Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 386 i Australasian Transport News (ATN)

In many ways, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) Container stevedoring monitoring report 2017–18 was indeed worth the wait. It might not seem so to long-suffering container haulage firms, cargo facilitators, exporters and the general public, if it even knew, but what did the disappointed expect? Despite politicians and ideological fanatics and the just plain greedy trying it on, seemingly relentlessly these days, no one can force a government instrumentality to do things it has no legal power to do. If they acquiesce, the courts have a way of dealing with that in ways that tend to cut careers short. The ACCC merely confirms what became obvious a long time before. It is has no power under competition laws to tackle unilateral container stevedore access charging because such rules…

VicRoads says it’s going after income by grounding trucks, in an effort to ramp up compliance after discovering companies are factoring infringements into their budgets. VicRoads manager of transport safety services Russell Greenland outlined the harsh new approach the enforcement agency will take with repeat offendors, when speaking at the ‘Meet the Inspectors’ presentation at the Technical Maintenance Conference (TMC) in Melbourne recently. While VicRoads is embracing tablet and camera technology to save officers and operators time on the roadside, targeted enforcement will hit repeat offenders harder than ever with heavy financial consequences. “Because they build the fines into their bottom line, we’re actually grounding vehicles on the side of the road,” Greenland says. “So we’re actually affecting their income and that’s what we’re trying to do, we’re trying to…

THE AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION (ACCC) is unable to discern any contravention of rules that it might act on in the face of fast-rising infrastructure access surcharges from container stevedores. The national competition regulator instead puts the onus on state governments to act on the issue. “The ACCC does not have the power to determine stevedores’ charges. In 2017, the ACCC considered that the infrastructure charges did not represent a breach of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010,” the ACCC says in its Container Stevedoring Monitoring Report 2017-18. “The use of the charges did not appear to substantially lessen competition in a market, nor did it meet the high threshold to potentially be considered unconscionable conduct. “Nor do the use of infrastructure charges in and of themselves raise concerns…

The Transport and Infrastructure Council’s (TIC) latest communique has been greeted with a call to speed up reforms. The TIC, made up of the nation’s relevant ministers, pledged to create a “nationally consistent service level standard for roads, to categorise roads by their function and set customer-focused service levels for each road category” in its 10th communique. But while acknowledging “some positive outcomes”, governments need to adopt a faster pace when it comes to implementing key reforms. “It is now time to lift the pace of policy reform, so that the freight logistics industry can efficiently and safely meet the freight task of a growing nation,” ALC interim CEO Lachlan Benson says. The TIC communique states that advice on heavy vehicle road reform options, including on implementation, would be expected…

Adelaide-headquartered automotive retailer CMV Group has reached an agreement to acquire Mount Gambier dealer Barry Maney Group (BMG). CMV comprises trucking, automotive and farming divisions and sells and services brands such as Mack, UD and Volvo. Their existing relationship with Paccar brands Kenworth and DAF also extends more than 50 years with dealerships at Cavan in Adelaide and Hallam in Melbourne. CMV’s acquisition of BMG will extend its Kenworth, DAF, Hino and Cummins portfolio and take on new brands Ford, Hyundai and Volkswagen. CMV says in recognition of late founder Barry Maney’s legacy, the businesses will retain the Barry Maney banner and employees. CMV managing director Paul Crawford welcomed the acquisition, adding: “CMV’s relationship with BMG goes back to the 1970s, with a strong personal relationship between our father, Jim…

THE NATIONAL HEAVY VEHICLE REGULATOR (NHVR) has appointed independent road safety expert Dr John de Pont to lead a review of performance based standards (PBS) tyre standards and operations. NHVR CEO Sal Petroccitto said the review will examine the marketplace to identify the best practice approach for the management of tyres within the PBS scheme. “Almost one-in-five new heavy vehicles built in Australia this year will be approved under the PBS scheme,” Petroccitto says. “We are committed to a wider review of PBS standards and rules, to ensure PBS remains a world-leading program for innovation and safety design, however a review of tyre standards is a priority.” The NHVR says the review will also look at the effects of tyre characteristics on safety performance, key tyre performance parameters, the performance…

