrisisA super-sized report on the state of trucking is best summed up by Pogo the possum: We have met the enemy, and he is us.PUTIM THERE: Not everybody agrees onthe best way to attractdrivers to your trucks.MAY 2012 9calls on the CTA to conduct astudy to provide up-to-datefacts and a forecast of thedriver shortage. It needs tolook at the problem from anational, regional and provincial perspective overthe next 5 to 10 years, andthen address the impact onthe Canadian economy.POINTS OFCONTENTIONThe Blue Ribbon Reportdoesnt gloss over differencesof opinion on the drivershortage, but instead callsthem out. The first debate? Whetherthe industry should addressthe driver shortage at all. There is an argument thatthe current rate environmentis not conducive to makingthe kinds of changes (partic-ularly in the area of drivercompensation) needed toaddress the problem in ameaningful way. It is a factthat the industry has, sinceeconomic deregulationoccurred in the 1980s, oftenbeen plagued with over-capacity, which has beenreflected in depressed freightrates, inadequate ROI andsqueezed margins. There is a case to be made, at leastin the short-term period of modest and uncertain economic growth that thedriver shortage is yourfriend; that it is creatingtightness in capacity that inturn creates the economicbackdrop for upward pres-sure on freight rates and the conditions for improvedprofitability.Proponents of the drivershortage is your friend argument, says the report,believe that the shortage willbe addressed by allowingmarket forces to workthat a crisis is needed formarket conditions to change enough to addressthe driver shortage. Thats short-term think-ing, the report says. It is notsustainable, and it shouldnttake a crisis to solve theproblem. Unless the indus-try begins to address theissue, the combination of ashrinking labour pool andeconomic growth will, atsome point in the future, create a situation where theindustry will not be able tomeet standards of servicethat have been the hallmarkof truckings rise to becomethe predominant mode of freight transportation in Canada. The report lists what itcalls core values that mustfirst be established in orderto address the underpinningsof the problem: Driver Demographics Truck drivers are our mostimportant asset, the face ofthe industryto our cus-tomers and to the public; They are deserving ofrespect; Their welfare is at the coreof the industrys success; People of all ages, genders,religions, and races are welcome to work in theindustry so long as they meet our standards of safedriving, performance andprofessional conduct.Driver CompensationTruck drivers should have animproved ability to predictwhat their weekly pay isgoing to be; Truck driver compensationpackages need to be competi-tive with or better than alter-native employment optionsand more transparent; Truck drivers should bepaid for all the work that they do and earn enough tocover all reasonable out-of-pocket expenses incurredwhile on the road for extended periods. Driver Quality of LifeTruck drivers should be ableplan their lives like mostother employees and predictor anticipate their time awayfrom work; Truck driver compensa-tion packages need to be competitive with orbetter than alternativeemployment optionsand more transparent. Blue Ribbon Report 10 TODAYS TRUCKINGTheir time at work shouldnot be wastedat shipper/consignee premises, waitingfor their trucks in the shop,or waiting for a response toa question of their carrier; They should be able torely on their carrier not tointerfere with their personaltime by (for example) callingthem back to work early; Driver wellness should bea top priority for employers; Driver security while onthe road should also be apriority with the rise incargo crime. Driver Qualifications A minimum standard ofentry level, apprenticeshipor apprenticeship-like truckdriver training should bemandatory; Truck driving should beconsidered a skilled tradeand be recognized as suchby the various levels andbranches of government,standards councils, etc.,who certify such things; There should be a programof mandatory ongoing train-ing and/or recertification(e.g., TDG Act, pre-tripinspection, load securement,hours of service, etc.)throughout a drivers career.NO, SERIOUSLY,BABY, WE MEANITWELLCHANGE!Many drivers have lost faithin their relationship withupper management, in theindustry itself. Theyve heardthese promises before.Those core values need tobe adopted by industry lead-ers, and the message needsto be strong so that currentand future drivers will realize they are indeed serious, the report stresses. Everything in the reporthas been discussed at onetime or another, a driverwith 35 years behind himwrites in an email. You tellme who is going to step upand say that, starting tomorrow, 300,000 men andwomen must be paid forthat time? While he admitted thateverything in the report isbang on, and remindedhim of how trucking used tobe when he first started driv-ing, actions speak louderthan words. Only time willtell if this report will light afire under the industrys collective butts. Theres no magic bullet,no one solution fits all, thereport acknowledges, and itsgoing to take a long, multi-year effort. But, the report acknowl-edges, it is also an industryof problem-solvers and innovators. Jason RhynoWELCOME TO TWIN LAKESPOPULATION: 2Twin Lakes Paradise is located in Alberta onMcKenzie Highway North,between Peace River andHigh Levelabout a half-hour north of Manning, andone and a half hour south of High Level. There is a gift shop with very unique things, a restaurant with great food, fully licensed, and avery quiet motel currentlybeing renovated. All the baking is home-made, and they try to servehealthy food as much aspossible. Open hours mayvary depending on the sea-son, but as a rule it is openfrom 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.and sometimes Ive seenthem open later. Rosanne ( Rosie tofriends) Mitchell operatesthe store and restaurantwhile Peter Lear takes careof the premises, the yard andthe camping grounds. He isalso a talented mechanicand inventor who enjoys fab-ricating all kind of tools fortheir maintenance needs.You must see the inside ofthis place to appreciate howgreat a carpenter he is. They live on the premisesand are always willing tohelp stranded motorists.Rosie is a perfectionist aboutkeeping a very clean placeyou must remove your shoesat the door before going further. Youll know whywhen you will visit the place. For the one in need of atoilet but doesnt want toremove his shoes, theyvealso installed a new additioncalled Honest Joes Trading.It is a small building whereyou can use the inside outhouse 24 hours a day,where you can trade some-thing with anything that isinside and you can also sitdown, read a book or play acard game. There is some neat stuff totrade, and if you have nothingto trade with, dropping a fewcoins in the money bank isalways welcome. And believe me every-thing is clean. The insidewashrooms allow you torelax with magazines, withthe mens room walls deco-rated with Rosies favoriteidol Marilyn Monroe. On thewomens bathroom wallsthere are plenty of AnneGeddes baby pictures. The restaurant is home toa collection of over 600teapots; some old, some new,DispatchesSIGHT FOR SORE DRIVERS: Kindly take off your shoes when you enter this home away from home. PROMOTION 2012Pros all the Way P National Warranty N National Network In addition, take advantage of our Shock Absorbers SPECIAL PROMOTIONGAS-MAGNUM 60 GAS MAGNUM 65 MONRO-MAGNUM 70INSTALLED$12995INSTALLED$9995INSTALLED$14995the pair the pair the pairIn addition take advantage of our Shock Absorbers SPECIAL PROMOTIONSTART YOUR ENGINE...FROM MAY 1ST TO 31ST, 2012, ALL PURCHASES OF $100 OR MORE WILL GET YOU 1 DRAWING COUPON AND THE CHANCE TO WIN A VIP NASCAR PACKAGE FOR AUGUST 17TH & 18TH, 2012. GOOD LUCK!START YOUR ENGINEWin a VIP package for the NAPA Auto Parts 200 NASCAR Race weekend in Montreal!logbookaugustjune 2012Go Onlinefor more events, visittodaystrucking.com3-5The Logistics and Supply Chain Spring Forum 2012The Doral Resort, FloridaPower-networking for senior logistics and supply chain decision makers and providers oflogistics/supply chain products and services.Contact: Robert Houston: 212-651 8766Website: www.logisticsforum.com8-10BCTA Conference and Annual General MeetingFairmont Chateau Whistler Resort, Whistler, B.C.BCTA Annual Convention.Contact: 604-888-5319Website: www.bctrucking.com16Alberta Truck Driving ChampionshipsRoseneau Transport, CalgaryAlbertas top drivers test compete for best in the west. Sponsored by the Alberta MotorTransport AssociationContact: 780-448-7456Website: www.amta.ca20-21Private Motor Truck Council of Canada,2012 Annual ConferenceKingbridge Conference Centre and Institute, King CityContact: 905-827-0587Website: www.pmtc.ca2-5Rodeo du CamionNOTRE