Aluminator aluminum brightener from Orison Marketing, which is designed to clean and brighten unfinished aluminum without buffing or polishing, can be used as part of a regular maintenance schedule to prevent the buildup of surface corrosion and keep aluminum parts looking new.Aluminator is a mild surface-etching acid solution designed to reduce the need for tedious hand buffing; spray on an even coat of Aluminator, and when the part is clean, rinse with clear water to stop the etching process. ...

Sirius Satellite Radio added 10 states to its coverage zone May 15, and is now available in 28 states.The Sirius service became available Wednesday in Alabama, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas, West Virginia and Wisconsin. The company is still on target for reaching nationwide coverage by July 1, said Guy Johnson, executive vice president, sales and marketing.Sirius broadcasts 100 channels of digital radio for a monthly subscription fee of $12.95. The service offe...

CHEW, DON’T BREWTired of swilling coffee to get a pick-me-up fix? Consider a new product, Jolt Caffeine-Energy Gum. It offers a single coffee’s worth of stimulant in two pieces of chewing gum. “Jolt Gum is the direct descendant of the revolutionary Jolt Cola,” the caffeine-filled soft drink that became a “badge of honor for sleep-deprived college students, truckers and business people,” says its producer, GumRunners. And if that caffeine gets you chewing with too much vigor, remember what your m...

Effective Jan. 10, 2005, Hornady Transportation will increase per-mile pay by two cents. New drivers start pay will be between 36 and 41 cents-per-mile. Hornady’s top driver earned more than $66,00 in 2004. The average driver earnings were more than $48,000. In 2004, Hornady upgraded 100 fleet units with new air-ride Freightliners and Internationals. The upgrades will continue in 2005 with 100 International units.  ...

For many years, owner-operators had limited options for affiliating with a larger entity that would afford them group-buying discounts. That’s no longer the case, which is good news when it comes to taking advantage of discounts afforded to group purchasing.Participation in a buying group boosts average annual income. One-truck owner-operators belonging to such groups last year reported average income of $43,800, according to the Overdrive 2002 Owner-Operator Behavior Report. Others averaged $39...

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta called the truck drivers who braved last fall’s Gulf Coast hurricanes to deliver life-saving supplies to evacuees “Hurricane Heroes.”Mineta met with truckers gathered for the annual Trucker Appreciation Days event hosted by Jacksonville, Fla.-based Landstar System on Friday, Jan. 27. Landstar has a contract with the federal government to provide emergency transportation services. With the help of drivers working for Landstar, Mineta said DOT was abl...

Volvo Trucks North America’s New River Valley Plant, located in Dublin, Va., received the Volvo Environmental Award for 2006 in recognition of its achievements in saving energy and reducing the environmental impact of the plant’s operations. Since 2003, the plant has reduced water consumption by half through recycling and reuse of water used for cab leak testing and in painting. In addition, a recycling program and increased sorting of refuse have cut landfill waste in half since 2000. The plan...

The late Bill Moon got the idea to build a better truck scale in the mid-1970s while operating his Iowa 80 Truckstop in Walcott. When he opened his first Cat Scale in 1977 in South Holland, Ill., he started a side business that helped revolutionize the trucking industry. Today, his daughter, Delia Moon Meier, who is senior vice president of Cat Scale, says old-fashioned persistence was the key to the ultimate triumph of her father, who died in 1992.“All truckstops had an axle scale,” she says, “...

One of the leading causes of expensive downtime and major engine problems is related to improper cooling system maintenance. Heavy truck cooling systems operate under extreme conditions daily, and when running with a conventional coolant require a supplemental coolant additive (SCA) to protect the cooling system components.CRC Industries has introduced Siloo Anti-Freeze Booster Heavy Truck Cooling System Treatment. According to the company, this SCA is engineered specifically for heavy trucks an...

Shell Rotella T Multigrade 15W-40 with Advanced Soot Control meets the performance requirements of new low-emission heavy-duty engines that will hit the market in late 2002, Shell announced.Shell said research conducted at its Westhollow Technology Center showed the oil met or exceeded the anticipated American Petroleum Institute’s PC-9 requirements for exhaust gas recirculation-equipped vehicles.Next-generation EGR engines are designed to reduce pollution and improve air quality. The American P...

