Kenworth Trucks will publicly unveil its new T3 range of trucks, including the all-new T388, at the International Trailer, Truck and Equipment Show in Melbourne this week.

The T3 Series is now available in a range of models with vocational specs tailor-made to suit their intended niche markets. There are now six models available: T358P, T358R, T358A, T388P, T388R and T388CC; representing prime movers, rigid trucks, agitator and car carrier applications.

The T3 model range extensively covers metropolitan and intrastate applications from 260 horsepower metro delivery T358 rigid trucks through to 470 horsepower T388 intra-state prime movers.

Visually, the T3 family resemblance is obvious with the aerodynamic T358-style hood evident on the T388 with its rise in frontal hood profile to accommodate the larger cooling package. Bumper to front axle dimensions on all T3’s are identical, offering excellent ride characteristics as well as impressive turning circles.

Likewise, they all have a 106″ bumper to back of cab (day cab) dimension offering maximum capacity and being suited to a wide variety of applications. Sleeper options of a 28″ IT or 36″ flat roof/recessed back are also available, depending on the model, offering comfortable and practical sleeping quarters.

Depending on the model, configurations are available in 4 x 2, 6×4, 8×4 and 10×4.

The T388 is the latest addition to the Kenworth range, offering a compact package providing for markets requiring up to 470hp.

Available in three model specifications with Caterpillar C13 ACERT engines to 470HP/1650LbFt, Eaton transmissions up to RTLO18918 speed including Autoshift and Ultrashift options and 46,000Lb axles, there is a T388 ready for every application.

T388P is a prime mover aimed at metro and intrastate 50t-60t GCM applications but still requiring the same advantages of short BBC, good forward visibility and tight turning circle.

Available in day, 28″IT and 36″ sleeper configurations it is well suited to a variety of single trailer and 19M B-Double combinations such as tankers and tippers.

The T388R complements the rest of the T3 series by offering a number of options specifically targeting the rigid truck and tipper markets, including an under-rail exhaust with side discharge, split fuel and oil tank as well as wheelbase and rear cut-off options to suit a variety of applications up to 60T GCM, making the T388 well suited for rigid and dog or crane truck applications.

The final model in the T3 range is the T388CC aimed specifically at the car carrier market. Based on a proven specification offering application specific day and sleeper cab and factory built gantry mounts the T388CC is factory built to deliver in the car carrier industry.

The new release was part of a briefing to transport journalists by PACCAR Australia boss Joe Rizzo, who outlined the company’s future plans, including the new T600 Innovation Truck, a mobile test bed for potential technologies.

While the company is still enjoying high demand for its products in Australia, Rizzo says worldwide, sales dropped to approximately 100,000 units, making the domestic market 10 percent of heavy truck sales alone.

With close to 1000 staff in Australia, Rizzo says PACCAR is a major player in local vehicle manufacture, although he ruled out bringing DAF production into Australia as too expensive for the sales volumes.

Capitol visitors may find their path through the courtyard changed a bit today as truckers brought their big rigs in as part of Trucking Day.

Several 18-wheelers are parked between the old and new capitols, along with new and antique fire trucks, and other large vehicles that rely on non-traditional fuels.

Rides in tractor-trailers are also offered to officials, and kids and others have a chance to ride a fire truck.

Booths, meanwhile, are handing out information about safe driving practices and use of experimental fuels — along with plenty of statistics about trucking’s economic impact and benefits to Florida.

Both chambers are in session this morning, but staff and other visitors were on hand to check out the big engines. Legislators might get a chance to be taken for a ride during lunch breaks.

B.C. Transportation Minister Kevin Falcon says he likes the idea of impounding unsafe trucks for 30 days. “I’m very open,” he said, “to truck jail.”

According to Canwest News service, Falcon stated that he is, “open to anything that will send a message to bad operators out there that we’re not going to cut corners on safety.”