DAME DU NORD, QuebecThe Rodeo attracts upwards of 60,000 people tothis picturesque Northwestern Quebec villageand features four days of races, competitions,live music, parties, fireworks, a special Sundayservice and, well, more parties.Contact: (877) 357-6336Website: www.elrodeo.comDispatches12 TODAYS TRUCKINGsome useable and some not. This is abig attraction for everyone. The decor is somewhat new, but done with lots ofantiques. They love seeing people comethrough the front door with a big smile,saying Wow, this place is awesome. Our company is our customers,Rosie says, who we like sharing storiesand experiences with. In todays society,there just is not enough one-on-oneanymore. Everyone is in a hurry. No onehas time to share. The population of Twin Lakes is two,as far as humans. Then you add twomore: Pussycat and Critter, their cats. Twin Lakes Paradise was built in1972 and I have been stopping at thisplace for rest, relaxation, great food and friendship since 1982. Rosie andPete have owned it for the past eightyears and have always treated me as one of their trusted friends. By writing this Im hoping to get them recognized in the trucking industrybecause they always strive to serve the truckers. On Thanksgiving, all themeals were free for the truck driversand it was open for them only. Rene RobertAuthor and owner- operator Rene Robertwas the very first Highwaystar of the Year.THE BRITISH AREBRAKING!And were speeding, apparently. Arecent report by GreenRoad, a company that offers driver performanceand safety management tools for fleets, highlights some interesting differences between North Americanfleets with those across the pond in the U.K.The report, titled 2011 WorldwideFleet Driver Performance Benchmark,aggregated 2011 data representingactual driving behavior of 85,000 fleetdrivers logging over 127 million tripsand 7.4 billion miles across NorthAmerica and United Kingdom.Driving was measured across fivemajor categories: braking, acceleration,corner handling, lane handling andspeeding. Data was collected and calculated to determine a safetyscorethe lower the better.Geographic differences between the two regions show in the categorybreakdown: North Americas most dom-inant safety event was speeding, makingup for 40 percent of the average safetyscores risky maneuvers. In the U.K., itwas the exact opposite of speeding:harsh braking, coming in at 43 percent.For North America, sharp corneringwas second, at 26 percent, with harshbraking following at 16 percent, lanehandling at 10 percent and rapid acceleration at eight percent.Sharp cornering was also second inthe U.K., at 39 percent, lane handlingand acceleration at 8 percent each andspeeding at 2 percent.U.K. fleet routes are largely urbanenvironments with extensive round-abouts and other road features thatrequire precise cornering ability, says Jim Heeger, chief executive ofGreenRoad. On the other hand, NorthAmerican fleets tend to drive in a moremixed environment of urban, suburbanand rural environments with more freeway and highway driving, thus yousee the tendency for fleet drivers tospeed in the U.S.The data also showed that 11:00 p.m.to 1:00 a.m. is the riskiest driving timein North America, and in the U.K., 11:00 p.m. to midnight is riskiest. Inthe U.K., December is the safest fleetdriving month, and January the riskiest month, while in North America, average safety scores do not vary widely month-to-month.Taken together, the GreenRoadworldwide average safety score droppedto 22 versus 29, a 24-percent dropsomething both the Brits and we herein the colonies can be proud of.Jason RhynoDispatchesWHOS ON THE BLUE RIBBONTASK FORCE?Paul Easson (CTA Chair), Eassons Transport, NS Gord Peddle (CTA Executive Committee, Chairman of the CanadianTrucking Human Resources Council (CTHRC), Atlantic Diversified, NF Don Streuber (CTA 1st Vice Chair), Bison Transport, MB Mark Seymour (CTA 2nd Vice Chair), Kriska Transportation, ON Brian Taylor (CTA Board, OTA Chair), Liberty Linehaul, ON Bruno Muller (CTA Immediate Past Chair), Caron Transport, AB Ed Malysa (CTA Executive Committee), Trimac Transportation, AB Carl Rosenau (CTA Board, Alberta Motor Transport Association(AMTA) Chair), Rosenau Transport, AB By Jason RhynoMAY 2012 13Heardon theStreetBESTWAYFOUNDERWAS RESPECTED, PASSIONATE LEADERCLEM DALESSANDRO Clem Dalessandro loved his wife Laurie, his daughters Gina and Jessica, his son Vince,his granddaughter Naomi, antique cars and the trucking business.Dalessandro died Saturday April 7 at Credit Valley Hospital in Mississauga just threeweeks after being diagnosed with cancer. He was 62.Dalessandro was the founder of Bestway Cartage Ltd, which he started in 1976.He moved to Canada from his native Italy at 13 and had a small business as a residentialpainter before getting into trucking.Over the years he grew Bestway from a one-straight-truck local p&d operation to a fleetof more than 50 trucks and 100 trailers, handling LTL shipments throughout the GoldenHorseshoe area and to and from the U.S.A.He retired in August 2011 and handed the Bestway reins to his brother Peter and his friend and colleague Larry Franch.Dalessandro, Franch toldtodaystrucking.com, was a well-respected businessmanwhose charm and sense of humor won him many friends in the industry.Clem had a passion for the service industry, especially the trucking industry, Franch said. Whether he was meeting withcustomers or dealing with new equipment salespeople, healways took the time to get to know them on a personal level.He truly enjoyed the friendships he built from his years atBestway. He respected his employees and always held truckdrivers in the highest regard.Clem was a big fan of good wine, good food and a goodgolf course, Franch added.A funeral service was held at Scott Funeral Home inMississauga, Thursday, April 12, at 11:30 a.m. In MemoriamClem had a passionfor the service industry, especiallythe trucking industry. The Canadian TruckingAlliance has announced the new executive committee of the board of directors for the2012-14 term. The officers are:Chairman: Don Streuber,President, Bison Transport,Winnipeg, MB1st Vice Chairman: Mark Seymour, President, Kriska Transportation, Prescott, ON2nd Vice Chairman: Gene Orlick, President, Orlicks Transport Inc., Calgary, ABTreasurer: Scott Smith, President, J.D. Smith & Sons Limited, Vaughan, ONSecretary: Ed Malysa, President & COO, Trimac Transportation Ltd., Calgary, ABThe at-large members of the Executive Committee are:Gord Peddle, President, Atlantica Diversified Transportation Systems, Mt. Pearl, NFJean-Claude Fortin, President, J.E. Fortin Inc., St-Bernard-de-Lacolle, QCGord Smith, President, Manitoulin Transport Inc., Gore Bay, ONMurray Scadeng, President, Triton Transport Ltd., Langley, BCPaul Easson of Eassons Transport is the outgoing chairman. The LeagueofEXTRAORDINARY TRUCKERSMovePeopleon theThe Trucking Safety Council of BC(TSCBC) announced yesterday theappointment of John McMahon toExecutive Director.Formerly the Director of Operations& Marketing at FIOSA-MIOSA SafetyAlliance of BC, McMahon is a seniorEnvironmental Health & SafetyPractitioner with international experience working across a broadrange of industry sectors, includingtransportation and trucking.DispatchesTrimacs $9-millionexpansionThe largest bulk hauler in Canada,Trimac Transportation Ltd., hasclosed its previously announcedacquisition of a 29-percent interest in Northern Resource TruckingLimited Partnership for a purchaseprice of $9 million. The cash-and-share transaction saw $1 million ofthe purchase price paid in cash andthe rest by the issuance of 1,720,430Class A shares of Trimac.Ingersoll ramps upOne of the brightest spots in thesoutheastern Ontario economy shonejust a little brighter. Ingersoll Axles (a division of IMT Company), based inthe town of the same name, took itsmaiden bow at the huge Mid AmericaTrucking Show in Kentucky with theintroduction of a line of Ontario-builtheavy-duty suspensions. 14 TODAYS TRUCKINGSITED ON THE WEBA Little Trucking Bird Told MeWant up-to-the-minute industry news? Want to join the conversation on all things trucking? FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @todaystrucking@todaystruckingTwitter Feed MORE @ twitter.com/todaystruckingFromRodeo To Ride Again!NOTRE DAME DU NORD Show Manager Lorraine McLean toldtodaystrucking.com that despite some uncertainty heading into 2012, local supporters of this annual trucking extravaganza have re-organized with a new board of directors, a new manager (her) and renewed enthusiasm.MORE @ http://ow.ly/ad4W7Dodge the Deer:Wildlife-Detection System Means Safer RoadsNORTHERN ONTARIO The OntarioMinistry of Transportation (MTO) is taking some extraordinary (and quitespace-age) measures to cut down thenumber of truck-animal collisions.Todaystrucking.com caught up with agovernment spokesman who explainedthe life-saving technology.MORE @ http://ow.ly/ad59cVIDEO: How to Haul 800,000 lb.Generator Vessels This is cool on a few levels. Perkins Specialized TransportationContracting of Northfield, Minnesota, needed to transport 800,000 lb.decommissioned generator vessels from a San Onofre, California,nuclear generating station to a Clive, Utah, disposal site.MORE @ http://ow.ly/ad5LKfacebook.com/TodaysTruckingGot Facebook?So do we. Come write on our wall.12-month Class-7 Sales200100012-month Class-6 Sales12-month Class-5 Sales12-month Class-8 SalesJan. 