It’s one of the most anticipated events of the season: Lugnut’s annual mid-term report card. So, enough dilly-dallying and lets get on with it (Drivers randomly chosen in order of points)Jeff Gordon — A+Eleven top fives. The next closest has seven. Three wins ties him for the lead and he’s atop the points. Wanna know why he gets the A+? People are back to either jumping his bandwagon or hating him again. That means he’s kickin’ it.Dale Jarrett — AHe doesn’t get the plus because he’s not in the l...

The U.S. General Services Administration awarded a Schedule 70 contract to Chevin Fleet Solutions, a fleet management information systems global provider, that allows it to service federal, state and local governments throughout the fleet sector. With this contract, participating agencies can acquire Chevin’s fleet and asset management software and services at the best price through the “GSA Advantage!” online ordering system. Chevin Fleet Solutions allows: flexible screen design. comprehensive ...

By James RossAn Alabama trucker, who is Libertarian candidate for the state lieutenant governor post, is on a campaign to crack down on violent crime and hold criminals responsible. The Montgomery resident said he decided to run for the office after his wife was held up at gunpoint. He faces Republican Bill Armistead and Democrat Lucy Baxley in the November general election.His wife, Kellie Adams, 23, has also entered the political arena. She is running as the Libertarian candidate for revenue c...

A proposal would require states to check an applicant’s driving record through both the National Driver Register and Commercial Driver’s License Information System before issuing any type of driving license.The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking March 31 to amend the agency’s National Driver Register regulations to add changes mandated by the Motor Carrier Safety Improvement Act of 1999.The amendment would require states to check both the NDR an...

Miami sweltered in the mid-July heat that rose in an undulating rhythm to meet the horizon, distorting its images like a wavy fun-mirror at a circus. Jake whistled along to an old Willie Nelson tune as he cautiously maneuvered his red Kenworth through the busy northbound traffic. He kept his speed a little under the limit, conscious of the damage the heat could do to his tires on one hand and mindful of a delivery date and time for his backhaul on the other.A convertible full of laughing teenage...

Everblades electrically heated windshield wiper blades work with the existing vehicle defroster to give drivers a cleaner wipe, summer or winter, the company says. Hooked up to the vehicle’s 12-volt electrical system, the wiper blades are activated with a lighted switch mounted in the driver’s area and can heat to a temperature range of 150 to 200 degrees Fahrenheit.Everblades are designed to work on foreign and domestic cars, trucks and buses, with styles for both automotive style and bolt-on m...

Five days.Steve Gundale’s vacations always last five days. But last week, Gundale chose to take an extra day to enjoy his vacation in Michigan.That sixth day saved his life.On Aug. 13, a Class 8 truck approaching a construction zone on Minnesota Highway 55 ran a red light. It careened through the intersection, striking a sport utility vehicle with enough force to flip it over. The tractor-trailer then crossed the lawn of Dart Transit and plowed into the administrative office building.Seconds lat...

On Aug. 1 Interstate Distributor Company increased major driver pay for its line-haul fleet. Interstate has developed two regional running areas for solo company drivers and owner operators, one in the East and one in the West, as well as expanding many of their hiring locations for team drivers. Interstate has been in business since 1933. It operates with a fleet of more than 2,000 company-owned equipment and leased owner-operators. Its National Fleet operates throughout the United States and s...

Mobil Delvac is bringing country star Terri Clark to the 2005 Great American Trucking Show.Clark, whose hits include “Better Things to Do,” “When Boy Meets Girl” and “Girls Lie Too,” will perform a free concert at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 26, at the Dallas Convention CenterFree tickets will be distributed to registered show attendees the morning of the show on a first-come, first-served basis. Clark’s first album, released in 1995, went gold and spawned three Top Ten singles, and Billboard magaz...

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has until May 23 to respond to a lawsuit challenging its entry-level truck driver training rule.The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, the United Motorcoach Association and the non-profit Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety filed challenges this past summer in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. The groups wanted a review of the rule. Early this year, the court ordered the groups to make their arguments as one bri...