Under the plan, unsafe trucks would be impounded, with the worst offenders — those trucks Falcon describe as “really decrepit” — held for 30-days.

“The idea, at least in principle, is it would be a very heavy financial penalty,” Falcon said.

About 6,000 transport trucks a year are ordered off the road immediately upon safety inspection in British Columbia.

Falcon’s plan is also getting the support of the provincial trucking association.

According to the British Columbia Trucking Association (BCTA) President Paul Landry, a truck with “several brakes broken, in combination with bad tires, in combination with bad steering,” would be a suitable candidate for jail.

Along with truck jail, the B.C. government is looking into suspending the Class 1 licences of drivers who don’t properly maintain their trucks; they’re considering buying heat-scanning units that can check to see if a passing truck’s brakes are functioning, and finally, the ministry is considering a system that would reward safe operators with “gold star” certification.

The North American International Auto Show in Detroit was loaded with introductions of concept cars, crossovers and new sedans.

In addition to glitzy concepts, Dodge and Ford took the wraps off their redesigned pickup trucks, which are important to the company’s bottom line.

Here’s a quick rundown of each. Both go on sale this fall, and prices have not been announced.Dodge Ram

The all-new Ram has a number of firsts for Dodge, including a coil-spring, multi-link rear axle, a 380-horsepower Hemi engine and an interior whose design and craftsmanship are “better than anything from the Chrysler Group,” according to Mike Accavitti, director of Dodge brand and SRT marketing communications. He described the Laramie trim level of the Ram cockpit as “beautiful.”

The 2009 Dodge Ram is offered in regular cab, quad cab and crew cab, with three box lengths. Engine choices include a 5.7-liter Hemi, a 4.7-liter V-8 and a 3.7-liter V-6. A light-duty diesel engine will be offered after 2009, and a dual-mode hybrid will be ready for 2010.

Accavitti said that after listening to customers, Dodge adapted the coil-spring rear suspension for a softer ride because trucks are more than a work vehicle or a mobile office — they are often family vehicles, too.

The coil-spring rear suspension does not limit the truck’s load-carrying capability, Accavitti said.

The Ram will be available in a crew cab model because it is the most popular configuration. Handy crew cab features include storage boxes built into the floor in front of the rear seat and storage compartments integrated into the top of the rear fenders. The lockable, weatherproof fender compartments are large enough to hold golf clubs, fishing rods or toolboxes.

The new Ram will also be available with a heated steering wheel, heated and cooled front seats and heated rear seats. Sirius backseat TV is also optional.

Anti-lock brakes, electronic stability control with trailer sway control and hill start assist are available.

Ford F-150

Ford has sold more than 33 million F-series pickups since 1948. The 2009 F-150 is key to the company’s success. It is built at Ford’s Kansas City assembly plant in Claycomo and the Dearborn Truck Plant in Dearborn, Mich.

Ford redesigned the F-150 inside and out. Beneath the new sheet metal is a high-strength, lighter-weight chassis that has hydroformed side rails that deliver a 10 percent increase in torsional rigidity.

The Ford F-150 is available in three cab styles, with four box lengths and seven unique trim levels. That means there are 35 different configurations.

The SuperCrew cab has been stretched 6 inches, and the second-row seat flips up and out of the way to create a flat load floor that has 57.6 cubic feet of cargo capacity.

The F-150 has standard roll stability control and trailer sway control, as well as an optional rearview camera and an integrated trailer brake controller that Ford says is a first for light-duty pickups.

The F-150 will be offered with V-8 engines, mated to either a four-speed or a six-speed automatic transmission. The engines include a 5.4-liter, three-valve Triton V-8 that can run on E85 ethanol; a 4.6-liter, three-valve; or a 4.6-liter, two-valve engine. Diesel and turbocharged, direct-injection gasoline engines are planned for 2010.

The F-150’s cabin has a console that is large enough to store two laptop computers, and it has molded ridges that can hold file folders.

