What OEMs are saying
What OEM leaders are saying
“We are managing this global supply chain issue the best we can,” says Diane Hames, Navistar’s vice president of marketing. “It’s a dynamic situation, and Navistar is taking extreme measures to manage the situation and remains focused on maximizing production so we can deliver more units to our customers.”
David Galbraith, Mack Trucks’ vice president of global brand and marketing, says the OEM’s Lehigh Valley Operations is “working hard to meet customer requirements in the face of significant supply chain constraints affecting automotive and truck manufacturers globally. We’re continuing to do everything we can to minimize the impact on our customers and maintain the flexibility to adjust production as needed.”
Jacob White, Peterbilt’s director of product marketing, says the OEM, “like most everyone in almost every industry, is navigating through the shortages as best as possible. Our team has put together a good plan and we continue to deliver Peterbilt trucks to our customers as quickly as possible.”
According to the article dated December 17th by David Cullen in Heavy Duty Trucking magazine
Connected Vehicles
Connected Vehicles & Telematics
Connected vehicles are making it easier for fleets to manage their trucks’ health and efficiency, with remote diagnostics, over-the-air programming, and more. The first OEM to offer this was Volvo back in 2012
Navistar’s Hames notes that “all International LT Series come equipped with OnCommand Connection telematics and a free two-year subscription to our Advanced Remote Diagnostics solution. OnCommand Connection keeps vehicles moving through powerful features such as interactive mapping, engineer-designed action plans, and access to fleet health information through the International portal or customized reporting to a preferred email inbox.”
Contact Add On Systems to learn more about connected vehicles click to schedule
Driver Environment
Last but most certainly not least — and arguably the most pressing issue trucking faces — the driver shortage calls for doing everything possible to improve the driver’s environment and the experience behind the wheel. And truck makers have focused on that task.
While Navistar’s International LT Series isn’t new this year, it’s a good example of this advancing trend. “Every detail inside the International LT Series cab has been carefully designed, measured and clinic-tested to optimally benefit the driver,” Hames says. These include “more intuitive controls, enhanced visibility, a quieter cab, critical information at the driver’s fingertips, and dozens of other smart features that help keep a driver comfortable and in control over the long haul.”
There has been a focus on that in the new trucks unveiled in the past year. Jim Walenczak, Kenworth’s assistant general manager for sales and marketing, says of the T680 NextGen, “We built this truck around them and for them. [It] provides drivers with the convenient SmartWheel, new customizable 15-inch Digital Display, excellent forward lighting down the road, additional advanced driver assistance systems, and, of course, a premium and extremely comfortable cab and sleeper.”
At sister Paccar company Peterbilt, White says, “the driver is at the center of every Peterbilt truck, and that is what leads to the design philosophy of the new Model 579. Peterbilt engineers and designers set out to deliver the most comfortable, spacious, and quiet cab possible. A great example is the class-leading storage volume and bunk size in the UltraLoft sleeper.”
“The low order numbers in November in no way are representative of total demand,” said Don Ake, FTR vice president of commercial vehicles. “The weak volumes are because OEMs are managing their backlogs very carefully.“
In addition to inflated equipment prices, spot rates for freight are at record levels and contract rates are rising. When the manufacturing sector of the economy gets past the supply chain crisis, freight volumes will increase, Ake said.