The U.S. average retail price for a gallon of diesel dropped for the first time in five weeks to nearly $1.62 per gallon.That March 15 price is more than 1 cent lower than the previous week and 4 cents cheaper than what the U.S. Department of Energy reported for the week of March 24, 2003, four days after the invasion of Iraq. Prices in New England states matched the national average of $1.62 per gallon, while Gulf Coast states sold the cheapest diesel, $1.56 per gallon.Californians paid $1.87 p...

ACCESSORIES CATALOGIowa80.com has released a new, 48-page catalog that contains more than 150 chrome and stainless accessories as well as cargo control items, compliance items and die-cast model trucks. IOWA 80(866) 4-IOWA-80www.iowa80.comMETAL POLISHValco Cincinnati has introduced Magic Mix Metal Polish, designed for aluminum, stainless steel, chrome, gold, silver, copper, brass and magnesium. When the polish dries, the user can dust it off.VALCO CINCINATTI(513) 874-6550www.valco-cp.comTRAILER ...

Gage Bilt’s GB722, a blind rivet and lockbolt installation tool, incorporates the best power, stroke and weight ratio to install blind rivets and lockbolts through quarter-inch materials.Gage Biltwww.gagebilt.comBooth #15052...

When terrorists struck America on Sept. 11, 2001, Jerry and Judy Reese responded quickly. The couple left Michigan that day with a load of batteries, supplies and water and delivered it to within a few blocks of Ground Zero. “It was devastating to see the faces and talk to the people,” Jerry Reese says. “You couldn’t get out of the truck for long, and you had to wear masks. It took a week to get all the film off of our truck.”Weeks after the attack, the Reeses experienced their own disaster — a ...

Legislators in Ohio and Florida have introduced bills to require sex or DUI offenders to have pink on their license plates.Ohio Sen. Kevin Coughlin introduced SB 229, which would require repeat sex offenders to display pink license plates on their vehicles for at least five years after incarceration. Ohio Rep. Michael Debose introduced a similar bill.Ohio already requires drivers with multiple drunken driving convictions to use yellow license plates.Florida Sen. Mike Fasano introduced SB 538, wh...

Cummins recently released its new QuickCheck II system, designed to capture engine, transmission and brake system information from electronic diesel engines.The QuickCheck II works with Palm or HandEra handheld devices and covers all diesel engine broadcasts. It can read fault codes, trip information, engine parameters and data.The system uses a data cable plugged into the appropriate equipment harness and the Palm or HandEra device. A range of engine functions can be checked in real time, inclu...

Many a time on long night runs I wondered about traffic accidents – why some occurred in broad daylight, in the middle of nowhere and in what seemed like relatively safe places. Then I picked up a copy of this July’s Reader Digest. I now have the answer to that mystery.Reader’s Digest asked the National Safety Council to take a look at the traffic accidents that claimed 41,611 lives in 1999. The findings were interesting, to say the least. Of the studied accidents, 42 percent of victims died in ...

Several Alabama-based carriers recently signed exclusive training agreement (ETA) contracts with the Alabama Trucking Association’s Alabama Highway Watch, a national transportation security program. ATA member firms AAA Cooper Transportation (Dothan, Ala.), Boyd Bros. Transportation (Clayton, Ala.), BR Williams Trucking (Oxford, Ala.) and McGriff Transportation, Inc. (Cullman, Ala.) committed to training 100 percent of their drivers at their terminals across the country. All drivers trained will...

MyYellow.com named best siteYellow Freight System’s www. myyellow.com was named the Best Transportation Website in InternetWeek magazine’s top 100 e-business ranking.Comdata, Schneider sign dealComdata, Brentwood, Tenn., reached a multi-year agreement with Schneider Worldwide to provide paperless fuel tax reporting for its fleet of more than 12,500 trucks.Awards & RecognitionCFI, Joplin, Mo., announced its June awards: Rick Fortune, Company Driver of the Month; Chuck and Debra Spicer, Company T...

Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has reopened the Ted Williams Tunnel eastbound, which connects Boston to Logan International Airport, to bus traffic only.The tunnel was closed July 20, ten days after 12 tons of cement ceiling panels fell on a car in the nearby I-90 connector tunnel, killing a woman. The fear is that the bolts in the ceiling won’t hold. The I-90 connector tunnel is closed, too, causing massive traffic jams around Boston. There is no immediate timetable for when the Big Dig tunnels...

