Three manufacturers – Paccar, Navistar and Volvo – have deferred shipments of Class 8 vehicles equipped with the part, which was manufactured between Dec. 2, 2010, and Jan. 18. Bendix estimates up to 60,000 vehicles are affected by the part recall.

Bendix said a temporary remedy kit is available at the OEM dealers and authorized Bendix aftermarket locations. The company is working on a permanent remedy kit, although no estimate was given of when the permanent fix will be available.

Navistar has stopped production of Class 8 trucks pending a permanent fix. A Volvo spokesman said the company resumed truck production after replacing the ATR-6 with another valve. Paccar hasn’t responded to a media request about its action related to the part recall.

Bendix said it reported the faulty part to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Jan. 26, after alerting truck makers to the problem Jan. 20.

The problem with the Automatic Traction Control Relay Valve can potentially occur only in vehicles operating at or below 0 degrees Fahrenheit, Bendix said in a service bulletin on its website. Intermittent air leakage could result in applying brakes, but is not related to Bendix stability systems, the company said. Vehicle ABS and service braking will still operate normally on covered vehicles, the company said.

An operator might notice a loss of engine power, according to the posting on the Bendix website. In addition, brake lights may not be illuminated and the brake application pressure gauge won’t show any pressure, the bulletin said.

If a vehicle operator has the temporary remedy kit installed, “the Bendix ESP full stability system and Wingman ACB and Wingman Advanced system will be temporarily suspended until the permanent remedy kit is installed,” the company said in a news release.

The company has posted a Q&A about this issue at an ATR Valve Update link at its website at www.bendix.com. The company also is staffing an ATR-6 phone line to answer technical questions and provide ordering information daily from 7 a.m.-8 p.m. ET. Its toll free number is 1-800-478-1793.

The appellate court has set an April 16 deadline for the California Air Resources Board to file its opening brief after the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California court refused to suspend judgments and a preliminary injunction Jan. 23 against CARB enforcing the standard.

Two years ago, the American Trucking Associations, refiners and fuel production companies filed suit against the board’s LCFS, which began last year and had been set to become significantly stricter in January and again in 2015..

Six weeks ago, the Western States Petroleum Association and the California Trucking Association issued separate statements expressing concern over projected fuel cost hikes resulting from LCFS.

Michael Shaw, a CTA vice president, said it would jack up fuel prices in the short term and could create fuel shortages in the long term.

“The California Energy Commission tagged the LCFS with an annual cost to California of more than $4 billion,” Shaw said. “How can CARB impose a major drag on our economy at a time when California’s unemployment rate still hovers at almost 12 percent?”

Western States Petroleum Association cited research it commissioned from the California-based Sierra Research, based on Department of Energy biofuel forecasts.

California biofuel supplies will be inadequate for LCFS compliance by 2015 when the fuel requirements “start to become much more aggressive,” the WSPA stated. The cost of acquiring special biofuels in California for LCFS compliance “could be as much as $54 billion between now and 2020.”

On Dec. 29, U.S. District Judge Lawrence O’Neill ruled the state’s LCFS violated the Constitution’s Commerce Clause by discriminating against out-of-state sources of ethanol and crude oil. In response to a 2006 state law, the board adopted LCFS three years later to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from transportation fuels 10 percent by 2020.

Several West Coast and New England states that considered adopting California’s standard in recent years appear to be holding off on implementation.

The U.S. unemployment rate dropped to 8.3 percent.

Payroll employment in for-hire trucking is up by 51,500, or 4 percent, from January 2011. Employment is up by 89,100, or 7.2 percent, from the bottom in March 2010, but it remains 130,100, or 9 percent, from the peak in January 2007.

The latest report from BLS includes the annual benchmark revision in the size of the U.S. work force, adding 162,000 jobs to the number estimated in March 2011. For for-hire trucking, this meant that the revised BLS figure for payroll employment in December was 1.318 million jobs — 22,000 more than what BLS initially reported for December. The January figure is about 1.323 million.

