Technology Briefs - Sept. 2 - Sept. 8
The Latest Headlines:
- EPA Certifies Cat’s C13 Engine
- Japanese Trucking Upset With Speed-Limiting Device
- Web Retailers Make It Easier to Return Goods
- EPRI Funds Alternative to Engine Idling
- Japanese Trucking Upset With Speed-Limiting Device
EPA Certifies Cat’s C13 Engine
The Environmental Protection Agency certified Caterpillar’s C13 engine as meeting the agency’s model year 2004 emissions standards, the company said Sept. 2.The C13, the fourth Caterpillar model engine EPA has certified, is available in 335- to 430-horsepower ratings, Caterpillar said.
The C13 uses the company’s advanced combustion emissions reduction technology. Richard Thompson, Caterpillar group president of the company’s engine division, said, “The introduction of this technology is fully on schedule and . . . customer acceptance of the new engines is very strong.” Transport Topics
Japanese Companies Upset With Speed-Limiting Device
The Japanese trucking industry has been slow to equip trucks with a new speed-limiting device because they say it would delay deliveries, Japanese newspaper The Daily Yomiuri reported Friday.Once a truck installed with the device reaches 56 miles per hour, the speed would not increase even if the driver stepped on the accelerator, the article said.
The device became mandatory on Sept. 1 for trucks of more than eight tons or with a maximum payload of more than five tons. Trucks are required to be equipped with the device within three years.
The government said it introduced the device in an attempt to reduce the number of accidents involving trucks. But trucking companies fear they would miss deadlines and lose business to the railroads because of the device. Transport Topics
Web Retailers Make It Easier to Return Goods
In an effort to get more customers to make purchases online, a growing number of retailers are making it easier to return purchases, the Wall Street Journal reported last week.Trucks are often used to deliver goods that are purchased online.
Some retailers including Federated Department Stores are taking advantage of a new service from FedEx Corp., which allows customers to drop off returns at any of its offices. FedEx employees then pack it up and mail it back for the customers.
Others are offering to come to a customer's door to pick up returned merchandise, the article said. And shoe store Zappos.com allows customers to print out prepaid United Parcel Service labels on their home computers that can be placed on a returned package and then mailed back. Transport Topics
EPRI Funds Alternative to Engine Idling
The energy research consortium Electric Power Research Institute said Aug. 26 it would use a $200,000 federal grant to promote using electric power, instead of engine idling, to run in-vehicle systems when a truck is not moving.EPRI said it received the grant from the Environmental Protection Agency’s SmartWay Transport Program to reimburse 50% of the cost of installing a system in trucks that would run in-cab heat and air conditioning and auxiliary devices on batteries or by connecting to an electric power source.
Fleets interested can install a subsidized Dometic or Taylor Made air conditioner/heater unit, Xantrex inverter/charger, Phillips & Temro basic cab wiring kit and from one to three Lifeline VRLA batteries, EPRI said.
EPRI said participants must track the reduced idle time and maintenance costs for 12 months and the fleet is then obligated to reinvest those savings in additional idle-reduction technologies.
EPRI said an initial test showed one fleet’s annual idling time for its long-haul trucks could be cut by about 75% from earlier levels. Transport Topics
This story appeared in the Sept. 1 print edition of Transport Topics.
