Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/989498
22 | Overdrive | June 2018 Logbook June 22-24: Great Lakes Truck Show, Cabela's, Dundee, Michigan July 8: American Truck Historical Society Central NY Chapter Truck Show, Longbranch Park, Liverpool, New York July 12-14: 39th annual Walcott Truckers Jamboree, Iowa 80 Truckstop, Walcott, Iowa July 12-14: Gulf Coast Big Rig Truck Show, Mississippi Gulf Coast Coliseum & Convention Center, Biloxi, Mississippi July 20-21: Expedite Expo, Lexington Center, Lexington, Kentucky Aug. 24-26: Great American Trucking Show, Dallas Sept. 9-13: National Truck Driver Appreciation Week Sept. 13-15: Richard Crane Me- morial Truck Show, St. Ignace, Michigan Oct. 14-17: National Motor Freight Traffic Association Member Meet- ing, Hyatt Regency Savannah, Savannah, Georgia Dec. 15: National Wreaths Across America Day CALENDAR Anheuser-Busch orders 800 Nikola hydrogen-electric tractors Anheuser-Busch, the largest beer manu- facturer in the United States, last month placed an order with Nikola Motor Co. for up to 800 hydrogen-electric tractors, Nikola announced. The brewer, having ordered 40 Tesla electric Semi trucks last December, said it plans to convert its entire compa- ny-owned long-haul fleet to zero-tail- pipe-emissions vehicles by 2025. Anheus- er-Busch's dedicated fleet comprises 750 to 900 trucks — about one-third of its entire U.S. distribution network. Ingrid De Ryck, Anheuser-Busch's vice president of sustainability and procure- ment, said the company plans to use the Nikola trucks on long-haul routes be- cause of their maximum range of 1,200 miles and 20-minute fill time. Plans call for the Tesla Semis to shuttle shipments to wholesalers within 150 to 200 miles of Anheuser-Busch breweries. The first pre-production Nikola tractors will hit the road for testing with Anheuser-Busch this year. Nikola also plans to develop 28 hydrogen fueling stations along the brewer's most heavily trafficked lanes. The stations will be open to the public. "By 2028, we anticipate having over 700 hydrogen stations across the USA and Canada," said Trevor Milton, Nikola chief executive officer, describing a net- work "very similar to what you would see from a Love's Travel Stop, only owned by Nikola." Much of the assembly work for the Anheuser-Busch order will be handled by Crossville, Tennessee-based Fitzgerald Glider Kits. Under the full-service lease, Ryder will provide the service and war- ranty work on behalf of Nikola. – Jason Cannon Anheuser-Busch will use the Nikola tractors in its long-haul operations. The brewer also will use 40 Tesla Semis for local and regional routes. Registry hack delays med certificate rule The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration said last month it intends to postpone the implementation of a system meant to streamline its commu- nications with state licensing agencies regarding drivers' medical certification status. The multifaceted rule, part of which took effect in January 2015, requires FMCSA to electronically transmit to state licensing agencies the results of drivers' medical certifications once exams have been completed. FMCSA receives that information from medical examiners who, starting June 2, were required to upload to the agency the re- sults of exams by midnight the day after they're completed. State agencies, once they've received results from FMCSA, then will send the results to the Com- mercial Driver's License Information System to make other states aware of drivers' exam results. However, due in part to the ongoing outage of the National Registry of Cer- tified Medical Examiners, FMCSA says it will postpone the requirement that it submit information to state agencies – and the requirement that state agencies send information to CDLIS – for three years, until June 2021. – Matt Cole EATON'S ENDURANT 12-speed automated trans- mission, the product of a joint venture with Cummins, now is available for order on Interna- tional LoneStar and LT Series trucks equipped with Cummins' X15 engine. DOZENS OF ILLEGAL IM- MIGRANTS were found in the back of a tractor-trailer near Raymondville, Texas, leading to the arrest of the truck's driver and a passenger. When the truck was pulled over May 22 for a traffic violation along Highway 77, police found 90 un- documented immigrants inside the trailer, all of whom were taken into custody. Two people were taken to the hospital for treatment of dehydration.