The BLS numbers for trucking reflect all payroll employment in for-hire trucking, but they don’t include trucking-related jobs in other industries, such as a truck driver for a private fleet. Nor do the numbers reflect the total amount of hiring since they only include new jobs, not replacements for existing positions.

Five texting and cell phone use violations will now contribute the highest (10 points) weighted severity to carriers’ numerical rankings in the Unsafe Driving Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Category (BASIC).

The violations include two each relating to operating a commercial motor vehicle while texting and operating a CMV while using a handheld mobile telephone. The fifth violation applies to motor carrier safety procedures, assigning a 10-point severity weighting to carriers’ “allowing or requiring driver to use a hand-held mobile telephone while operating a CMV.”

The SMS snapshot carriers will see this month will also provide more detailed breakouts of existing brake, wheel and coupling regulations, the agency said, which in part will help clarify the party responsible for violations in which intermodal equipment providers are involved. All told, the added detail turns six current Vehicle Maintenance violations into 22.

Those improvements are the results of a joint FMCSA and Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance effort, the agency said, to increase data uniformity through improved processes and tools.

FMCSA is revising Appendix A of the SMS Methodology document to take these changes into account.

Last week, the California Air Resources Board issued a public letter to Navistar saying the company’s emissions credits for the MaxxForce 13 will expire Feb. 29.

Most diesel engine manufacturers chose to use selective catalytic reduction after treatment technology to meet the required emissions levels. Navistar diesel engines use an in-cylinder exhaust gas recirculation technology to reduce exhaust emissions and the company is the only North American engine manufacturer to do so.

A Navistar executive said the engine submitted to EPA has been “refined with an air management system and electronic engine controls.”

Currently, Navistar diesel engines emit more grams of nitrogen oxide than their competitors’ engines. But because Navistar exceeded the performance parameters set for earlier emissions reduction regulations, the company was awarded emissions credits by the EPA that allow them to do so.

“The bottom line is that Navistar will sell engines in 2012 that are fully certified in all 50 states,” said Jack Allen, president of Navistar’s Engine Group during the analysts’ meeting in Chicago. “And any issue between Navistar and the EPA will remain between us and the EPA and will not affect Navistar customers.”

A spokesman for Navistar noted EPA emissions credits do not apply across the company’s engine line in a blanket fashion. Each engine platform has its own individual “bank” of credits. So, Navistar’s DT medium-duty engines, as well as the MaxxForce 11 and MaxxForce 15 engines, were not included in CARB’s announcement and will continue to be sold using their existing EPA credits.

Additionally, once an engine is submitted for testing, Navistar noted, EPA will not penalize the submitting company if credits expire before the certification process is complete. In that case, credit extensions will be issued to ensure EPA compliance.

“We will work through the normal certification process for the MaxxForce 13 with the EPA and follow up with our additional engine platforms later this year,” Allen said. “We will continue to use the credits we have selling our engines going forward. This is an on-going process and a continual refinement process of our engines and our emissions technology.

“But we are confident the MaxxForce 13 will be certified as compliant by the EPA, validating our in-cylinder emissions reduction technology and without any degradation in terms of performance, durability and fuel economy for our customers.”

At a stock analyst briefing, Navistar said it stopped Class 8 truck production in mid-December until the problem can be remedied.

It appears the affected part is a Bendix ATR-6 valve used in traction control or stability control systems manufactured by Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems between Dec. 2, 2010, and Jan. 18. At temperatures at or below zero degrees Fahrenheit, internal leakage could develop that would result in pressure being applied to a service brake circuit, according to a posting on the Bendix website. This pressure could cause “intermittent or, in isolated cases, continuous brake application.” The notice says the ABS would still work if this occurs.

The defect also could affect the ATR-6 valve used in replacement of ATR-1, ATR-3 and ATR-6 valves if the replacement was manufactured during the specified dates, the company’s posting says.

Navistar told the media it will retrofit all of its trucks on the road that have the affected part.

A Bendix spokesperson said the affected part was used in truck production at Navistar, Paccar and Volvo, but not including Mack Trucks. She said the recalled part was used in 50,000-60,000 vehicles.

