Tag: Logistics Trends

Livestock Haulers Look to New ELD Exemption

Looking for an ELD Exemption
Looking for an ELD Exemption

Here’s to lookin’ at the cargo staring back at you from your powered trailer dolly:

A hot-button issue, the Senate Appropriations Committee is seeking electronic logging device (ELD) exemptions for livestock and insect haulers, set to be required by law October 1st. Though the issue isn’t specifically addressed in the 2019 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development and Related Agencies (THUD) bill, report language encourages the Department of Transportation to further consider ELD rules and exemptions for this segment.

MOO-ve Over

The unique challenges presented by transporting live animals and insects, such as bees, critical to the agriculture industry for pollination, fall hard on the trucking industry. Hauling live organisms, far different from inanimate objects, requires the ability to keep the animals and insects safe from exposure and environmental stressors. If the ELD exemptions are not granted, drivers transporting live organisms more than 150-air-miles from their loading point will be required to turn on the devices, and prohibited from driving more than 11-hours at a time.

Buzz-Off

A top issue among ranchers and farmers who want to expand the exemption radius to 300-air-miles, the future of ELD exemptions for livestock and insect haulers remains in question. It will likely be ironed out between the House and Senate, and potentially used as a negotiation tool.

Critics against the exemption argue safety, the known consequences of tired truckers, and the industry’s continued problems surrounding compliance with hours of service regulations, with segments are already shirking requirements. Truckload Carriers Association Vice President of Government Affairs David Heller agrees that exempting parts of the industry from complying with rules and regulations is not the answer. He advocates further engagement in discussions to find alternative ways to improve compliance and safety.

Make safety an integral facet of your organization. Uncover the benefits of a powered trailer dolly from DJ Products today.

A New Partnership Between Drivers and Self-Driving Semi Trucks

The Future is Self-Driving Trucks
The Future is Self-Driving Trucks

What will the future hold for the trucking industry once automated driving technology further enters the picture? As it turns out, your yard trucks will still be moving cargo for haul by the human labor pool, albeit with a slightly different chain-of-custody. Self-driving truck technology developers are working to ensure a future where drivers and automated vehicles work in-tandem for the safer, more efficient transport of goods.

A Gradual Pathway to Automation

Self-driving trucks won’t be equipped to handle all driving tasks anytime soon. But how human being and automated systems will work together remains an open-ended question, one with many possible answers. What is known: As self-driving trucks start carrying cargo, their limited operational capacity will leave them heavily reliant upon the assistance of drivers in conventional vehicles.

Potential Models:

– Transfer Hub Model
Long-haul trucks tote freight between exits on freeways, then trailers are swapped to local drivers at designated transfer stations.

– Tele-Operation
Autonomous trucks are monitored by remote/offsite backup drivers.

– Truck Platooning
Mixed convoys of piloted and autonomous haulers.

Human Labor Will Remain a Necessity for Trucking Tasks

Current technology will continue to build on readily functional active-safety and driver-assist technology with more automated steering functionality, advanced sensors and software. Eventually they’ll morph into ‘autopilot’ systems – with or without a human backup.

Although structural operations are sure to evolve alongside technology, change will occur at a slower pace as companies tailor their methods of transporting specific types of freight. Technology is expected to move toward a ‘hybrid’ business model – one, hopefully, with more desirable short-haul jobs.

Are you ready for the future? Advance your operation, saving time, manpower, and improving safety with yard trucks from DJ Products today.

Daimler Creates New Automated Truck Research and Testing Center

Daimler Creates New Automated Truck Research and Testing Center
Daimler Creates New Automated Truck Research and Testing Center

Pioneers in the trucking industry continue to emerge, as now Daimler Trucks seeks to discover and invest in new frontiers like automation and electric freight liners. The inception of an entirely fresh platform is creating a stir with those in the various industries affiliated with technology and freight delivery.

As the industries continue to spread and create opportunities through research and advancements, machinery like semi trailer dollies become necessary to facilitate their growth.

New Opportunities, New Uncertainty

How do you keep up with the latest developments in a burgeoning industry? Don’t let progress intimidate your business plan or determine your success. If you feel uncertain as to what electric trucks and automation mean for your operations, invest in problem-solving solutions.

Trust in products that can withstand any upheaval in the industry, to help you keep your labor costs down, and worker morale up. Longevity in business can be as simple as utilizing machinery that won’t fail you when the unexpected happens.

