HDT Talks Trucking

There's a lot more to adopting electric trucks than batteries and range, as HDT's Deborah Lockridge explores in this conversation with Hendrickson's Jeff Sass on this episode of HDT's Leadership Insights, produced in partnership with, and sponsored by, Hendrickson . Jeff Sass, vice president of marketing for Hendrickson, has spent decades in the truck business, and he’s been talkin...

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has proposed some significant changes to its Safety Measurement System, which is how it prioritizes motor carriers for enforcement. What will those potential changes mean to trucking companies? In this episode of HDT Talks Trucking, HDT Editor in Chief Deborah Lockridge joins Brandon Wiseman of Trucksafe Consulting to discuss FMCSA’s recently process...

Truck and engine makers have less than three years to pull off a minor engineering miracle to meet EPA’s 2027 ultra-low-NOx rules. The stringent new emissions regulations for diesel engines take effect on Jan. 1, 2027. That means the first of the engines designed to meet those standards will hit the street in early 2026. Hear from ACT Research Vice President and Senior Analyst Tim Denoyer about th...

Electric and alternative-fuel vehicles aren't new to UPS, but the company recently took delivery of its first fully electric Class 8 truck, a Freightliner eCascadia. This episode of HDT Talks Trucking is sponsored by Scraper Systems . HDT Editor in Chief Deborah Lockridge talks to Anthony Marshall, VP of Maintenance and  Engineering-Transportation Equipment at UPS, about how the new BEV fits...

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has proposed some significant changes to its Safety Measurement System, which is how it prioritizes motor carriers for enforcement. What will those potential changes mean to trucking companies? This episode is sponsored by Scaper Systems . In this episode of HDT Talks Trucking, HDT Editor in Chief Deborah Lockridge joins Brandon Wiseman of Trucksafe...

Automatic electronic tolling is becoming more and more common. But a missed plate-read or other error can quickly add up to big bucks for trucking fleets both large and small.  This episode of HDT's Leadership Insights video podcast is sponsored by, and produced in partnership with, PrePass . Today there are more than 50 toll authorities, and the tolls they collect are growing. In the past de...

When Hyliion’s natural gas-powered long-range ERX (electric range extender) Hypertruck hits the streets later this year, it’s expected to be marginally lighter and less expensive (after incentives and credits) than midrange battery electric trucks. Company founder and CEO, Thomas Healy says it has up to 1,000 miles of range including up to 75 zero-emissions miles on batteries only. Hyliion is bett...

It's recently appeared that self-driving trucks are not going to be hauling freight down the road without a driver as quickly as some developers and investors had expected. But startup tech company Waabi says its AI-focused approach will allow it to commercialize the technology faster. HDT Editor in Chief Deborah Lockridge talks to Waabi's Dustin Koehl, a former fleet manager and HDT Emerging Lead...

Nikola Corp. is not without its share of drama. Company founder and then-CEO, Trevor Milton, was convicted last fall on one count of securities fraud and two counts of wire fraud related to allegedly false statements he made to investors. A little over a year later, the company seems to be on firmer footing, following the appointment of its new CEO, Michael Lohscheller. He took the company reins o...

Come January 2024, most refrigerated truck fleets operating in California will need to have at least 15% of the fleet converted to fully electric refrigeration units. Thermo King’s Preeti Subramanian, senior product manager for truck products, explains what that rule will mean for fleets both large and small. This episode of HDT's Leadership Insights video podcast, the third and final in a series,...

The editors of Heavy Duty Trucking, and hosts of HDT Talks Trucking, come together to talk about their top stories of 2022 in this special editorial panel episode. This episode is sponsored by Citgo. Learn more at citgolubes.com Throughout the year HDT Talks Trucking has been covering the top story each month in our Behind the News segment, those picks were based on website analytics data, but in...

Despite what you may have heard, no, we’re not running out of diesel fuel. But – low stockpiles do mean higher prices. In this episode of HDT Talks Trucking, we break down what you should know and what this means for trucking fleets. This episode is sponsored by Citgo. Learn more at citgolubes.com Heavy Duty Trucking's top story from November was the news that stockpiles of distillate fuels (meani...