Luxury is not ignored. The F-150’s Platinum trim level will rival a luxury sedan, with its leather 10-way captain’s chairs, ash wood grain accents and brushed aluminum panels. Sixteen-spoke, 20-inch wheels are also part of the Platinum package.

Freightliner plans to cut about 1,500 jobs at its truck-manufacturing plant in Cleveland, N.C., a rural town 45 minutes north of Charlotte.

The Portland-based company says a drop in demand for its heavy trucks has prompted the cuts, which are slated to take effect June 6.

The plant has about 2,900 workers and will go to a single shift from two as a result.

The company says the plant has been operating on a periodic shutdown basis since April 2007 because of higher production costs associated with implementing new federal standards for diesel-engine emissions. A weakening economy has also contributed.

Although Freightliner expects the slowdown in truck orders to continue through the first half of this year, the layoff notice “will be rescinded if market recovery sufficient to support two shifts occurs prior to June 6.”

The company, meanwhile, plans to move its sales and marketing office 19 miles south of Charlotte this year to Fort Mill, S.C. The truckmaker, which recently changed its name to Daimler Trucks North America, has said 118 of the 340 employees of the Portland-based unit have agreed to transfer to the local site.

Freightliner has an 11-year agreement to occupy a 150,000-square-foot building under construction in the area.

Freightliner said in October it would relocate the Portland jobs to South Carolina to be closer to customers and its three production facilities in the Charlotte region. Besides the plant in Cleveland, N.C., Freightliner operates a truck plant in Mount Holly, N.C., and a parts plant in Gastonia, N.C.

The company also is considering a larger shift of corporate employees to South Carolina. It has an option on about 400 acres in Fort Mill.

Freightliner is one of Portland’s largest employers, with roughly 3,170 workers at its Swan Island headquarters.

Sagging pickup truck and sport utility vehicle sales have forced General Motors Corp. to shut down one shift each at four North American factories and lay off about 3,500 workers.

The world’s largest automaker by sales said Monday that the cuts, to take effect starting this summer, were brought on by weak demand due to high gasoline prices and an economic downturn.

The cuts will affect pickup factories in Pontiac and Flint, Mich., and Oshawa, Ontario, as well as the full-size SUV plant in Janesville, Wis. The layoffs represent just over 4 percent of GM’s hourly manufacturing work force of about 80,000 in North America.

The company said the cuts mean it will make about 88,000 fewer pickups and 50,000 fewer large SUVs this calendar year.

GM said the exact number of layoffs will be worked out with its unions. Workers will get unemployment benefits and supplemental pay that total 80 percent of their normal 40-hour gross pay, said GM spokesman Dan Flores.

“With rising fuel prices, a softening economy and a downward trend on current and future market demand for full-size trucks, a significant adjustment was needed to align our production with market realities,” GM North America President Troy Clarke said in a statement.

For about the past three years, the U.S. auto market has been shifting away from pickup trucks and SUVs to cars and crossover vehicles, but the trend accelerated in recent months due to gas prices that have topped $3.50 per gallon across the nation.

The company expects the layoffs to take place starting July 14 at the Flint, Janesville and Pontiac plants, and Sept. 8 at Oshawa. Most of the factories had already seen layoffs and production cuts due to a parts shortage from a two-month strike at American Axle and Manufacturing Holdings Inc.

GM spokesman Tony Sapienza said the company will eliminate shifts with 750 workers each at Flint and Janesville, 1,150 workers in Pontiac and 900 workers in Oshawa.

“Those are the people that we believe will be impacted based on what the shifts are,” he said. “We’ll be working with our partners to determine how that’s brought to fruition.”

Greg Gardner, an analyst with the Oliver Wyman Group, said the cuts look like “a realistic assessment.”

“The full-size pickup and SUV market is not going to rebound anytime soon,” he said. “It looks like that they don’t plan on making up very much of the production loss due to the American Axle strike.”

