International is making air disc brakes standard on all axles for all models of the International LT series.

Available in 6x4, 6x2, and 4x2 configurations, LT-series trucks fitted with Bendix ADB22X brakes are now available for order.

International is the first North American truck OEM to make air brakes standard equipment on all axles of a long-haul tractor, the company notes.

The Bendix ADB22X air disc brake features a patented lightweight design that significantly reduces stopping distance and extends brake system life. Complementing the straight, stable stops that air disc brakes provide is greater reliability, thanks to a design that nearly eliminates brake fade and degradation of stopping power.

Source of article click here : Today's Trucking

With the public hearing coming up on June 27, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer has received 12,450 comments from individuals and corporations expressing their vision of an ideal North American Free Trade Agreement.

Technology was a big component of the feedback, with stakeholders advocating for e-commerce and more use of technology to speed border crossings.

“The huge potential of e-commerce in North America for U.S. exporters has yet to be fully realized because of the complexity, cost, and unpredictability of moving low-value, individual shipments across Mexican and Canadian borders,” FedEx Corp. wrote.

FedEx, United Parcel Service, the U.S. Council for International Business, and the Express Association of America were among the commenters calling on Mexico and Canada to boost the de minimis threshold, which is the level under which imported products are exempt from certain taxes, and streamlined through customs screenings.

“De minimis has become particularly important with the rapid growth of e-commerce,” FedEx wrote. While the figure is $800 in the U.S., it is about $50 in Mexico and only $15 in Canada.

American Trucking Associations doesn’t want change to NAFTA’s trucking provisions, but does want to see some changes to cargo.

One key change, wrote chief economist Bob Costello, is allowing co-mingling of cargo entering Mexico. Currently, a carrier moving 20 shipments from different brokers must group them into separate trailers when entering the country. And while maintaining cabotage rules, ATA wants foreign truck drivers be allowed to reposition empty trailers, a practice known as “drop and hook.”

New forms of funding, including public-private partnerships, were mentioned in many comments.

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association is more critical of the trade pact. Specifically, they called for a reversal of the measure allowing Mexican-based carriers from operating in the U.S.

“The United States has much to lose by allowing motor carriers and drivers who are not required to comply with each of our safety regulations or obligated to use equipment that meets our latest [Environmental Protection Agency] rules, to operate on our highways,” OOIDA wrote.

Source of article click here : Go by Truck

GREENBELT, MD – The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA), which sets the standards for roadside inspections across North America, has issued a new bulletin for securing intermodal containers on container chassis.

Canadian National Safety Code Standard 10 requires each lower corner on a container to be secured with an integral locking device, and for the front and rear of the container to be secured independently, CVSA notes.

“To meet these requirements, intermodal containers are most commonly secured to the container chassis with twist-locks or pin-locks meeting the definitions of integral locking device. [National Safety Code] Standard 10 defines an integral locking device as ‘a device that is designed and used to restrain an article of cargo by connecting and locking attachment points on the article to anchor points on the vehicle,’” the bulletin reads.

“There are numerous twist-lock and pin-lock designs. In general, pin-locks connect when the pin is inserted into the container’s casting and lock when the handle is held in position by a latch, gate or similar mechanism. Pin-locks are typically integrated with a bolster holding the lower front of the container. Similarly, twist-locks connect when the pin head is twisted within the container’s casting and lock when the handle is held in position by a latch, gate or similar mechanism. Twist-locks are found in all positions on a container chassis. Many integral locking devices rely on gravity or spring mechanisms to aid in holding the latch, gate or handle in position.”

The standard also requires containers to be restrained from moving forward, backward, vertically, or left or right.

There are some differences between the Canadian standard and its U.S. counterpart. Canada allows chain or wire rope to secure the corner of an intermodal container, but only to replace a defective integral locking device.

Twist-locks and pin-locks normally include a latch or gate mechanism that should be engaged during inspectionsm, CVSA adds. While some carriers attach plastic or wire tie-wraps to a latch or gate handle, that is not required under regulations on either side of the border.

“In all cases, when the latch, gate or similar mechanism that keeps the integral locking device from becoming unintentionally unfastened is broken, ineffective or missing, a temporary method can be used,” the bulletin reads. “This may consist of a tie-wrap. As noted, this type of temporary locking method is not required when the integral locking device is working as designed and intended by the manufacturer.”

Inspectors are being encouraged to download the latest information at www.cvsa.org. “We want to ensure all inspectors are conducting roadside inspections using the most up-to-date version of each bulletin,” the organization notes.

Changes and updates were also introduced for identifying long-stroke brake chambers, inspecting Antilock Brake Systems, the procedures for inspecting hydraulic brakes and trailers, and inspecting vehicles with EPA07 or later engines.

A previous bulletin governing container chassis, as well as Express Brake International segmented brake linings, and Trailer Body Controller on a 2005 Super Duty Vehicle were repealed.

Source of article click here : Today's Trucking

Nova Scotia Radio Operator Colleen Nesseth and Vehicle Compliance Director Raymond Beaton joined a team of inspection agencies during this month’s International Roadcheck put on by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance.

The 30th International Roadcheck saw a bit of a standstill at the Nova Scotia-New Brunswick border.

The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance [CVSA] compliance check is a 60-hour blitz-taking place all across North America. Beginning the first Tuesday of the month, for three days commercial transport vehicles were randomly chosen for compliance inspections. After 30 consecutive years it’s he worst kept secret in trucking, Nova Scotia Vehicle Compliance Director Raymond Beaton says.

“This is our chance for everyone to get together and show what we do,” Beaton said. “At any time during the day an inspector might decide to pull in a truck and do an inspection, so there is always that unknown for the industry to say ‘Oh geez, I could get checked today.’”

