"Can it be that it was all so simple then
Or has time rewritten every line
If we had the chance to do it all again
Tell me - Would we? Could we?

Memories
May be beautiful and yet
What's too painful to remember
We simply to choose to forget
Barbra Streisand

The words, "relationships" and "partnerships" are now being used by shippers as the "Mother of all Capacity Shortages," nears. 2010 was the first good year in trucking since mid-2006 when the first signs of the Great Recession reared its head. ... Read More

Out here in the fields
I fight for my meals
I get my back into my living
I don't need to fight
To prove I'm right
I don't need to be forgiven…
They're all WASTED!
-The Who

Paperless logs are quickly moving into the sphere of the new normal. Most mid-size to large carriers have either implemented EOBRs (Electronic On Board Recorders) or are in the process of doing so. FMCSA auditors can now spread their resources farther through CSA 2010 to target carriers who violate Hours of Service regulations. These auditors are now armed with information that allows them to target for audit those drivers who routinely have log book problems at roadside inspections. They now audit logs to satellite positioning reports. Result… they're busted. FMCSA now routinely forces carriers with log problems to use EOBRs. Rules mandating broader use of EOBRs are moving though the FMCSA and will be published soon. Additionally, Congress has legislation pending which would require universal use of EOBRs.... Read More

by Robert Arbasetti, COO of Prime Lube, Inc.

In an earlier article, I addressed the now minimal, but soon-to-be major, impact of newly enacted U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ultra-low emissions standards mandating the use of selective catalytic reduction (SCR) with Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF) technology. The EPA mandate requires all diesel-powered passenger and commercial vehicles beginning with the 2010 model year to meet new, lower nitrous oxide emission standards.... Read More

The truck world is all abuzz about EPA’s 2010 standards for diesel emissions. Press announcements and media stories are in the news it seems daily. Volvo and Mack announced that they received the first 2010 EPA certification. International continues their legal wrangling with EPA over allowing the use of selective catalytic reduction (SCR) to comply with 2010 standards. I attended the OPIS Fleet Fueling Conference earlier this fall and the conference subtitle could have been “All About DEF”. The ATA Management Conference in Las Vegas also featured DEF. DEF, in case you don’t live and breathe the truck world, is diesel exhaust fluid. DEF is a chemical used in an SCR control device to reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx). In the eyes of a truck operator, DEF is another fuel system that must be maintained and replenished.... Read More

SCR or EGR is the question that is facing organizations in both the transportation and service sectors. Historians say that history repeats itself and it did just that last month when equipment orders doubled the previous month mirroring the purchases October and November of 2007 just prior to the last significant change in emission regulations. Sources in the industry believe this spike is caused not by freight or service demands but in effort to capture the last remaining build slots prior to the new wave of technology and the imminent price increases. The current situation is also reflective of 2007 on the technology side when manufactures were scrambling to develop, test and tout their respective technologies. At the time, in theory, Caterpillar had the most notable system, which would actually overcome some of the additional fuel used during the regeneration* process. However they were unable to make that system function consistently in practice, which precipitated their exit from the highway use, heavy-duty engine market. Currently, the remaining players in the industry are at odds, in the courts, with the EPA, and the media. One is gambling on what they call the in-cylinder solution (EGR) whereas the other players are going with the SCR (Selective Catalytic Reduction) solution, which incorporates the use of a DEF (diesel exhaust fluid) to meet the 2010 regulations. Another correlation to the situation is that one group is predicting an increase in fuel economy while the other is gambling on unconfirmed technology. The following is a brief overview of the two (2) opposing approaches to the technological challenge of reducing oxides of nitrogen (NOx) to meet the 2010 requirement. ... Read More