2012Feb. 2012May 2011June 2011July 2011Aug. 2011Sept. 2011Oct. 2011Nov. 2011Dec. 2011Dec. 11April 2011Mar. 11Canada Truck Sales Index February 2012DispatchesU.S. Retail Truck Sales12-month Class-8 Sales, United StatesCLASS 8 This Month YTD 12 YTD 11 Share 12 Share 11Freightliner 598 1223 829 28.7% 31.6%Kenworth 450 889 372 20.8% 14.2%International 314 669 537 15.7% 20.5%Peterbilt 329 558 296 13.1% 11.3%Volvo 157 336 275 7.9% 10.5%Western Star 151 319 169 7.5% 6.4%Mack 152 270 146 6.3% 5.6%TOTAL 2151 4264 2624 100.0% 100.0%CLASS 7 This Month YTD 12 YTD 11 Share 12 Share 11Freightliner 66 179 76 38.8% 25.5%International 62 128 90 27.8% 30.2%Kenworth 33 64 62 13.9% 20.8%Peterbilt 35 50 34 10.8% 11.4%Hino Canada 21 40 36 8.7% 12.1%TOTAL 217 461 298 100.0% 100.0%CLASS 6 This Month YTD 12 YTD 11 Share 12 Share 11Freightliner 73 127 18 45.2% 13.4%International 102 114 68 40.6% 50.7%Hino Canada 21 37 48 13.2% 35.8%Peterbilt 2 3 0 1.1% 0.0%TOTAL 198 281 134 100.0% 100.0% CLASS 5 This Month YTD 12 YTD 11 Share 12 Share 11Hino Canada 132 213 151 60.0% 84.4%International 79 108 25 30.4% 14.0%Mitsubishi Fuso 13 25 0 7.0% 0.0%Freightliner 4 4 1 1.1% 0.6%Kenworth 1 3 0 0.8% 0.0%Peterbilt 2 2 2 0.6% 1.1%TOTAL 231 355 179 100.0% 100.0% Jan. 2012Feb. 2012Mar. 11April11May 11June 11July 2011Aug. 2011Sept. 11Oct. 11Nov. 201121,00020,00019,00018,00017,00016,00015,00014,00013,00012,00011,00010,0009,000June 2011July 2011August 2011Sept. 2011Oct. 2011Nov. 2011Dec. 2011January 2012February 2012April 2011May 20113,5003,0002,5002,0001,5001,0005000Jan. 2012Dec. 11Mar. 2011Apr. 2011May 11June 11July 2011Aug. 2011Sept. 2011Oct. 2011Nov. 11300200 1000Sept. 2011Oct. 2011Nov. 2011Aug.2011Jan. 2012Feb.12March 2011April 2011May 2011June 2011July 2011Dec. 20114503001500Sources: Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers Association and Wards Communication.Sterling ceased production in 2009 and has been removed from the truck sales listing.March 2011Canada Provincial Sales (Class 8)CLASS 8 BC AB SK MB ON QC NB NS PE NL CDAFreightliner 32 49 13 43 335 91 10 22 0 3 598Kenworth 48 209 11 18 73 85 6 0 0 0 450International 13 41 11 23 131 64 22 6 1 2 314Peterbilt 31 119 21 35 66 53 4 0 0 0 329Volvo 6 11 11 15 66 35 10 2 0 1 157Western Star 36 52 7 4 15 16 4 17 0 0 151Mack 8 29 17 15 49 25 7 1 0 1 152TOTAL 174 510 91 153 735 369 63 48 1 7 2151YTD 2012 399 1017 144 275 1468 728 127 84 1 21 4264CLASS 8 This Month YTD 12 Share 12Freightliner 5760 10,300 34.9%International 2628 6004 20.3%Kenworth 2437 4435 15.0%Peterbilt 2035 4063 13.8%Mack 1020 2221 7.5%Volvo 1354 2114 7.2%Western Star 184 398 1.3%Other 0 2 0.0%TOTAL 15,418 29,537 100.0%www.easterncanada.cummins.comEasternCanada Wholesale parts distribution Retail parts sales Engine and power generation equipment sales Maintenance & RepairMAY 2012 15Feb. 201216 TODAYS TRUCKINGTruck driver Derek Martin satbehind the steering wheel of the right-hand-drive Kenworth,peered over his left shoulder to his co-driver and navigator Mike Thomas-Clarkand stated the obvious. They were lost.They werent just lost, lost. The pairMartin from Hamilton, ON., Thomas-Clarkfrom Scotlandwere tens of thousands ofmiles from home with nothing more thana backpackers GPS to guide them. Theyhad driven off course about 40 km earlierand they were in the Australian desert.Worse, they were on the verge of watchinga $150,000 prize go up in fumes.The men were two of eight drivers fromaround the world vying for the right to callthemselves the Worlds Toughest Trucker.It was day two of what would eventuallybe a total of 18 days (filmed in variouschunks over nine weeks) of competitionin Australia, Mongolia, Squamish B.C.,the jungles of Brazil, and two locations inIndia. The competition is basically aneight-team four-truck cross-country rally,with organizers assigning points for time-liness, speed, skill and problem-solvingbut detracting points for tardiness, driv-ing too fast, damage or problem-creating.Their very first assignment found themMANAGING PEOPLE, TECHNOLOGY, BUSINESS, AND SAFETYStreet Smarts Street SmartsDerek Martin: The Worlds Toughest Trucker? What an already excellent driver can learn from a most unusual competition. By Peter CarterEIGHT IS ENOUGH: Canadian Driver Derek Martin (far right) went nose-to-noseagainst these other drivers for the title Worlds Toughest Trucker.I NSI DE:19 Top 10 Lessons Learned in KentuckyStreet SmartsMAY 2012 17near Alice Springs, Australia, where theeight drivers had to learn quickly how toload cattle into oversized trailers andthen navigate across the outback. (In reallife, Martin delivers automobiles aroundSouthern Ontario)Day One had gone well for Martin andThomas-Clark. Right off the start, a little fuelling trickthat Martin figured out gave them a hugehead start. The film crew told them thatthe days trip would be about 600 milesand instructed them to fuel accordingly.The thing is, my tank was alreadythree quarters full, Martin laughs. So Ijust put in five bucks worth and headedout and the rest of the them lost a lot oftime filling up their fuel even though theydidnt need to.So Martin and Thomas-Clark nabbed aserious 40-point head start. Then on day two, theymissed the turn. They knewthey were losing ground tothe other competitors. Andthey also knew that as partof the competition, at leasttwo of the drivers would besent home, dropped from the competition.They took a GPS reading,found their way back to theroad, and a few hours later,Martin steered his rig over a rise, expecting to see nothing by Australian desertahead. But down the slope, they saw all three oftheir competitors, mired in mud up to theaxles; stuck solid. It was a happy momentfor Martin and Thomas-Clark. If they had-nt made a wrong turn, they would havebeen the first truck into the mud butbecause they erred, they avoided the trapaltogether and emerged, from the firstround of the competition, in first place. It was so bad they had to walk an exca-vator 250 km in to there to get those trucksout, Martin laughs now, months later. The Worlds Toughest Trucker, aDiscovery Channel special, debuted inCanada in mid April. It runs for eightepisodes. By the eighth, the competitionwill be down to three competitors. (Onewriter said the program is like Ice RoadTruckers meets Survivor.) At the time of this writing, we did notknow if Martin had won. He wasntallowed to tell us. What we can tell you isthat Martin was a top performer from dayone and advanced to the final competitionin India. As well, we can tell you that, accordingto Martin, the descriptive tough actuallyapplies. These teams were put throughserious paces. And Martin learned somevery important lessons about trucking.The first challenge he faced, he said,was the surprising climatic shocks. Theclimate changes were incredible, he said.Ive never seen humidity like we had inBrazil. And Mongolia was freezing, thoughthat was okay with me.Very little of the driving was on pave-ment. Martin estimates that 90 percent ofthe tasks were on dirt or gravel roads. Andin the Himalayas, where theres no guardrails we were going down these single-lane mountain roads battling schoolbuses for room.And in British Columbia, the eight driv-ers were tasked with hauling 53-ft logsdown mountains. On silty one-lane trails.These are hills you descend slower thanyou go up.You drive down the mountains in second gear, and if you miss one of thosehairpin turns, you dont get a secondchance, he says. When I was coming down I was completely focused. My partner Stuartwas in the passenger seat making jokesand comments but I didnt hear him. I wasjust completely driving. (Martin passedthat test in more ways than one. One ofthe B.C. carriers offered both him andStuart full-time jobs.)Furthermore, the competitors were trying to navigate using GPS in foreigncountries where passers-by spoke strangelanguages. Even Google Translate doesntattempt Mongolian. Martin also learned a very valuable lesson about the compatibility of teams. The shows producers made the driverswork in pairs, and they all spent sometime in cabs together. No wonder some companies pay youmore if youre a team driver, Martin says.MRS. TOUGH: Martins wife Jennifer alsodrives for the same carrier, AutomobileTransportation Services. Derek MartinLearn more at