A Volvo spokesman said the company made a design change that uses another valve in place of the ATR-6. “We identified all vehicles suspected of having the Bendix ATR-6 valve defect and postponed delivery of those vehicles, beginning Jan. 19,” the spokesman said. He added the company plans to take care of vehicles with the part on the road.

A Daimler Trucks North America spokesperson said its production has not been affected because none of its products contain the ATR-6.

The Bendix website posting says temporary kits to fix the problem are available through original equipment dealers or an authorized Bendix aftermarket location. A permanent remedy kit will be available at an unspecified time, the posting says.

The company’s posting says it learned of the problem from driver complaints about braking issues. The company says it doesn’t know of any injuries resulting from the part defect. Owners of ATR-6-equipped vehicles manufactured between Dec. 2, 2010, and Jan. 18 are advised to have their vehicle serviced with the temporary kit, the posting says.

Shuttle buses will operate between the Truckers Pavilion and the truck show exhibition halls.

Joe Hunter, president of TruckStop Ministries, will voice the prayer. Jan McCarter, an owner-operator and singer, will present the National Anthem and music leading up to the prayer.

Jerry and Sharon Benson will offer music following the prayer.

Truckers who can’t attend the event are encouraged to say a prayer at 5 p.m. local time.

The plan includes financial incentives to enable customers to see a quick return on a premium of about $35,000 for the new technology. That’s largely due to natural gas costing $1.50 a gallon less than diesel.

“By the end of 2013, virtually every product we have will be available in natural gas,” said Jim Hebe, Navistar senior vice president for North American sales.

TheNavistar-Clean Energy plan differs from other alternative fuel initiatives because natural gas in this scenario does not depend on government subsidies, said Daniel Ustian, Navistar chairman, president and CEO, during a press conference in Chicago. “It can stand on its own and stand very tall,” Ustian said.

Clean Energy will invest $200 million to build liquid natural gas fueling facilities, said Andrew Littlefair, Clean Energy president and CEO. The company announced last month it expects to have 70 stations open by the end of this year in 33 states, many of them at Pilot-Flying J Travel Centers.

The earliest openings will cover major highway segments linking:

• San Diego, Los Angeles, Riverside and Las Vegas.
• The Texas triangle (Houston, San Antonio, Dallas/Ft. Worth).
• Los Angeles and Dallas.
• Houston and Chicago.
• Chicago and Atlanta.

Other facilities will cover major highways in Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Kansas, Oklahoma and Alabama.

Opening of the first 150 stations through 2013 is planned to coincide with the introduction of Navistar’s new natural gas engines.

Swift Transportation has been testing some of them, said Jerry Moyes, founder and CEO. “We like what we see,” he said. “There is a savings to it.”

The initiative should go a long way toward ending the United States’ dependence on OPEC oil, said T. Boone Pickens, a 30 percent shareholder of Clean Energy. “The cheapest fuel in the world is in the United States,” he said. “This opportunity cannot go unused.”

Officials said the partnership will help accelerate the adoption of natural gas technologies by including incentives to neutralize the cost difference for the diesel fuel equivalent for those who purchase at least 1,000 diesel gallon equivalents of natural gas each month. At today’s prices, natural gas is $1.50 a gallon cheaper than diesel. Clean Energy will guarantee fuel prices for five years at a significant reduction from diesel.

Navistar will continue to offer DuraStar and WorkStar vocational trucks with its natural gas-powered MaxxForce DT, developed in conjunction with Emissions Solutions Inc.

For the regional haul and Class 7 and Class 8 vocational market, Navistar will offer the Cummins-Westport ISL-G in the International TranStar and WorkStar. Additionally, Navistar will enter into a phase II developmental agreement with Clean Air Power on the ProStar, WorkStar and PayStar vocational trucks, powered by a diesel pilot injection LNG MaxxForce 13-liter engine.

“One of the major obstacles in customer transition to natural gas has been the lack of a gas-powered range of engines designed to meet the multiple requirements without compromise,” said Hebe. “When the MaxxForce 13L is introduced in mid-2013, customers will have a capable range of natural gas engines and trucks, from 7.6 liter to 13 liter with horsepower ranging from 200 to 450.”