Gardner said GM’s announcement reflects the industry’s overall production forecast this year, down to about 15 million light vehicles from an earlier forecast of 15.5 million.

“Obviously, the larger, heavier vehicles are taking the biggest hit,” he said.

The Flint, Pontiac and Oshawa plants make the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups, while Janesville manufactures the Chevrolet Tahoe and Suburban and GMC Yukon big SUVs.

GM said pickup sales overall are down 15 percent through March, while sales of large SUVs are off 26 percent. Dealers in much of the country say the bigger vehicles aren’t selling because of the economy and gasoline prices.

George Tasker, the top salesman at Martin Chevrolet in Torrance, Calif., said buyers are sitting on the sidelines for most vehicles mainly due to economic uncertainty and declining home values.

“Everybody’s going to drive a little bit longer until we can figure out where this thing is going,” he said.

Los Angeles-area dealers still can get just about any truck or SUV a customer wants by trading with each other, despite curtailed production from the American Axle strike, he said.

Jesse Toprak, chief industry analyst for the auto information site Edmunds.com, said GM has a 92-day average supply of large trucks. A 60-day supply is considered optimal in the business.

He said the automaker will lose about $4.4 billion in gross sales because of the production cuts, but it’s nearly impossible to determine the impact on GM’s net profits.

The production cuts should help GM keep its inventory under control, said Catherine Madden, an analyst with the consulting firm Global Insight.

“They’re not going to put themselves in a position where they’re going to overbuild and sell at any costs,” she said.

“They take the hit now instead of being forced with their back up against the wall in September.”

GM said it did not forecast how many of those vehicles it expected to make this year, but it sold about 1.1 million of them in the U.S. last year, according to Autodata Corp.

The announcement was made after the close of regular trading. GM shares gained 56 cents, or 2.6 percent, to close at $21.94, and were unchanged in after-hours trading.

The cuts come as 74,000 U.S. workers represented by the United Auto Workers face a May 22 deadline to decide on GM’s latest round of buyout and early retirement offers.

GM won’t say how many workers it hopes to shed, but under its new contract with the UAW, it will be able to replace up to 16,000 workers doing nonassembly jobs with new employees who will be paid half the old wage of $28 per hour.

General Motors Corp said on Monday it would cut truck production at four North American plants in the coming quarter because of weaker demand for its full-size pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles.

GM said it would eliminate one shift of planned production at each of the plants between July and September, cutting 138,000 light trucks from GM’s planned output for the year.
The Detroit-based automaker said it would negotiate layoffs prompted by the reduced production schedule with the United Auto Workers and Canadian Auto Workers unions.
The GM plants affected by the production cuts are in Pontiac and Flint, Michigan; Oshawa, Ontario; and Janesville, Wisconsin. All four plants had been at least partly idled by a two-month-old strike against GM supplier American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc .

GM’s move would make permanent much of the production it has lost because of the UAW strike against American Axle, a former GM unit that supplies parts for SUVs like the Chevrolet Tahoe and pickup trucks like the Chevrolet Silverado.

“With rising fuel prices, a softening economy, and a downward trend on current and future market demand for full-size trucks, a significant adjustment was needed to align our production with market realities,” Troy Clarke, president of GM North America, said in a statement.

GM said industry-wide sales of full-size pickup trucks in the United States were down 15 percent in the first quarter while full-size SUV sales were off 26 percent.

Clarke said GM was exploring “options” to expand production of faster-selling cars and crossover vehicles like the Chevrolet Malibu and Buick Enclave but said there was no plan yet to make such a shift.

CAW President Buzz Hargrove told reporters his union had been notified of the planned GM production cut.

GM has shut down or partly shut down about 30 North American plants due to parts shortages from the UAW strike against American Axle.

The parts supplier, a former GM subsidiary, has demanded a sharp cut in wages and threatened to shift production from its plants in Michigan and New York to Mexico in the absence of union concessions.

