Technology News Updates

Odyne Systems said Johnson Controls Inc. has made an undisclosed investment in the Waukesha, Wis., maker of modular hybrid power systems for heavy- and medium-duty trucks.

Truckers in Texas now have two more electrified rest stops they can use.

Internet Truckstop said it has reached an agreement with Registry Monitoring Insurance Service to offer services such as tracking of carrier insurance data that can be used by the load-board operator’s customers.

EnviroDock Inc. has completed a truck-stop electrification project at the TR Auto Truck Plaza in Dandridge, Tenn., marking the latest installation of technology designed to reduce idling and enhance driver comfort.

StarTrak Information Technologies LLC said truckload carrier Hirschbach Motor Lines Inc. has begun deploying the supplier’s Sentry communications system on refrigerated trailers.

PeopleNet Communications, which makes integrated onboard computing and mobile communications systems for the trucking industry, will be acquired by technology firm Trimble Navigation.

Statistics on just how much money is lost annually to fraudulent fuel sales are elusive — neither the U.S. Department of Energy nor its Energy Information Administration maintains such records — but the industry is aware that it’s going on.

New technology and a changing business environment are having a profound effect on the way transportation services are bought and sold.

Equipment upgrades, fleet failures and tuck-in acquisitions have created an inventory of used mobile communications units, and bargain-seeking carriers looking for small batches of these systems have created sustainable demand for secondhand units, several tech executives have said.

The role of engine oil in fuel efficiency, maintenance challenges for intermodal operations, disaster recovery planning, and coatings for corrosion protection are among the topics on the wide-ranging agenda for the fall meeting of the Technology and Maintenance Council of American Trucking Associations.