Commercial Truck Manufacturers Coverage
In terms of the trucking industry, original equipment manufacturer (OEM) refers to parts made by the same company that makes the vehicle (as opposed to aftermarket parts, which are produced by different companies and designed to be compatible with as many vehicles as possible). While OEM products may cost more than aftermarket upfront, the price reflects the quality.
The biggest commercial truck manufacturer in the world is Daimler AG (better known as Daimler Chrysler), which produces the brands Mercedes-Benz, Western Star, Freightliner, Sterling Trucks, and Fuso, among others. Other leading commercial truck manufacturers include Volkswagen Group (which produces MAN, Scania and Volkswagen Commercial-Vehicles), Volvo Group (which produces Volvo, Renault, Mack, Eicher, and UD Trucks), and Dongfeng Motor, China’s largest automaker.
Check back here for the latest news and updates related to OEM and trucking. You can also find additional commercial trucking news in our Trucking News archive.
Volvo Trucks North America and the Western Star brand of Daimler Trucks North America will recall nearly 3,700 trucks between them for separate steering-related issues that could cause a crash. Neither issue has resulted in any crashes or injuries, according to postings on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration website.
Preliminary orders for new trailers met expectations in October reached their highest level in 11 months, upholding expectations for a good, but not great 2020.
Navistar will book a $140 million hit to fourth-quarter revenue because of the six-week United Auto Workers’ strike at General Motors.
Western Star is recalling 2,546 heavy-duty trucks because the sleeper side door can detach while the truck is in motion, creating a risk of the falling door striking another vehicle.
The United Auto Workers voted 79% in favor of a new four-year contract at Mack Trucks following a 12-day strike that idled six facilities in three states and halted production at Volvo Trucks’ only assembly plant in North America.
Truck maker TRATON Group S reported higher revenue and profit for the first nine months of the year, but warned of a tougher 2020 with an accelerating slump in orders and global economic uncertainty.
The color of the Mack Trucks bulldog carries special meaning. Gold means all of the key components were homemade. Chrome says others’ parts are on board. Now, it comes in black.
BorgWarner Inc., which makes engine components and drivetrains for combustion, hybrid and electric vehicles, reported lower third-quarter earnings on slightly higher sales.
Navistar is skipping the chase for incentives on demonstration electric trucks to consult with customers on custom-built zero-emission medium-duty models with total cost of ownership rivaling a diesel truck.
Daimler Trucks North America, the industry sales leader, is not sweating the loss of big chunks of heavy- and medium-duty market share trucks through the first nine months this year.
The news this week that Hyundai Motor Company is planning a hydrogen-powered tractor for global markets, including the U.S., could be the beginning of a larger presence for the company into North America.
Indiana-based Cummins Inc. (NYSE: CMI) reported third quarter total revenue of $5.77 billion, a decrease of 3% from the same quarter in 2018. North America revenues decreased by 6%, while international revenues declined 25%, officials said. The company, which designs and makes diesel engines and components, estimates that revenue will fall 2% in full-year 2019. […]
A telematics-based pay-as-you-drive program from Daimler Trucks Financial could help trucking firms on the financial brink because of high lease payments and insurance premiums.
The door to TRATON Group selling trucks in North American opened a crack with a memo of understanding between Navistar and TRATON to sell Scania mining trucks in Canada.
Mack Trucks is well on its way to making up lost production from a 12-day United Auto Workers’ strike and sees state-level infrastructure spending buoying its off-highway vocational truck business in 2020.
Kenworth Truck Co. is finally satisfied that over-the-air software updates are safe for its trucks.
The United Auto Workers is ending its strike against Mack Trucks after 12 days. The first walkout in 35 years idled six facilities in three states and forced the layoff of 3,000 workers at Volvo Trucks only North American assembly plant.
Daimler AG reported high sales and earnings in the third quarter but is cautioning that tougher times lie ahead for its Mercedes-Benz car and Daimler Trucks businesses.
Designs of future vocational trucks by students at the ArtCenter College of Design may contain some long-term value for the Western Star Truck Sales subsidiary of Daimler Trucks North America.
Hyundai Motor Co. is expanding its fuel cell ambitions to heavy-duty trucks and trailers with a pair of concepts for next week’s North American Commercial Vehicle show in Atlanta.
Paccar Inc. delivered 31,000 trucks in the third quarter, helping the parent company of Kenworth Truck Co. , Peterbilt Motor Co. and DAF beat earnings estimates.
