Mack Trucks reached a significant milestone in Canada in 2021 – its 100th anniversary.
Mack introduced a special badge to commemorate the anniversary that will be used in various applications throughout the year. The icon incorporates the Mack logo, Canada’s mapel leaf, “100 Years,” and the phrase, “Building Canada Since 1921,” or “100 Ans” and the phrase “Bâtisseur Du Canada Depuis 1921” when in Québec.
The “Bulldog” Mack AC model forged its reputation as the go-to truck for strength, ruggedness and reliability on the front lines during World War I. Many of the army surplus AC models came back to Canada after the war ended and quickly became popular for many heavy-haul applications.
Mack noticed the growing demand in the Canadian truck market and established Mack Trucks of Canada Ltd. in 1921 in a small building on Vanauley Street in downtown Toronto, delivering the Mack AB and AC models from this location. One of Mack’s largest Canadian customers in 1921 was Ontario-based Dufferin Construction, which is still in business today and has been a Mack customer for 100 years.
As Mack sales continued to grow throughout the 1920s, the company moved to a succession of larger facilities in Toronto and continued expanding its sales and dealer network to all parts of the country.
Mack maintains its commitment to Canada today through a robust family of Class 6, Class 7 and Class 8 products supported by an extensive coast-to-coast distribution and service network of more than 100 locations in Canada.
FedEx driver named Women in Trucking Driver of the Year
Nikki Weaver, a company driver for FedEx Freight, is the winner of the second annual Women in Trucking Driver of the Year award, which is sponsored by Walmart.
Weaver was among three finalists for the award. The other finalists were Carmen Anderson, a company driver at America’s Service Line, and Ingrid Brown, independent owner-operator of Rolling B LLC.
Weaver has been a truck driver for more than 20 years. For the first seven years of her career, she was an over-the-road driver. Then, she became a company driver with FedEx Freight and has been with the company for 13 years. She now has more than 2 million accident-free miles and zero moving violations.
Since 2019, Weaver has served as an America’s Road Team Captain. She was most recently a finalist for the Luella Bates Award at FedEx Freight and is a two-time winner of the prestigious Bravo Zulu Award, an award created by FedEx Freight founder, Fred Smith. She speaks to community colleges about the trucking industry, as well as the Pennsylvania State Police Academy’s new commercial officer cadets.
She is an advocate for Truckers Against Trafficking and has attended their leadership conference and is also involved with outreach programs in her community.
“I am so honored to be recognize for this award,” Weaver said. “I love being a professional driver and encourage any women who are considering this career to go for it.”
Steering issue prompts recall of 18k Daimler trucks; Paccar recalls small number of Kenworths
Daimler Trucks North America is recalling approximately 17,822 trucks in which the steering arm and tie rod bolts may have a defective seam that can fracture, which could cause a loss of steering, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration documents.
The recall affects certain 2021-2022 Freightliner Cascadia; Freightliner Business Class M2; Freightliner 114SD, 108SD and 122SD; Freightliner Custom Chassis S2, XB, XC and MT Chassis; and Western Star 4700, 4900 and 5700 vehicles.
DTNA will notify owners, and dealers will replace the tie rod arm and steering arm bolts, free of charge. Owners can contact DTNA customer service at 1-800-547-0712 with recall number FL-884. NHTSA’s recall number is 21V-256.
Additionally, Paccar is recalling approximately 56 model year 2022 Kenworth T440, T470, T800, and W990 trucks. According to NHTSA, in the affected trucks, the starter interrupt may allow the vehicle to start when the transmission is not in park. As such, these vehicles do not comply with the requirements of the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard.
Paccar will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and reconnect the transmission and chassis harness, free of charge. Owners can contact Paccar customer service at 1-425-828-5888 with recall number 21KWB. NHTSA’s recall number is 21V-262.
Utility recalling 2,700 dry van trailers
Utility Trailer is recalling approximately 2,752 model year 2006-2021 VS2DC, VS2DX, VS3DX dry van trailers. According to NHTSA, the horizontal weld that attaches a mild steel angle to the slider rail for super doubles/pintle hook operations may be missing. Without the weld, the slider rail may detach from the trailer.
Utility will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and, if necessary, add the weld, free of charge. Owners can contact Utility Trailer customer service at 1-800-423-6591 with recall number SB-07-015. NHTSA’s recall number is 21V-243.