Avoid the Dreaded 'D' Word

Earlier this year, the first quarter edition of ­Equipment & Maintenance Update featured a story that reported on increased demand for after­market parts resulting in supply challenges due to the thriving freight market and strong equipment sales. North American orders for Class 8 trucks reached record levels last year. That story reported on the issue from the perspectives of some of the truck OEMs and key industry suppliers.

Matso Lysiak

But fast forward to April 8. That’s when Transport ­Topics, citing analysts from ACT Research, reported that Class 8 orders in March dropped 66% compared to a year earlier amid slower freight growth, but also heavy order backlogs at truck manufacturers.

Despite that slowdown in order activity, some truck dealers are straightforward in their assessment that a widespread shortage of certain truck parts continues, as noted in one of the cover stories in this issue.

“Because production is at record levels at the factory, most inventory is going to production to build the new trucks, leaving little for replacement and warranty repair situations,” says George Crawford of River States Truck & Trailer Inc.

Ultimately, the parts situation ties into vehicle uptime — one of the key metrics that’s always on the minds of fleet executives, and in particular, the maintenance managers and executives charged with overseeing the service, care, maintenance and repair of their equipment. The supply of parts is one factor that contributes to healthy trucks on the highway doing their job hauling precious, money-making freight.

In terms of trucking maintenance, problems with engine exhaust aftertreatment systems have been near the top of the list in recent years. Those components are often a key cause of the dreaded “D” word: downtime.

Unfortunately, according to this story’s reporting, engine and aftertreatment exhaust parts are included in the current shortage. These are unique to newer model-year vehicles, Crawford says.

Read this story to learn what other parts are in short supply at truck dealerships, and, more importantly, the strategies they’re employing to try to prevent downtime and keep your rigs rolling.

Switching gears, it was another informative annual meeting of the Technology & Maintenance Council in Atlanta in March. This issue’s TMC Corner, a regularly appearing column, outlines a key development of the council concerning two advanced technologies taking hold in trucking — automated and electric vehicles.

These are industry innovations to be sure, but they also come with their share of maintenance and other chal­lenges. Find out what a new TMC study group is working on to address these trucking technologies of the future.