AB Volvo through its venture capital group is investing in an Israeli cybersecurity startup while also combining all of its autonomous ventures into a single group.
Swedish truck maker AB Volvo reported higher third-quarter profits and sales on Friday, October 18. But it warned that orders for new trucks in North America and Europe continue to decline and a strike at its Mack Trucks unit could pinch profits depending on how long it lasts.
A United Auto Workers strike against Mack Trucks could soon impact its sibling Volvo Trucks because both get engines and transmissions from the same plant in Hagerstown, Maryland.
The United Auto Workers plans its first strike against Mack Trucks in 35 years for Sunday, Oct. 13. A total of 3,500 union-represented workers at plants in Pennsylvania, Maryland and Florida would be affected.
Amazon ramps up truckload business by going all-in on power unit investment
Preliminary Class 8 retail sales for September set an all-time record, but large fleet deliveries likely inflated the results that erased the previous record set in December 2006. Meanwhile, the backlog of trucks waiting to be built is falling, which is leading to layoffs..
Volvo Trucks North America and its Mack Trucks sibling are partnering with connected transportation company Geotab to send electronic logging device data to the cloud and back for interference-free reporting.
Mack Trucks thinks it will weather the trucking industry’s expected downturn in 2020 by focusing on its off-highway models.
Peter Voorhoeve recently passed his first anniversary as president of Volvo Trucks North America after five years running Volvo Group’s (OTC: VLVLY) Australian operations. During his brief tenure, Volvo’s market share is down nearly a percentage point. But he isn’t sweating it. “For me, market share is a result, not an objective,” Voorhoeve said in […]
Navistar is building a new Industry 4.0-ready plant near San Antonio, Texas that will help raise earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.
Navistar plans a new manufacturing plant near San Antonio, Texas and aggressive financial goals into the middle of the next decade.
Daimler Trucks and Buses has entered a long-term supply agreement for lithium-ion batter technology for its coming range of electric trucks.
Volvo Trucks North America (VTNA) is on track to deliver five Class 8 VNR electric trucks to California for its multi-partner Low Impact Green Heavy Transport Solutions (LIGHTS) program before the end of the year, but the infrastructure to charge them may be lagging.
Volvo Trucks will offer its Dynamic Steering system as an option in 2020. Volvo says it reduces the strain of maneuvering a heavy-duty truck steering wheel by up to 85 percent.
Class 8 truck manufacturers are beginning to pare production as the backlog of record orders from 2018 shrinks and new orders continue to be slow.
Daimler Trucks is moving closer to its goal of commercially producing Level 4 autonomous trucks with public road testing in Virginia.
Nikola Corp. revealed two more funding sources of its heavy-duty fuel cell truck on Thursday, September 5. German supplier Robert Bosch LLC and South Korean solar panel maker Hanwha Group each invested at least $100 million cash in earlier funding rounds.
Navistar International Corp. blew past revenue and earnings estimates for its third fiscal quarter. It is reducing production but expects to gain market share in a softening market.
U.D. Trucks, the Japanese unit of Swedish truck maker AB Volvo. conducted the first test of an Level 4 autonomous truck in the island nation. The test run at a sugar processing facility in Hokkaido prefecture is partially aimed at addressing a shortage of truck drivers worsened by an aging population.
Nikola Corp. expects to raise more than $1 billion in its Series D runding raising. That starts with London-based CNH Industrial that invested $250 million in cash and in-kind help.
The U.S. Army is conducting live-fire testing on an armored heavy-duty dump truck from Mack Defense, the first of up to 683 trucks included in a $296 million contract.
Daimler Trucks North America celebrated the 750,000th build at its plant in Cleveland, North Carolina as its parent company prepares to build its heavy-duty Actros at its joint venture. in China.
Daimler is recalling more than 8,000 Mercedes-Benz and Freightliner Sprinter vans because of a software defect that can dim or extinguish the rear taillights.
Partially synthetic lower viscosity 10W-30 and 5W-30 oils are supplanting the industry standard 15W-40 heavy-duty oil. The new formulas cost more but can bring up to 2 percent better fuel economy with longer intervals between changes.
Hino Trucks is already increasing its investment in a new plant in West Virginia, where it will build Class 7 and 8 trucks in addition to medium-duty models.
FreightWaves chief analytics officer Dean Croke – who has also driven more than 2 million miles behind the wheel of heavy-duty trucks – previews Copilot by Pronto.
The concept of customer experience has been around for decades but it is getting new emphasis in trucking as electric and autonomous technology arrives.