Separately, GM has faced strike threats at a number of its U.S. plants because of unresolved contract terms with UAW local bargaining units.

UAW workers at a GM plant near Lansing, Michigan that makes the automaker’s line of crossover vehicles went on strike April 17 because of stalled local contract talks.
The work stoppages and planned production cuts come amid a slump in first-quarter U.S. vehicle sales that has run deeper than most automakers had expected heading into 2008.
For the first quarter, sales of light trucks and passenger cars were down 8 percent in the U.S. market compared with a year earlier for the industry as a whole.

General Electric on Tuesday said that it has tested a hybrid version of a haul truck, the kind of giant dump truck that’s used at a mine or to haul away mountains of dirt.

The system works just like a Toyota Prius, more or less. The engine feeds electricity to a battery that runs the drivetrain. During braking, the spinning wheels act as a generator for the battery.

The batteries in the hybrid off-highway truck is the same sodium-based battery used in GE’s locomotives, according to the GE Research blog.

The hybrid haul truck wasn’t just announced in honor of Earth Day.

Rising fuel prices are pushing truck manufacturers to adopt more efficient and clean technologies.

Volvo is developing a range of Mack trucks with the goal of making them carbon neutral. A hybrid Mack dump truck can save between 25 percent and 30 percent on fuel costs.

Redhead Equipment has been named 2007 Canadian Distributor of the Year by Mack Trucks.

The dealership, owned by Gary Redhead, has been a Mack dealer since 1990. It operates five locations in Saskatchewan: Regina; Saskatoon; Swift Current; Lloydminster; and Estevan.

Redhead won the award based on criteria such as: sales; facilities; personnel; leasing; service; parts; general management; customers satisfaction; and community service.

“Mack’s operating philosophy is that the customer is the foundation of our business,” said Kevin Flaherty, Mack senior vice-president of sales. “We can’t achieve our goal of customer satisfaction without a network of strong, committed and competent dealers. I salute our 2007 award winners for their great accomplishments and for the example they set for all Mack distributors.”

Chrysler LLC and Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. announced Monday new agreements for the supply of products between both companies that is expected to bring increased production to Chrysler’s north assembly plant in Fenton, Mo.

Under the agreement, Chrysler will manufacture a full-size pickup for Nissan at its Saltillo, Mexico, assembly plant. In order to accommodate that production, Chrysler will shift volume from Mexico to its U.S.-based pickup truck assembly plants, including the north plant in Fenton.

Auburn Hills, Mich.-based Chrysler operates two assembly plants in Fenton employing about 4,000 workers. The company’s north plant manufactures Dodge Ram light- and heavy-duty pickup trucks and the south plant manufactures the Chrysler Town & Country and Dodge Grand Caravan minivans.

Sales of the pickup in North America will start in 2011.

“I am very pleased this partnership between Chrysler and Nissan will bring more work to our St. Louis plant,” Gov. Matt Blunt said in a statement. “This is a testament to the skill and devotion of the men and women who work at the Fenton Chrysler plant and it shows that the pro-jobs, pro-growth changes we have implemented are helping employers and entrepreneurs succeed in Missouri.”

The companies did not specify how much more work or jobs will be brought to the Fenton assembly plant as part of this arrangement. A Chrysler spokesperson was not available for comment.

As part of the agreement, Tokyo-based Nissan agreed to supply Chrysler with a new car based on the Nissan Versa sedan for limited distribution in South America on an Original Equipment Manufacture (OEM) basis in 2009.

Nissan will manufacture an all-new, fuel-efficient small car based on a unique Chrysler concept and design. This car will be sold in North America, Europe and other global markets in 2010, and will be manufactured at Nissan’s Oppama Plant in Japan.

This latest OEM supply agreement extends a long-standing product exchange relationship between the two corporations; Nissan affiliate JATCO has supplied Chrysler with transmissions since 2004.