A Monthly Update of Global Trucking News

Compiled Exclusively for FleetWatch by 
Frank Beeton
of Econometrix (Pty Ltd.

Now this is
a Big
Truck!

There's been quite a lot of debate going on recently in the international arena over increasing truck sizes. It seems that someone is always looking to push the envelope outwards and onwards, usually to "optimize" some or other load or vehicle configuration. The true definition of "optimum" usually depends on who's doing the defining at that particular moment but the one unchanging truth seems to be that it always ends up being bigger than the present norm, rather than smaller!

Sometimes things can get a little out of hand. Last year, International Truck and Engine Corporation launched their new CXT "pickup" in the USA. We're not sure how seriously we should take a "pickup" that can carry a payload of six tons, plus a crew of five "large gentlemen" but the manufacturer did admit that this new model is as much about image-building, for its buyers, as it is about serious transportation. Built on a platform normally reserved for dumpers and snowplows, the CXT is powered by a 220 bhp, turbocharged International DT 466 diesel engine and offers towing, dumping and tilt bed capabilities as standard. Some pickup, indeed!

Australia is, of course, the home of seriously big trucks. Their normal road-going vehicles are pretty awesome with a typical B-Double (which looks like an Interlink, but has more axles) coming in at 68 tons Gross Combination Mass and 25 metres overall train length. However, on some dedicated routes in the Outback, road trains of considerably larger dimensions and masses are permitted. Recently, WorldWatch reported on a new world record combination of 117 trailers grossing some 1 500 tons but that was really just put together for show and real-world working road trains top out at around 400 tons all-up mass.

During 2004, an operator in Western Australia called Brambles Industrial Services, reportedly decided that it had a need to replace some of its existing 130 ton plus GCM road train prime movers (locomotives?) with a new, standardized design. Hard-won previous experience with severe duty operations had persuaded the firm that only the largest displacement engines would deliver reasonable life expectancy under these conditions so, when inviting interested manufacturers to pitch for its fleet replacement business, Brambles laid down the Cummins QSK 19 as the non-negotiable baseline engine requirement. Bearing in mind that this giant 18,9-litre power unit, developed from an industrial power plant design, weighs in at just under two tons before the cooling and induction management hang-ons are factored in, the knock-on effect on the size of the remainder of the truck can be readily appreciated.

In its successful bid for the Brambles business, Kenworth used its conventional (i.e. normal control) C510 off-roader as the base product. Other than the obligatory Cummins QSK 19 engine, derated to transmission-conserving 447 kW and 2644 Nm settings, the rest of the specification included an Eaton RTLO 22918 18-speed overdrive transmission, a SISU tri-drive hub reduction axle group, Neway heavy-duty airbag bogie suspension and twin steering axles from the K104 cab-over. Just in case anybody's not paying attention here, what we're saying is that the 17 ton tare mass Brambles C510 hauler is, in fact, configured as a 10x6!

The first of these units was put to work hauling containerized sulphur on a 100 km round-trip, 150 ton GCM, operation from the Murrin Murrin nickel and cobalt mine to a railhead located some 300 kms north of Kalgoorlie. Operational limitations have dictated the safety speed limit at 90 km/h, although the rig is quite capable of hitting 100 km/h! Initial results have, reportedly, been excellent, and a follow-on order for 19 more similar units is now being processed at Kenworth's Bayswater, Victoria plant. These will be used by Brambles Industrial Services to perform a number of differing on and off-road duties, at operating combination masses of up to 200 tons.

Renault introduces gas-fuelled options.
Natural gas is gaining considerable popularity around the world as a fuel for vehicles working in pollution and noise-conscious cities. Apart from an obvious application in transit buses, natural gas engines are also being installed, with increasing frequency, in refuse collection and dedicated urban delivery vehicles, particularly in those locations where some form of financial incentive is provided by the local authorities.

One of the technology leaders in the field of gas engine development is Canadian company Westport Innovations, who have worked in conjunction with several major manufacturers to convert their diesel engines into gas-compatible power units. The larger displacement units use a technique employing a small pre-injection of diesel fuel to ignite the gas/air mixture, while the smaller engines are fitted with electronic glow plugs.

Perhaps Westport's best known partnerships - in the truck field - are with Isuzu Motors in Japan and their 50/50 joint venture with Cummins, which produces Cummins Westport natural gas engines for sale to those vehicle manufacturers accessing the proprietary engine market. 

The latest commercial vehicle manufacturer to offer a Cummins Westport option in its products is Renault Trucks. The models selected are the Midlum NGV, which will be available in 12 000 kg and 16 000 kg GVM versions and the Puncher NGV, which is a new low entry specialist refuse vehicle co-developed with Ponticelli Vehicules Industriels.

The Midlum NGV will be fitted with the Cummins Westport B Gas Plus engine which is a six-cylinder power unit available with output settings of 145, 150 and 170 kW, while the Puncher will have the C Gas Plus lean-burn, spark ignited power unit with output options in the 186-208 kW range.