prolamoors.comSuperior moisture protection for the bestdurability.:h_l[dXo?ddelWj_edMAY 2012 19Im not a team driver and after this, Imnot sure I could ever be one.In several episodes, the drivers losetheir composure; and Martin says theemotions viewers see on the screen arereal. In one episode Im with a guy namedRodney and he totally loses it; he was justgoin nuts and throwing the GPS andpapers around.Truck drivers can be a pretty tightlywound bunch, you know, he said. One competitor quit three times. Heactually jumped out of the truck inMongolia and walked three kilometersback to the motel he was so mad.Early on, Martin earned the nicknameIceman because he wasnt one to losehis cool. Hes a soft-spoken extremelyarticulate, 36-year-old father of four. Hiswife Jennifer Martin who also drives for the same company can attest to hiscalm demeanor. Derek is very easy going, easy to getalong with and will do anything for you,she says. While other drivers lose theircool, Derek always seems to stay calm and collected.He admits to losing his composure onceon the show. He was trying to back anoversized load into a space but his spotterMike wasnt doing his job. I sorta gotfrustrated when he was just walkingaround back there and not guiding me,Martin says.After all, it was his backing up skillsthat earned him a place on the show. By pure coincidence, Martin happenedto stop at a Flying J in Montreal last year at the same time as the shows talentscouts were there. One of the show staffers watched him blindsidedly back his05 Pete 379 into a parking space andapproached him about auditioning. She took his photo, asked for some refer-ences, and then a few months later con-tacted him again and asked for more infor-mation. He eventually won the auditionover about 10,000 other Canadian truckers. The funny thing is they had no idea ifwe could even drive or not, Martin saidduring a recent visit to our offices.If you go to the Toughest Trucker website, youll find him described thusly:A confident friendly guy with a passionfor trucks, and a serious habit of keepinghis cab in immaculate condition. Hecomes from a trucking family and justmarried a fellow trucker. With 16 safe and proud years of truck-ing under his belt, Martin is quick to credithis employer Drew Krueger for giving himsupport during the filming. His company,Auto Transportation Services, held his jobopen for him. (The film company paidhim to take his truck off the road so hewouldnt lose money and Martin said heput in a lot of overtime in the monthsleading up to the filming so the familywouldnt fall behind.) Plus Kreuger held his job for him.Drew, Martin says, has been fabulouswith all this; and I couldnt have done itwithout him. The public part of the huge MID AMERICA TRUCKING SHOW(MATS) is huge but so is that partof the show given over to equipmentannouncements, at which industry insiders and members of the press hearfrom truck builders and industry suppliersas they outline their plans and new products for the coming year. For the2012 show, the operative clich of theshow seemed to be integration, whichcompany after company heralded asthey talked about the apparent inherentadvantages of having drive trains, axles,engines and transmissions all emergefrom the same factories.However it wasnt all integration.TODAYS TRUCKINGs small platoon of reporters attended the events and distilled the following 10 MostMemorables that seem to sum up the industry, as we know it today. 10Data is the new oil. Joe McAleese, President and CEO of Bendix Commercial Systems LLC,on the importance of information ontrucking going to back office. 9The cost of a human fatality is now$7 million; it used to be $3 million. Ibid., McAleese.8You design a cab around the door. Preston Feight, Kenworth ChiefEngineer at launch of Kenworths newT680, Kenworths most aerodynamictruck to date.7Magnesium/calcium chloride and winter road chemicals are a cancer thats been affecting our productsand that is corrosion. Adam Hill, Vice President, Productand Sales Engineering, Great Dane atproduct demonstration. 62012 could be the fourth-best year inNorth American Class-8 market history. Bill Kozek, Peterbilt General Managerand PACCAR Vice President at launch ofPeterbilts new 579.5This isnt going to be about barbequesauce and mirror brackets, this isgoing to be real stuff. Jim Hebe, Senior Vice President,Northern Sales Operations, Navistar Inc.,introducing his companys expansioninto natural gas powered engines.4The move to natural gas is an incredibly important move for us;even more for our customers and for thecountry; and Internationals doing theright thing for this country. Ibid, Hebe. 3Tracking is because you cant be everywhere youd like to be. Gayatri Abbott, Global Director of SMART products & Telemetics EM, discussing Thermo Kings TracKIng software program.2I think 40 percent of the sale in refuseindustry will be CNG and I think itll goup in the next few years. Kevin Flaherty, President Mack TrucksNorth American Sales & Marketing.1Its the fuel economy, stupid. Dave McKenna, Director,Powertrain Sales, talking about MacksSuper Econodyne integrated package.Street SmartsTOP 10 LESSONS LEARNED IN KENTUCKYThats the general attitude towards careers in the transportationand logistics (T&L), according to a recent report titled Winning theTalent Race, part of PwCs Transportation and Logistics 2030 series. There will be over eight billion people living on Earth in 2030,the report states. More people means more production, and thatmeans the transportation and logistics industry will have to keep alot more goods flowing a hell of a lot faster. Its 2012 now, baby boomers are going to start retiring and thepool of future transportation and logistics employees is dryingup. The Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals esti-mates that the U.S. trucking industry will need to hire one mil-lion new drivers in the next 15 years just to deal with replacingretirees and the increasing levels of freight. This shouldnt come as a surprise. Its been an issue that hasplagued us for a while, said Ken Evans, U.S. transportation &logistics leader for PwC. Typically, we arent subject to violentswings in transportation demand. Normally, we grow about therate of GDP. But its kind of staggering when you look at the basicmath and what our needs are going to be. 20 TODAYS TRUCKINGHES JUST INTONOTYOUDearTrucking Industry,You dont pay well, your working environments areunfavorable, theres a lack of career advancement,and frankly, youre just not that cool.Sincerely,Talented People Who Dont Want to Work for You. THATBY JASON RHYNOYour industry is going to need OneMillionMorePeopleVery soon. Heres how youre going to attract them.MAY 2012 21The biggest hurdle is the image of transportation careers, andthe industry is going to have to update its look and style, if youwill, to compete with other sectors. The industry as a wholeall over the world, not just here in North Americahas somevery particular challenges right now. Compensation and benefitsconsistently place near the bottom end of industry wage compari-son lists. The adoption of technology is changing the very nature ofthe jobs, government regulations are increasing while infrastruc-ture and congestion is worsening. All of these challenges, Evans explains, are magnified by thenegative image. And as far as image goes, theres also the problemof transparency. While jobs in logistics bring up the bottom on topplaces to work lists, the transportation industry doesnt even readon the job-hunting radar. Theres a strong need for a better and sexier image for theindustry, notes the PwC report, pointing to Apple and Google as the two most valuable brands last yearand also the twoemployers that most young professionals wanted to work for. Thats not to say that transportation companies should becomelike Apple and Google, but rather that they should put more effortinto branding the company. Branding isnt only good for techfirms; accounting firms, oil and gas, mining companiesall putconsiderable money and effort into their brand image, into HR, aswell as programs that help not only groom new, young hires, butalso the more seasoned employees who bring all that valuableexperience. For Evans, thats the first step. Upgrade and put the focus onHR professionals in the industry, he advises. Currently, HR peoplein the transportation industry spend most of their time hiringpeople because of the significant amount of turnover in the busi-ness. There is a lot of time devoted to filling up the seats, andsearching for qualified people, but a lot more can be done and willhave to be done to improve the image and the brand of their com-pany. Having more and better trained HR professionals is a step inthe right direction.When it comes to branding and becoming an employer ofchoice, the first place to start