Smart trailers, the internet of things, cloud computing, APIs … if this all makes your head swim, this episode of HDT Leadership Insights explores how these technologies can come together to help fleet managers effectively use the reams of data available to them today. This episode of HDT's Leadership Insights video podcast is sponsored by, and produced in partnership with Clarience Technologies ....

Internet security analysts say the number of ransomware attacks ballooned by 105% in 2022 compared to 2021 — and 2021 saw a 61% increase over 2020. Experts expect those numbers to be even higher next year. It’s no longer a case of if, but when, your trucking company will be targeted. This episode of HDT Talks Trucking is sponsored by Citgo. Learn more at citgolubes.com   Big fleets have the r...

Explore some of the ways data can help you navigate some of the challenges facing trucking fleets, from fuel economy to downtime to parking. This episode of HDT's Leadership Insights podcast is sponsored by, and produced in partnership with, Geotab . It’s nearly impossible to compete and succeed in trucking without using data to keep your fleet productive and safe. And the past couple of years hav...

Fingerprint scans, facial recognition, and vocal recognition are becoming relatively common in the trucking industry… and it’s leading to some lawsuits. Learn more about privacy rights and biometric data collection, and what trucking fleets should be looking out for, in this episode of HDT Talks Trucking. This episode is sponsored by Citgo. Learn more  ➡ http://www.citgolubes.com/ Our top sto...

We’ve heard about smart trailers and smart tires and even smart wiring harnesses — what about smart suspensions? This episode of HDT's Leadership Insights podcast is sponsored by, and produced in partnership with, Link Manufacturing . In this HDT Leadership Insights interview, Editor in Chief Deborah Lockridge talks to Link President Jim Huls about how this technology can improve driver retention,...

HDT Talk Trucking sits down with the founder of McLeod Software at the McLeod Software User Conference in Nashville to talk the progression of his trucking software company from simply printing a freight bill and driver paycheck in 1985 to what it is today. This episode is sponsored by Citgo. Learn more at citgolubes.com Learn more about Tom McLeod, president, CEO and founder of McLeod Software, a...

Why is the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration contemplating changes to its mandatory electronic logging device rules — and what changes could be in the works?  This episode of HDT Talks Trucking is sponsored by Citgo. Learn more  ➡ www.citgolubes.com Behind the News: Our top story on Truckinginfo.com from September was a notice from the Federal Motor Carrier  Safety Adminis...

Last year, Plus began selling its PlusDrive Level 2 autonomous  control system, positioning it in the market as an advanced driver safety/assistance system. HDT Senior Contributing Editor Jack Roberts recently talked to Plus Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer Shawn Kerrigan about the pathway his company has followed and how he sees the future of autonomous technology in trucking...

Spencer Patton’s company is one of the largest FedEx Ground contractors in the United States — or it was, until his outspoken criticism of FedEx Ground led to the company canceling his contract and filing suit against another company he owns. HDT’s Deborah Lockridge talks to fellow fleet editor Chris Brown, who’s been covering the story and interviewed Patton, in this episode of the Behind the New...

The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance conducts two major brake inspection initiatives each year, and year over year, the brake defect out-of-service rate remains about the same. Why aren’t we making progress in bringing that rate down?  Will Schaefer is the Director of Safety Programs at the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance, and he has some thoughts on why the OOS rate isn’t improving. It’...

If you think California’s AB5 law won’t affect you because you don’t run in the state or use owner-operators, you might be surprised. Deborah Lockridge, HDT editor in chief, talked to Dean Croke, principal industry analyst for DAT Freight & Analytics, about this law that restricts the use of independent contractors and its potential broader impacts on trucking capacity and on how freight moves...

Cummins recently invited transportation journalists to Columbus, Indiana to discuss zero and near-zero emissions powertrain products it has in development, including a 6.7-liter engine that runs on 87 octane gasoline, and an battery-electric drivetrain for a Class 7 delivery truck. Jack Roberts and Jim Park share their observations on these two vehicles as well as the company's plans to position i...

News from the Supreme Court means the end of the owner-operator model as we know it in California – and it could have repercussions nationwide.  HDT's editors share what they know about California's AB5 law in this episode of HDT Talks Trucking. This episode is sponsored by CAT Scale. Learn more about its WeighMyTruck app . Each month, HDT's editors take a look behind some of Truckinginfo.com...