Technology

The Department of Energy’s SuperTruck project is producing technological changes, including to auxiliary power units, and these changes will be working their way into standard truck manufacturing, according to industry experts.

Troubleshooting problems with a truck’s electrical system takes knowledge and experience.“Always take a systems approach when you are spec’ing and maintaining your vehicles’ electrical systems,” said Bruce Purkey, CEO of Purkey’s Electrical Consulting, which helps fleets solve their electrical system problems.

Engineering advancements are producing more efficient alternators for heavy trucks that are helping to reduce fleets’ fuel bills, industry experts said.

Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper and Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder, whose states have significant freight corridors, set goals to overhaul the infrastructure in their states to ensure that the goods that bolster their economy can move freely.

Infrastructure needs have emerged as a top priority for most state administrators who received the go-ahead to spend millions of dollars on repairs as well as new construction projects that range from expanding highways to fixing decrepit roads to installing Intelligent Transportation Systems.

An autonomous-driving technology firm plans this year to begin commercial-hauling operations in Arizona using Class 8 trucks that will require nearly no driver control of the vehicle.

It’s a measure of the current frenzy surrounding self-driving cars that a year-old startup can haul in more than $100 million in its first fundraising round.

A proposal by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to repeal a limit on the number of glider kits built annually is shaping up to be a battle pitting independent truckers and those that would reap economic benefits from more gliders against environmentalists, new truck makers and most trucking-related trade organizations.