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

Driverless Delivery Startup Uses $92 Million to Focus on Safety

In an abandoned lot on the outskirts of Sacramento, Calif., R1, a domed gray vehicle half the size of a Toyota Corolla, is practicing driving itself. It stops at stop signs, yields to people, and handles sharp turns, as other self-driving vehicles do on test courses in Silicon Valley, Detroit, and China.

June 11, 2018

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, Technology, Equipment, Fuel, TCA

Experimental Starship Initiative Truck Completes Cross-Country Test

A Starship landed in Jacksonville, Fla. But there were no aliens on board, just 40,000 pounds of reef-building material hauled cross-country in an experimental lightweight truck with streamlining everywhere.

Dan Scanlan | The Florida Times-Union (Jacksonville, Fla.)
June 11, 2018
Business, Technology, Equipment, Safety, Autonomous

Ford Refuses to Rush Into Robo-Taxis, Even After GM, Waymo Deals

General Motors Co. and Alphabet Inc.’s Waymo rocked the auto industry last week with self-driving deals that will have each deploying thousands of robo-taxis onto U.S. roads over the next 18 months. Ford Motor Co., meanwhile, will continue biding its time.

Keith Naughton | Bloomberg News
June 8, 2018
Business, Technology, Equipment, Safety, Autonomous

Defining Driver Responsibility When Trucks Begin to Drive Themselves

As truck makers and technology developers work toward introducing vehicles with some level of automated driving features in the years ahead, it will be essential for drivers to have a clear understanding of what those systems can and cannot do and how much they can rely on them.

June 8, 2018
Business, Equipment, Logistics, Top 100

Driver Turnover Puts Pressure on Large Carriers

The rise in freight being carried nationwide led to a rise in truck driver turnover in the first quarter as large trucking firms demanded more qualified drivers to transport goods.

Burney Simpson | Staff Reporter
June 8, 2018
Business, Equipment, Logistics, Top 100

KLLM Announces Another Pay Increase for Drivers

KLLM Transport Services will institute another pay hike for company drivers, bringing the increase to 30% in just the past eight months, the Jackson, Miss.-based over-the road carrier announced.

June 8, 2018
Business, Technology, Equipment, Safety

Roadside Repairs by Fleets Rose 21% in 1Q, Study Says

RALEIGH, N.C. — Fleets saw their roadside breakdowns increase by 21% in the first quarter this year compared with the fourth quarter of 2017, according to the Truckload Vertical Benchmarking Study from American Trucking Associations’ Technology & Maintenance Council and FleetNet America.

Burney Simpson | Staff Reporter
June 7, 2018
Government, Business, Equipment

North American Class 8 Orders Continue Strong Growth in May

Orders for new Class 8 trucks more than doubled last month versus year-ago levels, according to preliminary data from ACT Research.

Dan Ronan | Senior Reporter
June 7, 2018
Government, Technology, Equipment, TCA

Sacramento Begins Experiment With Digital License Plates

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The digital license plate on display outside Sacramento City Hall on June 4 does a lot of things other technology can already do.

Ben Miller | Government Technology
June 7, 2018
Business, Technology, Equipment, Autonomous

Cyberattacks Called a Growing Threat to Trucking Industry

RALEIGH, N.C. — The threat of cyberattacks to the trucking and logistics industries is real, the number of attacks are growing and each attack has the potential to cripple a company, according to a panel of experts June 6 at the Fleet Data Management and Cybersecurity Conference here.

Burney Simpson | Staff Reporter
June 7, 2018