Raising truck weight limits on U.S. highways has been put off for the time being.

A bipartisan amendment to require a study of the impact of heavier truck weight limits was approved today, Feb. 2, as debate opened on the $260 billion American Energy and Infrastructure Jobs Act (H.R. 7). The amendment by Reps. Lou Barletta (R-Pa.) and Jerry Costello (D-Ill.) passed on a 33-20 vote.

The defeated provision would have permitted trucks pulling single trailers to weigh up to 97,000 pounds on six months, an increase from the current limit of 80,000 pounds on five axles.

The American Trucking Associations and the Coalition for Transportation Productivity on Jan. 31 both backed the surface transportation legislation, a reauthorization bill the groups say also will streamline the Department of Transportation and modify federal transportation programs.

ATA said the surface transportation bill not only will make needed improvements to the nation’s highway system, but also will make that system safer for trucks and cars. “This bill is a major step forward, not just for trucking but for all users of our transportation system,” said Bill Graves, ATA president and chief executive officer.

ATA also backed the legislation for addressing truck productivity and hours-of-service.

“We’re pleased that for the first time in 30 years, despite unfounded yet curiously well-funded attacks on the safety of our industry, the House appears set to make much-needed reforms to federal truck size and weight limits,” said Dan England, ATA chairman and chairman of Salt Lake City-based C.R. England Inc.

England said the bill directs the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to initiate a field study of its proposed hours-of-service changes, specifically the impacts of the proposed modifications to the 34-hour restart provision. “The researchers whose work was used to justify these changes said a field study was needed to understand the safety, cost and operational implications of such a change, and we agree wholeheartedly,” he said.

CTP, a group of 200 shippers and allied associations seeking increased federal vehicle weight limit on interstate highways, praised the truck weight reform proposal’s inclusion in the bill. The legislation would reform the federal vehicle weight limit by giving states the authority to permit larger single-trailer trucks weighing up to 126,000 pounds to travel on up to 25 miles of interstate highways within their borders.

The proposal would have allowed states to opt into a higher federal interstate vehicle weight limit for single-trailer trucks equipped with six axles rather than the typical five. The required sixth axle would maintain all braking and handling characteristics at the new limit of 97,000 pounds, enabling shippers to utilize truck space that remains empty at the current 80,000-pound federal weight limit.

CTP said this proposal will reduce the truckloads, fuel and vehicle miles necessary to meet demand, and that participating states will have full authority to exclude these trucks from operating on any route or bridge.

“Truck capacity has dropped by 16 percent since the recession started, and the 30-year-old federal vehicle weight limit compounds the problem by forcing many trucks to travel when they are only partially full,” said John Runyan, CTP executive director.

Runyan said more than 90 percent of states already employ higher weight limits on state roads and bridges. Truck weight reform also would make American companies more competitive in the global marketplace, according to CTP; a recent study by the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development compared truck productivity among developed nations and found that U.S. tractor semi trailers are the least productive due to highly restrictive vehicle weight limits.

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association opposes increasing truck weight limits, as well as making longer combination vehicles, including double and triple trailers, the industry standard.

The Senate will tackle its own version of a highways bill that doesn’t contain a provision for heavier trucks and covers two years instead of five.

Apple, Peanut Butter and Pumpkin Seed Stacks

1 medium-sized apple
2 tablespoons unsalted natural peanut butter
1/8 cup salted pumpkin seeds (or sunflower seeds)

Thoroughly wash the apple, and turn it on its side so the core is parallel with your cutting board. Cut it into four slices. Cut each slice in half and remove the core and seeds.

Smear a half-tablespoon of peanut butter on four slices. Sprinkle each with some pumpkin (sunflower) seeds, and place the other four slices on top to make little sandwiches. Enjoy!

Note: At nearly 400 calories, this snack is a hefty one. I would recommend eating half and saving the rest for later. Recipe courtesy http://www.fitsugar.com.