“It’s an opportunity to bring all of the staff together from across the province. They don’t see each other, but they’ll hear each other on the radio,” Colleen Nesseth, Radio Operator for the Nova Scotia Government, said. “It is definitely a team builder.”

Those partners at this year’s inspection included Alcohol, Gaming, Fuel and Tobacco Division of Service Nova Scotia, RCMP, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Transport Canada and The Dept. of Fisheries.

Source of article click here : Cumberland News

It appears the 23-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is safe—for now.

Hearing pleas from the business lobby, as well as individual transportation companies such as UPS and FedEx, the Trump administration has backed off threats to unilaterally sever NAFTA.

Trucking executives, transportation officials and shippers have enjoyed 400% growth in cross-border trade since NAFTA was implemented. But in late April, the tri-nation agreement appeared threatened by President Donald J. Trump, who at the time said he was “psyched” to sever the popular pact among the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

As word spread among the business community, Trump backed down. Now administration officials are sending out signals that NAFTA needs to be tweaked, not trashed.

“The first guiding principle is do no harm,” Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross told a Bipartisan Policy Center forum recently. Verbatim, that is was U.S. Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Thomas Donohue said in May was the Chamber’s goal in lobbying the administration on NAFTA.

David Congdon, vice chairman and CEO of Old Dominion Freight Line, the nation’s third-largest LTL carrier which racked up $290 million as the most profitable LTL carrier last year, had said he was “concerned” the new administration would hamper cross-border trade by needlessly scraping NAFTA.

“Global trade is a reality of life these days,” Congdon told LM.

A majority of voters say trade with other countries helps the U.S. economy. A recent survey showed 70 percent indicated that U.S. trade with other countries is likely to strengthen the U.S. economy, and 64 percent said it creates American jobs. Some 62 percent of all registered voters said the U.S. government should negotiate more trade deals – not fewer.

“American voters support trade because they see its effects in their lives every day. From the goods and services their companies produce to the products they buy at the grocery store, trade supports good American jobs, enhances consumer choice, and drives economic growth,” said U.S. Chamber Executive Vice President and Head of International Affairs Myron Brilliant.

NAFTA appeared threatened earlier this year not only by Trump but by some of the isolationists in his administration, specifically aids Stephen Bannon and Peter Navarro, Trump’s chief trade advisor.

But it appears calmer heads have prevailed. Gary Cohn, the president’s chief economic advisor, and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin both went to bat for NAFTA. In addition, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis also expressed public support for more free trade agreements, not fewer.

They cited that 41 million American jobs depend on trade, and exports support about half of all U.S. manufacturing jobs. Some percent of American companies that export goods are small and medium-size businesses.

“All of our jobs are dependent on global distribution,” says Lynn Cooper, president and CEO of BFW Inc., Louisville, Ky., in a blog posting on the Chamber web site. “Any country we sell to that has a free trade agreement with the U.S. is helpful and allows us to sell competitively in that country.

“Any moves that Washington can make to ease entry the entry of our products into a country and reduce additional costs will be beneficial to increasing sales for our company which means more growth,” Cooper added.

The death of NAFTA would have had major reverberations for many U.S. businesses, especially the fashion industry, retailers and manufacturers, not to mention cross-border transportation providers such as Indianapolis-based Celadon, which earn upwards of 40 percent of its revenue from north-south Mexico and Canada freight.

Servicios de Transportación Jaguar S.A de C.V. is a Celadon-owned carrier based in Mexico. With over 375 trucks in its fleet and growing, Jaguar hauls cross border and domestic Mexico freight. Celadon Canada operates two divisions of Celadon Trucking based in Ontario. Celadon Canada provides seamless transition for crossborder loads. With a fleet of 400, Celadon Canada specializes in inter and intra provincial moves along the east-west Route 401 corridor. Celadon Canada also handles local, regional, dedicated business, as well as crossborder movements.

Julie Gibbs, director of BPE Global, a global trade compliance consulting firm, called NAFTA “the largest free-trade agreement in the world” that has quadrupled the trade among the three countries. Untangling it and getting the U.S. out of it would have been a Brexit-style endeavor that would have involved worldwide complications, she said.

Source of article click here : Logistics

OAKVILLE, ON--Atlas Canada, a subsidiary of Atlas World Group, Inc., announces today that it has acquired Connect Logistics. The deal marks Atlas Canada’s first acquisition and will more than double its logistics business. Connect Logistics will continue operating under its current name and leadership team.

Founded in 1999 and headquartered in Mississauga, ON., Connect Logistics offers its more than 200 customers specialized product transportation as well as warehousing and distribution services. In recent years, the company has experienced significant growth due to expansion and vertical market growth.

"We are thrilled with the possibilities of this strategic fit “said Doug Van Fraassen, owner of Connect Logistics. “Our customers will have exposure to the asset-based services and infrastructure offered by Atlas in both Canada and the U.S. Atlas will have the opportunity to leverage the expertise of Connect Logistics’ personnel and incorporate the processes used to deliver our diverse platform of logistical solutions."

The non-asset Connect Logistics was founded by Van Fraassen and has long focused on forging and maintaining strong partnerships with all parties in the supply chain to enable their clients to meet commitments to customers.

“Connect Logistics’ business and operations align perfectly with our current logistics structure and will enhance what our team has worked hard to build,” said Barry Schellenberg, President of Atlas Canada. “We are excited to take advantage of this opportunity to provide additional service capabilities for our current customer base and offer accretive value to our strong network of Atlas agents.”

Atlas provides logistics services throughout North America on a truckload or less than truckload basis with the help of the company’s nearly 500 agents across Canada and the United States.