Women In Trucking will honor transportation firms at its Accelerate! Conference & Expo.
Navistar is the first to slow production lines for new trucks. It is targeting medium-duty units because inventories are up 30 percent year over year.
Cowen analyst Jeffrey Osborne has raised his estimate for Workhorse Group Inc. shares from $2.00 to $4.00 based on the company beginning production in the fourth quarter of more than 1,100 lightweight electric-powered NGEN vans.
Daimler Trucks is sending the first two eCascadia Class 8 battery electric-powered trucks to fleets in Southern California in late August as part of a 30-truck test fleet preceding regular electric truck production.
When Mack Trucks set out to design the Anthem, it turned to drivers for input. The result is a Class 8 tractor that is both comfortable and functional, providing all the benefits of an aerodynamic over-the-road tractor in a Classic Mack.
Jack Cooper Ventures says it will be “business as usual” as the auto hauler undertakes a restructuring.
The company itself is silent so far, but the union spelled out some of the developments.
The rise and fall of interest in natural gas trucks typically depends on the price of oil. Now, the availability of clean energy credits in California and tougher NOx rules expected from the California Air Resources Board are additional reasons for purchase.
July heavy-duty truck orders were the lowest since 2010, more evidence of a trucking sector recession taking hold.
Kenworth Truck Co. stayed with its approach to promoting general managers from the engineering ranks.
Oshkosh Corp. has a green light from the U.S. Army to enter full production of its Joint Tactical Light Vehicle that will replace the HUMVEE in war zones.
The saga of the closed General Motors Lordstown plant continued with Vice President Mike Pence erroneously declaring that Workhorse Group Inc. had secured funding to buy the plant.
Volvo Trucks North America is recalling VAH, VHD, VNL and VNR trucks from the 2019-2020 model years because the air tank can fall off the truck and create a road hazard. It said it knows of no crashes related to the manufacturing defect.
Traton SE crossed $1 billion in operating profit for the first six months of 2019 but expressed concern about slowing orders in the second half.
Owners of ships, railcars and trucks face increased risk from environmental regulations, credit rating agency Moody’s said. The value of $265 billion in debt owed by transportation companies may be in for a bumpy ride in the near-term due to the costs of meeting those new rules. But Moody’s said the transition should be manageable. […]
Volvo Group and Samsung SDI will work together to advance Volvo’s electric truck plans with direct supply of battery cells and packs to Volvo manufacturing plants.
Executives talk fuel cells, Chinese joint ventures and why hydrogen-powered ferries are the next big thing.
BMW and Daimler are collaborating on a long-term partnership to develop Level 4 self-driving cars that can drive autonomously on motorways and park without human intervention.
Class 8 truck orders rose sightly in June from May’s figures, but posted their worst first six months of the year since 2010.
Volkswagen’s spinoff of its heavy-truck unit TRATON paves the way for it to pursue Navistar further.
WABCO announced that its shareholders have approved the proposed acquisition by ZF Friedrichshafen.
The FreightWaves Freight Intel Group has released another study – this one on autonomous trucking. Read what they foresee for the trucking industry and drivers in the years ahead.
Automotive industry supply chain expert Surgere has joined the Blockchain in Transport Alliance (BiTA). Read more about Surgere and BiTA.
In a future where autonomous vehicles offer mobility-as-a-service, it is critical to identify the parties involved in transactions – the users and the vehicles. Blockchain can help in this regard.
The data that can be gathered from a truck’s telematics has caused a shift from selling trucks as products to selling trucks as solutions to owners’ issues.
Electric vehicle adoption is constricted by high vehicle sticker price, long charging cycles and limited range. Solving these issues is key.
Relationships between OEMs and tech giants get complicated as the self-driving and mobility race heats up.
Fiat Chrysler has pulled its merger proposal with Renault, blaming French politics.
Apple is looking to buy autonomous driving technology startup Drive.ai, which might help the company gain ground against its bigger competitors in the self-driving niche.
Class 8 truck orders posted their worst month since July 2016, according to ACT Research, barely topping 10,000 units in May. Class 5-7 medium-duty orders followed suit
Profitability will lag in high growth markets like Brazil and India, but aftersales services in NAFTA and the EU will drive profitability growth.
USA Truck had an aggressive plan to add trucks to its fleet, but delays at the OEMs are falling short of the targets.
Fleets ordered 41,800 new trucks in the month of June, making last month the busiest June on record. OEM stock prices rose on the news, and their order backlogs continued to lengthen.