is internally. Having a stronger HRdepartment will help clean up your houseits what they do.Theyll help create employee-centric programs, aid in recruitingefforts, and fine-tune the uniqueness of your particular companyyour brand. This, as one of PwCs experts notes, should reflect thecharacteristics of top management, who are often the role modelsfor the general workforce and company culture. While there are different schools of thought on what constitutes a solid brand, authenticity is key. For an employer brand to be successful over the long-term, explained PwC, it needs to be authentic. So if youre promoting advancement opportunities, but most potential high-flyers complain theyve hit a dead end mid-career, youll need to rethink either your recruiting messaging or your development procedures.A STRONG NEEDfor abetter andsexier imagefor the industry,notes the PwC report, pointing to Appleand Google as the two most valuablebrands last yearand also the two employers that most young professionals wanted to work for. Like YourselfAnd Others Will Like You TooPROVEN FUEL EFFICIENCY so you can get more out of every drop. Our Volvo trucks are delivering excellent fuel economy across the board, and we have the data to support it. Dean DeSantis, Heritage Transport Find out how to maximize your fuel efciency at your nearest Volvo dealer, or visit us at volvotruckscanada.com.Volvo Trucks. Driving Success.2012 Volvo Group North America, LLCMAY 2012 23TRUCKINGS CATCH-22YEAR-OLDSSUPPLY CHAIN &LOGISTICS EXECUTIVE2010/2011EMPLOYMENTMARKET SURVEYREPORTCOMPARISON OFWAGE LEVELSACROSS INDUSTRIES Experience and age will always trump youth inthe transportation industry. Asked what makes a quality driver,Evans stressed people who maintained a career in driving for manyyears. They are dedicated, they are disciplined in how they drive and howthey approach the job. They take in pride in high performance. More and morethey are in their forties and fifties as opposed to their 20s and 30s.And drive millionsof miles without an accident without an issue of any kind.So that begs the question, how do we get tomorrows drivers up to snuff? I have a daughter-in-law who finished nursing school and she cant find a job becauseeveryone wants a nurse who has a year or more in nursing,Evans said.Its the same thingwith drivers. The best companies want the best drivers to have been driving for years, butyou cant get a job without experience. So where do those people come from? Moreemphasis has to be on training programs for drivers where they can come in and beapprenticed for a period of time, go to driving school, team with other drivers. Theindustry has to change its views. Yes, we need to get that experience but we haveto get those people qualified and they need to invest more upfront to keeppeople coming into the business.Mining...#4Transportation...#12Manufacturing...#11Water Supply...#10Healthcare...#9Construction...#8Education...#7Wholesale...#6Public Admin...#5Financial...#3Information...#2Electricity...#1$65,150$43,400US(2010)-33%$0$10,000$20,000$30,000$40,000$50,000$60,000$70,000Electricity...#4Wholesale...#12Education...#11Real Estate...#10Transportation...#9Water Supply...#8Manufacturing...#7Public Admin...#6Construction...#5Information...#3Mining...#2Financial...#151,62028,022United Kingdom(2010)-46%010,00020,00030,00040,00050,00060,000Hes Just Not That Into YouSOURCE: NationalStatistics Offices,PwC Analysis1520%%SOURCE: National Statistics Offices,PwC AnalysisEmployer values rates almost as highas more money as the top reason fortaking a job at a logistics company.EMPLOYER VALUESMORE MONEYHes Just Not That Into YouMAY 2012 25Corporate values tied with job securityas the third most cited criteria (after moremoney and career advancement) for rea-sons of accepting a job with a company,Supply Chain & Logistics Executive2010/2011 Employment Market SurveyReport. Fifteen percent rated it as themost important factor in their decision toaccept a position with a company. This,too, is a part of your brand. PwC advises looking internally to get asense of your brand. What do employeesvalue about the company? Why do peoplewant to leave to work somewhere else?Conversely, you can look outside yourcompany, too. What types of people comeknocking at your door? Once company culture has been estab-lished internally, you can start to make itpublic. HR can write articles, give inter-views to trade magazines like this onetruth be told, this magazine gets a whackof press releases from carriers that want tolet us know they have raised wages orimplemented such and such program fordrivers. And they arent large carriers,eithermany are small- to medium-sizecarriers. But they are mostly American.A shortage of training programs toppedwith insufficient learning and developmentis also hurting many companies, PwCnoted. The quality of the professionals inthe business needs to improve, Evans says. The distinct profitability advantage ofhaving highly qualified individuals at alllevels of the organization, especially driversthe top ten or 20 percent of your driversare hugely more profitable than the bottom20 percent of your drivers in everything,from miles per gallon, to compliance andregulations, to avoiding time and penal-ties, health care claims, injuries. Implementing training programs andencouraging on-going learning and devel-opment (for when those new, complicatedregulations kick in) keeps your talent onpoint. The quality of people providing theservice will cover a significant part of thecompensation increase, Evans advises.Better quality people means better qualityservice. Its going to cost more if you wanton time, every time, 99.8 percent of thetime with no damage to what were haul-ing, great communication along the waythat quality service demandsdeserveshigher pricing, Evans stresses. The Truckload Carriers Association (TCA) and CarriersEdge announced the winners of the fourth annual Best Fleets to DriveFor survey and contest at their annual convention in March. In the Best Fleet for Company Drivers category, sponsored byMarsh Canada, Ltd, a carrier called Motor Carrier Services (MCS) of Northwood, Ohio took the title.Voted the Best Fleet for Owner-Operators was Paramount Freight Systems (PFS) Ft. Myers, Florida.TCA said that like most carriers, MCS measures driver performance routinely. However, the major difference is thatwhere most carriers develop evaluation methods at the management level, then communicate it to the drivers, MCSactively solicits drivers feedback upfront.MCS, for example, asked drivers what they should be measured on and which factors they believed were less usefulindicators of performance. Drivers said that truck cleanliness and attitude should be taken into consideration, which MCSthen put into the overall evaluation procedure.The result, said Keith Tuttle, MCS president,changed things dramatically.The process resulted in better understanding between management anddriversespecially when it became clear that both groups agreed!A Driver Liaison Committee reviews company policies and makes recommendations for changes and future programs. That feedback, MCS says,in integral to their success.Safety meetings are held in conjunction with driver rodeos. A committeewatches the drivers perform maneuvers, then suggest improvements, offersadvice, and helps their fellow drivers understand how local and national regulations might apply to the situation at hand.Its all driver-to-driver feedback, and MCS says that it has been highly effective.Like MCS, Paramount Freight Systems maintains a committee of drivers who provide input on company policiesand procedures. It also uses a buddy program to pair experienced contractors with those just starting out. Both programs are fairly common in carriers that employ company drivers, TCA noted, but are somewhat unusual for anall-owner-operator fleet.PFS also embraced social media tools early on, and now runs an aggressive social media campaign that has helpedthem hire 25 new operators.In general, TCA said, drivers leased to the company seem content.Paramount has great runs, and they get me homeweekly so I can be a mother and still have a good paying job, wrote one owner-operator.They are really focused on hir-ing women and have always done what they said they are going to do. The operations department is helpful and friendlyand always willing to go the extra mile to help out owner operators. With the high price of parts, the parts discounts theyoffer are saving me thousands of dollars each year. Paramount is truly a class act and second to none.The TCA survey noted that most of PFSs owner-operators shared that opinion.This opinion seems to reflect the feelings of most of the drivers leased to PFS, as the company enjoys a very lowdriver turnover rate. In fact, 60 percent of its drivers have been