Advancing Your Business

Semi trailer dollies reduce risk to your business. An investment in new technology may come with a learning curve, at least in the near term. Similarly, trusting in new employees to develop expertise with these dollies comes with a risk. But thankfully, entrusting new hirees with DJ Products machinery isn’t a difficult task. Semi trailer dollies are so simple to operate anyone can do it.

You shouldn’t have to risk life or limb to get tasks done correctly. For industries that buy and move in bulk, easily maneuverable products protect your employees from muscle strain and exhaustion and your interests as well. Stay up-to-date and far from worry by utilizing DJ Products’ smart machines. They do the heavy-duty tasks so your team doesn’t have to!

Truck Sales to the Logistics Market Slows Due to Low Supply Against High Demand

Truck Sales to the Logistics Market Slows Due to Low Supply Against High Demand
Truck Sales to the Logistics Market Slows Due to Low Supply Against High Demand

In the trucking industry, success leans heavily on logistics. Detailed coordination needs all parts involved running smoothly to function efficiently. From the necessary acquisition of durable, heavy-duty vehicles to the utilization of useful trailer helpers, like a semi trailer dolly, every working piece needs to fit correctly to sustain a well-oiled profit-making machine.

Lately, the need for immediate product acquisition and delivery services has been steadily climbing. A recent article describes a disturbing trend that reveals the trucking industry is at a crucial time in its history – a veritable tipping point! High demand is creating real concerns for those in trucking and logistics as employers scramble to meet the needs of their customers.

Unwrapping the Rear Axle

Trucking business owners are keeping their used trucks close to the vest rather than trading them in for newer models. And they are purchasing newer models as well. The need is growing for reliable new and used semis so tractor/semi-trailer manufacturers are racing to keep up. It’s vital to businesses inherently dependent on their ability to deliver freight quickly to ensure there is no slow down in the logistics process.

Logistics emphasizes the need to acquire and retain reliable machinery to help deliver products on time and with care. Get rid of the confusion, safety concerns, labor costs and increase your potential to deliver freights. Quality inventions like a semi trailer dolly can take up the slack when a portion of the process falters.

DJ Products Keeps Freight Moving

Premium quality machinery solves difficult issues with ingenuity. When demands are high and supplies are low, the right products allow you to meet higher levels of expectations. DJ Products continues to reach across a multitude of industries to provide tested solutions to complex problems.

Daimler Moves into Tesla’s Electric Semi Space with eCascadia Semi Truck

Electric Semi Trucks
Electric Semi Trucks

Will your terminal tractors soon be pushing a payload destined for plug-in vehicles? Giving Tesla’s revolutionary electric semis a run for their money, Daimler, one of the world’s largest truck producers, recently unveiled their eCascadia semi, adding the electric hauling behemoth to its relatively new electric truck division.

What Kind of Electrically-Powered Products is Daimler Packing?

– FUSO eCanter
A lighter-duty, box-truck-style hauler capable of lugging up to 3-½ tons over a 62-mile range.

– eTruck
A large, 212-kWh battery pack powers this 26-ton capacity hauler, gifting it with 125-miles of range.

– Freightliner eM2 106
A last-mile delivery hauler, with 325-kWh battery, 230-mile range, providing 80% recharge in 60-minutes.

– eCascadia Semi
The eCascadia is a heavy-duty, 730-HP, Class 8 truck with a range of up to 250-miles, powered by a behemoth 550-kWh battery capable of recharging to about 80% within 90-minutes.

How Does it Stack Up Against Tesla’s Competition?
Tesla touts an unbelievable 500-mile range for its yet roadway-ready Class 8, 80,000-pound capacity hauler. Martin Daum, head of trucks and buses at Daimler, implied Tesla’s specs are either stretching the truth, or defy the laws of physics – but if true, will pass them by. Both are feeling the pressure.

And the Winner Is…
The Daimler addition marks an interesting twist in the burgeoning market of more environmentally friendly transportation mediums. With competition in the all-electric truck division heating up, it’s anyone’s guess who will push to the forefront of the electrically-powered vehicle market when they actually hit the road, unveiling their true capacities. Potentially inspiring more competition from other manufacturers as motivations for a lower carbon footprint drive the market.

Looking to get ahead of the pack? Achieve new heights in efficiency and productivity with terminal tractors from DJ Products today.