Will Japanese truckmakers break the stereotype?
Anybody who has had a close involvement with the marketing process at Japanese truckmakers will be aware of the "model-based" design philosophy that they have traditionally used in addressing the needs of individual markets. Unlike their European counterparts, who see any individual truck model as merely a combination of many standardized individual components - or "aggregates" - the Japanese tend to create unique holistic new model variants for each market.

In essence, this represents a less flexible "top down" approach to product planning where the preferred historic solution has been to find an existing model that, without significant changes, can fit a new market opportunity rather than to employ a more adaptable "bottom up" process which would create a new, optimized, combination for the purpose. Unfortunately, the end result of this philosophy has often been "no result" because the existing models, when examined in detail, are found to be unsuitable for the new requirement.

A good example of this would be the case of an 8x4 rigid freight carrier. This configuration is fairly popular in Japan and most local manufacturers have such a model in their domestic catalogues. Overseas distributors who have seen an opportunity for an 8x4 unit in their own markets may have found that, on examination of the detailed specification, the Japanese model was powered by a giant, naturally-aspirated V10 engine, was fitted with tiny 16 inch wheels at the rear and had a transmission-mounted mechanical parking brake!

On making a request to the parent company to consider adapting the domestic unit for their conditions with, say, a turbocharged in-line-6 engine, 22,5 inch wheels all round and spring brakes, they would inevitably be told: "Ah, very solly, not possible". The thought of re-engineering the base model to the new format was obviously too daunting, whereas the more practical alternative of re-arranging existing standard components, already used on other models, into the desired combination was not the accepted cultural modus operandi. 

It can, of course, be argued that Japanese truck manufacturers have been very successful in penetrating the world market so the historical system must have some merit in terms of producing good, saleable and value-for-money products. However, it must be recognized that, with a few notable exceptions, the Japanese have not, in the past, been willing to take on European competition head-on and have tended to use markets like South Africa, Australia and New Zealand to test their strength - on a limited basis - against the likes of DaimlerChrysler, Volvo, Iveco, Scania et al.

The Japanese manufacturers have also tended to enjoy the bulk of their international success in the cruiserweight categories but recent successes by Nissan Diesel with the UD 440 in the South African line-haul market, and the good reception received by the Hino 700 Series in Australia, are notable deviations from historic patterns. Adding these factors together with some significant environmental developments are early indicators that things may be about to change.

Slowly but surely the traditionally isolated Japanese truck market is opening up. European-sourced heavy trucks, albeit in tiny numbers, are starting to appear on Japanese roads, mainly as a result of the strategic alliance between Hino and Scania and the increasing role being played by DaimlerChrysler in the management of Mitsubishi Fuso. Volvo has also made good inroads into the Japanese market.

However, probably the most compelling reason for the increasing "Europeanisation" of the Japanese truck industry is the rapidly narrowing gap in environmental regulation between that country, together with some of its major Asian trading partners, and Europe. Effectively, the adoption of universal emissions standards will kill off those giant naturally-aspirated engines so beloved of Japanese operators for past decades in deference to their congested road conditions. Meeting the new regulations has demanded the rapid adoption in Japan of turbocharging, intercooling, Exhaust Gas Recirculation, Selective Catalytic Reduction, common-rail, unit injectors and all the other technological solutions already commonplace in Europe. At a stroke, the major differences between European and Japanese truck design philosophies have all been wiped out.

So, it comes as no surprise to read reports that Isuzu has gone on the marketing offensive in Europe. Already increasingly active in the UK, this manufacturer has now moved into the Benelux countries, Spain and Portugal. Although the continental effort will be restricted, initially, to N-Series units in the 3,5 - 7,5 ton GVM range, the UK effort is being expanded over the next four years to include F-Series models of up to 18 tons GVM. With the exception of some fairly long-running and very specific Hino 8-wheel tipper-related activity based in Ireland, this will be the first time that Japanese trucks above 7,5 tons GVM will have been offered, with serious intent, to UK operators.

Speaking of Hino, however, brings us to - possibly - the most significant indication of potential cultural change in the Japanese truck industry. A recent report from Japan suggests that the Toyota-controlled truckmaker, which is perceived as the most financially strong in the local industry, may be about to unleash an all-new modular manufacturing process on to an unsuspecting export market! This would open up the availability of any approved Hino product or component for global use, rather than restricting their sale to any particular market or territory. Looking into the crystal ball, these options could include mouth-watering possibilities such as bigger sleeper cabs, 16-speed automated transmissions, and more powerful (up to 380 kW) versions of the 12,9-litre engine in the foreseeable future.

Far more important than the technical detail, however, is the modular principle. If Hino, and the other Japanese manufacturers, can learn to embrace and manage a more European-style approach to product composition, it should increase their global footprint as large-scale exporters of trucks and open up important new markets in the European area of influence. With the increasing emphasis on environmental challenges and their expensive technical solutions, survival in the 21st Century often depends on the attainment of adequate critical mass. The time has never been more ripe for Japanese truckbuilders to increase their share of world truck business beyond traditionally established markets.