with the company for more than five years. Of fleetsoperating in the United States, it has one of the highest percentages of drivers who have been with the company for10 years or longer.Mark Murrell, president of Toronto-based CarriersEdge, said,Both of this years overall winners are fairly smallfleets of under 200 drivers each, noted Mark Murrell, president of CarriersEdge yet they act like big companies interms of their driver outreach efforts, committees and programs. They are out there every day pushing the boundariesof what is traditionally thought of as a normal program, and its clearly working. It goes to show you dont have to bebig to be progressive.Gary Salisbury, outgoing chairman of TCA and the president and CEO of Fikes Truck Line, Inc., of Hope, Arkansas,agrees.Motor Carrier Service, Inc. and Paramount Freight Systems dispel the myth that small companies cant competewith the big guys.No matter what your size, you can still create an outstanding work environment for your people.SIZEAND FINALLY,DOESNOTMATTERBoth of this yearsoverall winnersare fairly smallfleets of under 200 drivers each.Mark Murrell, president of CarriersEdgeAll weatber grlp. All year long.Its durable and tough. The SY767 4-season tire will not let winter sneak up on you. The wide tread and multi-season compound maximizes traction in ice and snow without sacricing the long-lasting tread life that you expect from our best highway traction tire. Featuring a multi-season rubber compound and optimized tread pattern designed to overcome wet, muddy and snowy conditions. The SY767 can keep up with the extreme demands of the open highway.www. yokohama. caSY1B1Blgbway TractlonTalk about transmissions in commercial trucks, andyoull talk a lot about Eaton. The Michigan-basedmanufacturer continues to dominate the businessin Class 8 and remains strong in Classes 6 and 7. However, thereare other names in the business, and they all play a role in whatsbuilt and bought in a market thats slowly changing. Eaton makes most of the Class 8 manual transmissions for theU.S. and Canada, while Mack markets its own manual gearboxesbut also sells Eatons products. Eaton is also the principal playerin automated mechanical transmissions, or AMTs. Those, along with Eaton manuals, are sold by most truckbuilders. Volvo and Mack are building some volume in their ownAMTs, and Daimler introduced the Detroit Transmission at theMid-America Truck show in March. In heavy trucks and tractors, about 80 percent of buyers stillchoose manuals, according to Shane Groner, Eatons manager ofdevelopment and product planning. Look at the price point anddurability of the thing, he says. Its fairly easy to drive, and theentire country is trained to drive them.One of those buyers is Groner himself, who has a small truck-ing company he runs outside of his Eaton duties. I have some 13-speeds, one with more than a million miles, and its still goingstrong. The durability is incredible.Of the manual transmissions sold in heavy trucks, 60 percentare 10-speeds that go primarily into over-the-road tractors,Groner says. Performance 13- and 18-speeds, plus LL types with low-lowgearing for vocational trucks, together take about 20 percent.The other 20 percent choose ATMsAMT growthAutomated manual transmissions are making steady inroads inlinehaul tractors, growing by two to three percent a year in thepast decade (except during the recent recession, when peoplewho bought trucks had to cut expenses). At that rate, automatedmechanical transmissions will grow to 30 percent of the Class 8market by 2014.AMTs can cost almost as much as fully automatic transmis-sions but claim superior fuel economy.This is partly because they transmit power through metal gearsand not through hydraulic torque converters. When compared tomanuals, AMTs shift better and choose gears more wisely thaninexperienced or inept drivers.Eatons AMTs have suffered niggling problems, mostly electronic,through their history. Eaton engineers seem to have driven outmost bugs, and theyve expanded the numbers of programmingmodes in their UltraShift Plus products to better match transmis-sion controls with various engines and duty applications.Volvo engineers seem to have gotten the I-Shift right at thevery start of its introduction in North America (it made its debutin Europe more than 10 years ago). An increasing number of customers are buying the conceptliterally.In 2011, 80 percent of Volvos were specd with Volvo diesels,which a truck or tractor must have to be mated to the I-Shift. Of those 80 percent with Volvo diesels, 47 percent were specdwith I-Shifts, says Volvo spokesman Brandon Borgna. (Volvo andMack do not offer Eatons UltraShift products.)In Europe, a high percentage of Volvo trucks are ordered withthe I-Shift. Automatics importantA small percentage of Class 8 users buy Allison automatics. Mostare operators of trash collection trucks, an excellent place for fullautomatics, Eaton acknowledges. Allison, meanwhile, recognizesthat over-the-road tractors are not the best application for its fullyautomatic transmissions, and its responding with a 10-speedMAY 2012 27ShiftTRANSMISSIONinTheStill specing manual gearboxes?Youre not alone. Not by a long shot.Heres why.By Tom Berg2012 Navistar, Inc. All rights reserved. All marks are trademarks of their respective owners. GOOD DRIVERS ARE HARD TO FINDSO OFFER THEM TRUCKS THEY LOVE TO DRIVEMAY 2012 29automated box that includes a torqueconverter. The TC10, as its called, will beavailable in limited numbers this fall.Daimler Trucks North America is wellaware of the trend toward AMTs.Mercedes-Benz, a sister operation inEurope, has likewise seen its AMTs gainpopularity. DTNA has adapting a heavy-duty Mercedes-Benz automated model foruse in Freightliners and Western Stars,says Brad Williamson, a marketing man-ager with Daimler Trucks. It will be brand-ed as a Detroit, the new name for DetroitDiesel, whose product line has alreadyexpanded from engines to axles. Likeother builders, Daimler originally offeredEatons Auto-Shift and UltraShift prod-ucts, and it now offers the UltraShift Plus.Last year, it introduced the AMT3,another European innovation, forFreightliner medium-duty trucks, whilestill offering Eatons midrange UltraShift. Fuel efficiency is an AMTs principalvirtue, and its the main reason for theirincreasing sales to fleets, which are againgrappling with a driver shortage and hav-ing to hire less-then-sterling drivers. Withan AMT, even the worst among them canget decent fuel economy they cant with amanual gearbox.We pay you CA$H for your invoices in 24 hours!J D Factors has been turning INVOICES into CASH for over 20 years.Our customers simply send us their invoices with proper backup (bill of lading and load confrmation), and they have access to their funds the next business day.t J D ofers advances up to 95% tNo start up fee required t Fuel Card services availableFor more information call 1-800-263-0664 or email Canadasales@jdfactors.comJ D Factors Corporation 315 Matheson Blvd. EastMississauga, ON L4Z 1X8www. jdfactors.comAside from manual versus automated versus automatic, there are trends in heavytrucks that affect transmissions. A major trend is the continuing quest for effi-ciency. Shane Groner, Eatons manager of development and product planning,says 99 percent of his work is focused on how to make the truck more fuel-efficient. A key strategy is what is known as gear fast, run slow,slowing the engine to achieve better fuel economy. This requires low numerical ratios in top gears and/or differentials,as well as setting the road-speed limiter or Class 8 trucks in North America. Volvo hascoined the term downspeedingfor its XE 13 integrated drivetrain, which builds on theconcept using its I-Shift transmission. This also relates to a continuing move to direct-drive transmissions, whose top gears have 1:1 ratios that match an engines crankshaftspeed with that of the driveshaft. The current thinking among engineers is that direct-drive transmissions are more efficient than overdrive ratios, which send power andtorque through an extra set of gears that impose a bit more friction and oil churn.With a direct-drive top gear, spinning of the transmissions output shaft is compara-tively fast, so the rear axle ratio has to have a low numerical ratio to keep engine speeddown. Direct drive is easier on the driveline because torque is better handled by thedrive shafts fast rotation, but the rear diffs metal must be strong enough to take thetorque at low speed. With overdrive gearing in the tranny, the driveline spins slower, and the axle ratio isfaster to keep engine speed in its proper range. High torque can stress the driveline, soit might have to be upsized to take the beating, but the differential is safer at its highergear speeds.Sometimes the fuel economy difference