Equipment

About Equipment News...

Commercial freight transportation is a machine-based business. Highly technical equipment and advanced engineering are at the center of supply chain and require constant innovation. Transport Topics equipment coverage focuses on the machines and other physical assets that make delivery possible. It looks closely at available truck, trailer, and chassis models, developments in the engineering space, and maintenance innovations and best practices. 

Business, Technology, Equipment, Safety, Autonomous

NTSB: Autopilot Was in Use Before Tesla Hit Semitrailer

DETROIT — A Tesla Model 3 involved in a fatal crash with a semitrailer in Florida on March 1 was operating on the company’s semi-autonomous Autopilot system, federal investigators have determined.

Tom Krisher | Associated Press
May 17, 2019

Daily Briefings from Transport Topics

Transport Topics has partnered with Spoken Layer to make one-minute daily briefings available on all your smart devices. Simply say “Alexa, play Transport Topics” or “Okay Google, talk to Transport Topics” to get the day’s biggest trucking headlines.

Business, Equipment

April Trailer Orders Slide Amid Scarce Production Slots

U.S. trailer orders in April dropped 40% to 13,200 compared with a year earlier as open production slots in 2019 remained scarce, FTR reported, citing trailer makers’ preliminary data.

May 17, 2019
Business, Technology, Equipment, Safety, Autonomous

Unmanned Truck Operates on Public Road in Sweden

An unmanned, self-driving truck now is hauling cargo on a short stretch of public road in Sweden.

Seth Clevenger | Managing Editor, Features and Multimedia
May 17, 2019
Business, Equipment, Logistics

Spot Rates for Vans, Reefers Slip in April

April saw strong volumes and abundant capacity in spot market truckload freight, according to DAT Solutions’ monthly report.

Jim Stinson | Staff Reporter
May 16, 2019
Business, Technology, Equipment, Autonomous

Robots Take the Wheel as Autonomous Farm Machines Hit the Field

Robots are taking over farms faster than anyone saw coming.

May 16, 2019
Business, Technology, Equipment, Fuel, Autonomous, TCA

Startup Valqari Aims to Prepare Mailboxes for Drone Delivery

You can build a better mousetrap, and the world will beat a path to your door, Ralph Waldo Emerson noted in the late 19th century. More than 100 years later, Ryan Walsh is building a better mailbox so the world’s goods can be delivered to your door.

Suzanne Baker | Naperville (Ill.) Sun
May 15, 2019
Business, Technology, Equipment, Safety, Autonomous

Britain Is Falling Behind in Employing Robots

The U.K. is falling behind in employing robots as firms make do with older machines or hire human workers.

May 15, 2019
Business, Technology, Equipment, Safety, Autonomous, Top 50, Top 100

Penske Joins Autonomous Vehicle Coalition PAVE

Penske Truck Leasing has joined Partners for Automated Vehicle Education, a coalition of industry leaders that seeks to educate and assure the public about automated vehicles, according to a news release from the two organizations.

Jim Stinson | Staff Reporter
May 14, 2019
Business, Technology, Equipment, Safety, Fuel, Letters to the Editor

Letter: A Future Vision for Diesel Engines

I read with a skeptical eye the article quoting Mr. Roger Nielsen on the demise of the diesel (Transport Topics 4-29, p. 1). It’s true that the clipper ship Cutty Sark had only a decade before the age of steam kicked her off her pedestal as the fastest way to transport tea, but I also wonder if Mr. Nielsen’s predicted demise of the diesel engine may turn out to be an exaggeration.

May 14, 2019
Business, Equipment

Medium-Duty Sales Reflect Stable Demand; All Classes Rise

U.S. retail sales of medium-duty trucks in April posted double-digit gains across all classes, WardsAuto.com reported.

Roger Gilroy | Senior Reporter
May 14, 2019