Kenworth Truck Company is offering the Hendrickson Primaax suspension as an option in 46,000-pound tandem and 69,000-pound tridem configurations for the Kenworth T800, W900 and C500 models.Designed specifically for the rigorous demands of the vocational and heavy haul truck and tractor market, the Primaax air suspension features a non-torque reactive suspension well-suited for high torque engine applications. The large volume air springs and heavy duty shock absorbers offer an improved ride qual...

Company driver James McCoy was eager to save a woman and infant from a crashed car before it ignited but reluctant to be called a hero. On the morning of May 14, McCoy was on Interstate 55 in Missouri with a load when he came upon a woman driving her Toyota Camry too slowly for the passing lane. The next thing he saw shocked him: a tractor-trailer came up behind the Camry, hit the vehicle and continued driving.“I couldn’t believe what I saw,” says McCoy, who has been a trucker 10 years. “I stopp...

Beginning in October, the exhaust from newly manufactured diesel engines must produce half the oxides of nitrogen (NOx) of engines produced today with no increase in particulate matter (PM). This is hardly news to anyone in the trucking industry. The accelerated requirement was the fruit of a settlement the Environmental Protection Agency extorted from diesel engine manufacturers in late 1998 upon threat of protracted litigation.Not settled in 1998, however, were how engine manufacturers will ac...

Tulip bulbs in 17th century Holland. Dot-com stocks in early 2000. Used trucks in 2003? Under the right conditions, the value of a late-model used truck — seemingly worthless a year ago — could skyrocket by early next year. If that happens, the trucking industry could undergo the most significant restructuring since the dawn of deregulation.Let’s assume three things. One, the Environmental Protection Agency does not budge on the Oct. 1 engine emissions deadline — and neither Congress nor a feder...

Guaranteed overnight delivery — better known as G.O.D. because those letters are prominently displayed on all sides of the carrier’s more than 700 trucks — had a devil of a time finding a two-way communications system that could be integrated with its computerized routing program. The Newark, N.J.-based carrier provides less-than-truckload service throughout the United States.G.O.D.’s city drivers needed a communications system they could use to record pickups and deliveries of LTL and air freig...

HOW TO GET YOUR FREE CREDIT REPORTYou can request your free consumer credit report in three ways: * Call (877) 322-8228.* Go online, through this site, which gives instantaneous results.* Send postal mail, following directions at this site, which takes about 15 days.Since you are entitled to one free report every 12 months from each of the big credit reporting companies, you can get them all at once and compare for any errors. Or you can obtain them separately, such as one every four months, to ...

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration inspectors were expected to complete a massive safety review of hazardous materials carriers last month, according to Mike Thomas, media specialist with FMCSA’s Southern service center in Atlanta.The safety visits, part of the government’s response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, began Sept. 26 after U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft issued a warning stating there was a “clear and present danger” of more terrorist attacks, and that these attacks c...

Western Star Trucks added 11 locations to its network Oct. 18.The latest additions to the growing Western Star dealer network include the Transwest Trucks in Commerce City, Colo., the Delta Truck Center in French Camp, Calif., the Bakersfield Truck Center in Bakersfield, Calif., the Centre du Camion Mont-Laurier in Des Ruisseaux, Quebec, the Western Star and Freightliner of Laredo, Ltd., in Laredo, Texas, the Stoops Western Star and Freightliner - Quality Trailer, Inc., in Fremont, Ind., the Pac...

The 44th annual Mid-West Truck Show will be held Feb. 2 and 3 at the Peoria Civic Center in Peoria, Ill. Organizers say the show will be packed with displays, programs and exhibitors to help trucking companies move ahead in a complex market while facing the challenges of an uncertain economy and increased costs.According to organizers, the 2007 edition of the show at the civic center, located off Interstate 74 in downtown Peoria, provides ample truck access and parking. Attendees will see displa...

A federal grand jury has indicted three trucking companies — Nijjar Brothers Trucking, Madera, Calif.; NB Trucking, Madera; and Semper Truck Lines, Fresno, Calif. — on charges related to falsification of drivers’ logs, the Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General announced. The indictment also includes 19 truck drivers working for those companies.Ore-Cal Livestock, Merrill, Ore., reached a settlement of charges related to hours-of-service regulations that includes five years’ p...