between direct and overdrive transmissionscan be measured, and sometimes it cant. And feelings run strong among truckers.Some love it, some hate it,Groner says of direct drive. Theres no in between.DOWNSPEEDING IN CLASS 8The Shift in Transmission2014201220100% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%Mechanical AutomatedMechanical vs. Automated Sales CLASS 8 TRUCKS IN NORTH AMERICA70%75%80%30%25%20%Cummins ISX15 and ISX12 are better where it counts, in every type of truck. The ISX15 offers the best fuel economy, broadest power range and big-bore performance with exceptional resale value. The ISX12 delivers up to 12% better fuel economy in a compact heavy-duty engine. Plus, you get 24/7/365 access to Cummins Care and twice as many authorized service locations as the nearest competitors. Visit cumminsengines.com or your local distributor or dealer. Youllsee Cummins ISX engines are better where it counts most your bank account.2012 Cummins Inc., Box 3005, Columbus, IN 47202-3005 U.S.A. Better.Where It Counts.The Right Combination. EveryTM ISX Engine.Light- and medium-dutyAnother Daimler company, MitsubishiFuso Truck & Bus Corp. in Japan, and itssubsidiary, Mitsubishi Fuso CommercialTruck of America, now install Duonicautomated mechanical transmissions inall their Canter models (called medium-duty here but light-duty in Japan). Nomanuals are offered. Although heavier midrange trucks fromUD and Hino and Class 6 and 7 domestictrucks still offer manuals, all have auto-matics or automated transmissions asoptions. Some of the automatics areAllisons, and some are supplied by Aisin, amajor Japanese supplier. Domestic medium-duty trucks havelong been a strong market for fully auto-matic transmissions.Drivers usually have a primary jobother than driving, such as beverage sales,furniture delivery or lawn care, and mightnot even know how to operate a manualtransmission. Operations tend to be more urban andsuburban with a lot of stops and starts, forwhich automatics are very useful.Allisons go into six out of 10 midrangetrucks, but its penetration was once eightof 10, according to Eaton, which claims tobe taking some business with its UltraShiftHS (for Highway Value) medium-dutyautomated mechanical products. In the light end of midrange and in lightcommercial trucks, nearly all have auto-matics, a trend that mirrors whats hap-pened in automobiles and light trucks.More efficient six-speed automatics havereplaced older five- and four-speed typesin most light trucks.General Motors and Ford dropped man-ual trannies two to three years ago. GMuses Allisons and its own Hydra-matics,and Ford employs its TorqShift automatics.The vast majority of Ram commercialtrucks get Chrysler and Aisin automatics.A handful of Rams go out with Mercedes-Benz six-speed manuals, the latter aholdover from Chryslers now-ended own-ership by Daimler.Buyers of new light trucks have shunnedmanual gearboxes, which is why theyre nolonger the standard transmission and arealmost gone as an option. Some dealers,though, pointedly advertise stickshift-equipped used pickups and ask premiumprices for them because they appeal to asmall but enthusiastic crowd. MAY 2012 31$0.20*($300per year)Canada and U.S. (800) 387-4800www.espar.com* Based on $1.33 p/l; the average price of diesel in Canada on Sept. 08, 2011.Based on DOE/Argonne National Laboratory estimates: 1,500 hours overnight idling.Fleet Sense 101DieselConsumedIDLING3.8 Liters p/h$5.05*($7,575per year)Thats $4.85 saved every hour, every truck.How many trucks do you have?DieselConsumedESPAR .15 Liters p/hWhether your drivers are sleeping, loading, unloading or eating, once the cold weather hits, theyll idle to keep the cab warm.Todays Lesson: Cab HeatingEspar Heaters: They Just Make Sense.The Shift in TransmissionTrylng to manage a Neet wblle you're also managlng your buslness can make lt baro to tocus. Pyoer can belp wltb a broao range ot servlces trom veblcle rentals ano malntenance to complete Neet management tbat can tree you to concentrate on wbat you're most passlonate about your buslness. Flno out bow at ryoer.com or call us at 1 800 8Y PYDLP.DP|vL WHAT MATTLPS MOST. YOUP 8US|NLSS.|S YOUP 8US|NLSS 8L|NG D|STPACTLD 8Y FLLLT MANAGLMLNT |SSULS!MAY 2012 33When I first clapped eyes onKenworths T680 at the Mid-America Trucking Show inLouisville last month, my first impressionwas been there, done that. From a dis-tance, it looked much like the T700, whichfirst saw the light of day in 2010. I won-dered why Kenworth would be revampingthat truck so soon. What can I say; it was a first impression.The T680 is anything but a rehash of theT700. It does bear some outward similari-ty, but aerodynamics are what they are.Anything but what you see would be acompromise, and its clear Kenworth com-promised very little in the design anddevelopment of this truck.Practically everything north of theframe rails is newclean-slate new. Fromthe stamped aluminum cab to theDiamond VIT upholstery, no stone wasleft unturned.At its official unveiling, KenworthGeneral Manager, Gary Moore, said thecompany had invested $400 million overfour years bringing this truck to market. Ifthe guided tour and the short test drive Ihad in Louisville are any indication, Id saythe company got its moneys worth withthis one.The Finer PointsOn Friday afternoonday two of theshowKenworth invited a few of the A-list truck writers out for an up close andpersonal tour of the truck with director ofproduct planning, Jim Bechtold. He tookus through the design features of the T680,sharing some of the anecdotes of thedesign process as well as the nuts andbolts of the final product. The biggest news is the cab itself. A firstfor Kenworth, this one is made of stampedaluminum. Its highly tooled for greaterEQUIPMENT NEWS, REVIEWS, AND MAINTENANCE TIPSIn Gear In GearState of the Arttest drive Kenworths T680 is a truck built for drivers wholove trucks. By Jim ParkI NSI DE:39 Lockwoods Products53 You Cant Get There From HerePOWERTRAIN: Cummins ISX15 485 hp @ 1800 rpm, 397 hp @ 2100 rpm 1650 lb-ft @ 1200 w. Intebrake Eaton UltraShift Plus transmission,FO16E313A-MHP 13-spd. 0.73:1 overdrive with Hill Start Aid feature UltraShift Cobrahead controller integrated into dashFRONT END: Dana Spicer E-1322I axle, 13,200-lb, 3.5-in. drop Kenworth AG130 air suspension, 13,200-lb Bendix air-disc brakes rated for 14,600 lb Dana LMS wheel hubs Kenworth 7-spoke alum. wheels Michelin XZA3+ 275/80R22.5 tires Sheppard HD94 power steering gear,13,200-lbREAR END: Dana Spicer DSP41 tandem axles, 40,000-lb, 3.42:1 ratio Kenworth AG400L suspension 40,000-lbtandem, 52-in. spread Bendix air-disc brakes rated for 45,000-lb Kenworth 7-spoke alum. wheels Michelin XDA Energy 275/80R22.5 tiresCAB & CHASSIS: 76-in. Aerodyne sleeper and cab Dual 120-gal 24.5-in. alum. fuel tanks High Intensity Discharge, Xenon headlamps Driver Performance Center w. 5-in. fullcolor active matrix display Interior trim: Diamond VIT w. woodgrain and alum. accents Wheelbase: 229 in. Paint: Spinnaker blue effect Dry weight: 17,955SPEC SHEETKENWORTH T680, 76-IN.AERODYNE SLEEPERQuality Service Value2012 Hankook Tire Canada Corp. 30 Resolution Drive, Brampton, Ontario, L6W 0A3 CANADATel: 1-905-463-9802, Toll Free in Canada: 1-800-843-7709 Fax: 1-905-463-9792Premium Long Haul Tire for Long Mileage and Fuel Efciency In tough economic times its important to choose your business partners wisely. At Hankook, we understand your need for proven quality; offering our line-up of EPA SmartWay veried technology truck tires. Combine that with our proactive service and you now have a formula for unbeatable value. Hankook, better tires from a better tire company. To nd out more about our Smart Partnerships give us a call or send your inquiry to marketing@hankooktire.ca. OFFICIAL TIRE OF HOCKEY CANADAAL11In GearMAY 2012 35manufacturing consistency, and heldtogether with self-piercing Henrob fasten-ers. To make sure they got it right,Kenworth enlisted the design and buildexpertise of Magna International, one ofNorth Americas largest automotive sup-plier with a great deal of auto industryknow-how in stamped aluminum designs. While it may seem like a small item,Bechtold says they are quite proud of thenew door design. Not only does it openwider and close with less effort than past designs, its hinges are an in-swingdesign, rather than a traditional pianohinge design. The in-swing door gave us more lati-tude in hinge placement, Bechtold says.We were able to optimize the fit of thedoor, adding strength to the assembly, andmaking it virtually air tight.In fact, the cab is fitted with pressurerelief devises to make opening and closingthe door physically easierand easier onthe eardrums as well. The A-pillar is steeply raked to improveairflow over the cab, and the windshield50 percent larger than other Kenworthmodelsis dramatically curved to moveair around the cab as well as over the top.Bechtold says the curve of the glass is asmuch as supplier Pilkington could putinto a windshield. The glass is thicker thantraditional windshield glass, Bechtoldsays, to minimize damage from rockstrikes, etc. On the upside, he told us thatthanks to a new adhesive, replacementtakes a fraction of time (about two hours)of other bonded windshields, so downtimewont be as much of a concern. The integrated sleeper isnt just a boxattached to the back of the cab. It wasdesigned with ease of repair in mind inareas where damage has historically beena problem, namely, the rear quarters thatare subject to trailer strikes during tightbacking maneuvers. Engineers did jackknife tests on thesleeper and sought the input of body shopworkers on how best to build the sleeperfor ease of repair. They kept the huck fas-teners in this area for ease and cost pur-poses. The rear side panels can be replacedwithout removing the roof, which savesdowntime and labor cost. 636Driver EnvironmentInside the cab and sleeper is where theT680 really shines. One of the more sig-nificant changes is the width of the cab.At 83 inches, its 10 inches wider than aT660, and about eight inches narrowerthan a T700. T680 will appeal to solo drivers who like larger cabs, but not nec-essarily the barn-like cab of the T700,which is very well suited to team opera-tions. Theres 23 inches between the seatsfor easy access to the 76-inch sleeper.This truck has all the room any solo driver could ask for and it sure wouldntleave team drivers wanting.Getting to 83 inches was in interestingexercise. Bechtolds says engineers took acab mock up and literally cut it into quar-tersright front, left front, right rear, andleft rearand mounted them on motor-ized tracks. They then invited more than800 drivers to fit the cab sections aroundthemselves using a hand-held controllerwww.ridewellcorp.comSPACE-AGE INNOVATION: The swivel table is usable fromthe passenger seat or the sleeper. Itll support 400 lb. In Gear36 TODAYS TRUCKINGto position the sections. The dimensionsof the T860 cab reflect the preferences ofthat crowd of test pilots. So, while the cabdimensions wont appeal to everyone, Imsure they will enjoy a pretty broad crosssection of fans. In a similar fashion, the drivers designedtheir own dash panel, right down to thegauge and switch placement. In designing the T680s storage cabinets,Bechtold says engineers visited dozens oftruck stops and interviewed drivers abouttheir storage requirements. Not only did we ask the obvious ques-tions, we took an inventory of everythingthose drivers had on board, and then wewent out and bought tool boxes, boots, oiljugs, hardhats, etc, and brought themback to the labs, he says. We then madeit our mission to find a place to store thegear drivers carry.One of the results of this innovativeresearch was the cabinet above the doors.According to Bechtold, it easily accom-modates a hardhatone of the toughestitems to store.Another interesting innovation is thepivoting work table located on the right-hand side of the sleeper. It swivel 270degrees for better space utilization, anddrivers can use it equally comfortablywhile sitting on the bed, or from the pas-senger seat if the optional seat swivel fea-ture is selected. The seat turns to facerearward, and the table swivels forward tomeet the seat, creating a convenient workspace. The table will support up to 400 lb,Bechtold says, so its built with longevityin mind. One of the things engineers were look-ing to change was the traditional diamondtuck upholstery. Boy, did they get an earfulfrom drivers.We thought it looked rather dated, butwhen we checked our order summaries, itturned out to be one of the most sought-after options, Bechtold notes. So insteadof dumping it, we redesigned it with con-temporary stitching, shallower pillowsand a new fabric. Its a subtle change, but the new look isquite refreshing.At the HelmOur test drive was a short oneonlyabout 75 miles. A teaser really, but enoughto get a sense of how all this fresh think-ing translates into a 17,950-lb freighthauling machine. I got into the truck at PetersonKenworth, a dealer located at the junctionof I-264 and I-65 on the south side ofLouisville, not far from the KentuckyFairgrounds. Jim Bechtold spent an hourwith us, and then we headed south on I-65toward Elizabethtown, where we turnedand headed back again. The most striking thing about the T680is the quiet. Kenworth claims in its pressmaterial there is 40-percent less interiornoisecompared to what they didntsaybut its darned quiet. When I say its quiet, imagine drivingdown the highway at cruise speed in therain, and the loudest sound in the cab isthe raindrops hitting the windshield. Therain was louder than the engine noise,louder than the road noise, and louderthan the virtually absent wind noise. In GearMAY 2012 37Actually, the mixture of sounds thedriver is exposed to is very nicely bal-anced. The low growl of the ISX engine isclearly obvious, but not intrusive. In fact,its quite pleasant. The other big improvement is the posi-tion of the throttle pedal. Its still hungfrom the firewall, but its also hinged to thefloor, so the drivers heel can rest on thefloor. Its much more natural position, andinfinitely more comfortable than previousrecent designs. The truck had an Eaton UltraShift+ sowe werent able to get the full benefit of thenew throttle pedal position as far as shifttiming goes, nor the air-over-hydraulicclutch, which is very east to depress.However, I will say the UltraShift+ and theISX are speaking the same language, andthe shifting algorithms are very well tuned. The larger windshield and narrower A-pillar improve forward and lateral visi-bility without leaving you feeling thatyoure sitting in an aquarium, and the mir-ror placement could not have been better.A close look reveals that while the mountsare in the same place on the cowl, the righthand mirror is positioned a little furtherback in the drivers line of sight for betterviewing. Thats attention to detail. Driving the truck was simply a joy. Itseasy to maneuver, but very solid feeling.While it smoothes out the bumps andjolts, its not sloppy about it, and you neverlose the feeling of where the wheels areon the road.Theres a lot new about the T680, andit is definitely not, as I had originally suspected, a rehash of the T700. Andtheres a lot to like too. My short drive leftme wanting more, but escape plans fromMid-America limited the time we had todrive thing. This truck could set ride and driverenvironment benchmarks for some timeto come. Kr cher Cl assi c Hot Pr essur e Washer sVisit us online at www.karcher.ca to see our innovative fuel-saving design in action or to find an authorized dealer. USE 25+% LESS FUELSaving you $1,000 or more per year in fuel costs! IT FITS: Prioritizing gauge and switch placement,and repositioning the throttle pedal has improvedthe ergonomics of the drivers space.New name. Same commitment to Canadas trucking industry. We brought Markel Insurance together with its sister companies to form one new, united brand: Northbridge Insurance. Building on Markels 60-plus years of serving theCanadian trucking industry, Northbridge Insurance*remains focused on creating greater success for our transportation customers, as a proud member of this dynamic community.Welcome to Northbridge Insurance. Welcome to the power of together.To learn more about Northbridge Insurance, please visit us at www.nbfc.com or speak to your insurance broker.TMTM Northbridge Insurance and the power of together are trademarks used under licence fromNorthbridge Financial Corporation. [3132-002-ed02E]* Policies underwritten by Northbridge Commercial Insurance Corporation.MAY 2012 39While there were clear trendsto be seen at this yearsMid-America TruckingShow(MATS)natural gas, 6x2 driveaxles, vertical integrationthe mostobvious aspect of the Louisville affairwas probably the positive mood inthe air. Business seems good amongstthe manufacturer and supplier crowd.In terms of product announcementsthe Kenworth T680 and PeterbiltModel 359 stole the show. All new andreplacing nothing in their respective lineups, the trucks clearly have the sameDNA. Peterbilt opted for a detachablesleeper while Kenworth chose the integrated route and created some veryslippery contours in the process.The excitement of both KW and Pete staff prior to the unveilingsat separate events, of coursewas palpable.Kenworth chief engineer Preston Feightwas almost giddy with delight, telling mebeforehand that no previous Kenworthhad seen so much attention paid to itsdevelopment. It shows, equally on thePete, and you see it in the fine details ofhow body components meet, forinstance. Both interiors look awfullygood with a new and seemingly tighterfocus on how drivers actually