A fleet of five of some of the world’s biggest trucks has touched down in central Queensland. Delivered by National Group’s heavy transport solutions arm, National Heavy Haulage (NHH), the Ultra-Class Liebherr T 282 C dump trucks will service BHP’s Peak Downs mine site. The vehicles boast an unladen weight of 260 tonnes, or a whopping 130 standard cars each, and have a payload capacity of 400 tonnes. Red Bull recently listed the Liebherr T 282 C as the equal second-largest mining truck on the planet. The trucks required a police escort and road closures from Mackay to Peak Downs over five separate trips throughout September and October. NHH general manager Ian Scott says he was struck by the sheer size of these machines but the task was manageable. “We…

Divall’s Earthmoving’s Tony Wright and Paccar Parts Australia’s Trevor Dickson have been recognised as the trucking industry’s outstanding technical contributors for 2018 at the Technology and Maintenance Conference’s (TMC’s) Castrol Vecton Awards Dinner. The Australian Trucking Association (ATA) event celebrates the industry professionals’ dedication and achievements throughout the year. Wright received the 2018 Craig Roseneder Award, an honour that recognises technical and maintenance excellence in the workshop. He will be sent on an all-expenses paid trip to Atlanta to attend the US Technology and Maintenance Council’s 2019 Annual Meeting and Transportation Technology Exhibition. Wright is this year’s recipient for promoting a healthy and safe workplace culture at Divall’s, and demonstrating impeccable maintenance application, maintenance records and technical ability. “Wright has been influential in the modernisation of workshop equipment and cost-saving…

VIDEO: MACK MILESTONE Construction giant Hanson has taken the keys to its 1,000th Mack truck, marking a true-blue partnership spanning 34 years. The symbolic Mack Trident tipper was presented to Hanson in the swish new Volvo Group Australia showroom in Brisbane on September 17, sporting millennial livery and personalised ‘HANSON’ plates. VIDEO: CASCADIA FIRST DRIVE The most intensive and expensive test program ever undertaken by Freightliner outside North America has now kicked off, with two left-hand drive Cascadias spearheading a dramatic charge aimed at leaving nothing to chance in the pursuit of a bold new future. We exclusively take it for a first-ever Australian test drive. VIDEO: A GAME OF GEARS Under the cover of darkness, a delicate mechanical dance was taking place – shifting 300 tonnes across the Clarence…

KIM HASSALL HAS been appointed as the new national chair for The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport Australia (CILTA). A former chair of CILTA Victoria, Hassall established CILTA’s national Centre for Continuing Professional Development, which he will still direct. “It is a real honour to take up this role from my predecessor, Dr Neville Binning, and such historic and dedicated past chairs as Ted Butcher, Len Harper and more recently Andrew Stewart,” he says. “There are a few very exciting upcoming international and domestic initiatives that we will be attempting to put in place in the near future. These will strongly underpin our mission as the ‘go to’ network for T&L career development through our partners. “We have a great national council that are drawn from our foundation of…

A recent decision of the County Court of Victoria has confirmed the importance of proper maintenance of CHEP accounts. In Redox v Swan Hill Chemicals & Ors (2018) VCC 531, the court dismissed a claim by Redox, which had sought orders for the retrospective removal of pallets from its CHEP account. In addition to bearing its own costs, Redox was ordered to pay the legal costs of the three defendants to the proceeding. These legal fees were significant. This decision is the latest in a long line of litigation arising out of the CHEP pooled pallet system. The key facts In May 2012, Swan Hill, the first defendant, placed an order with Redox for a large quantity of calcium nitrate, destined for agribusiness Olam Orchards Australia (Olam), later named as…

In this, the fourth part of this 12-part series on freight/logistic pricing, we diverge slightly from examining an actual specific pricing strategy in order to put ‘contract escalations’ under the magnifying glass. Escalations are usually in place across the vast majority of contracts, but what are good and bad contract escalations? This article will attempt to address this dilemma. ESCALATORS ARE VERY COMMON IF NOT ESSENTIAL Throughout the life of most freight or logistics contracts there will be regular periods when cost increases are sought. This could be quarterly, bi-annually or annually. It is unusual that a fixed price contract is put in place for a three- or five-year period without escalators as it adds very considerable risk to the provider, who would usually seek a hefty premium to cover…

WITH FORTUNES reviving in mining and resources, two significant names in related transport and logistics services are taking the opportunity to grow. Rivet Group has merged with SMS Mining Services with a view to creating a diversified and expanded service offering to the mining, liquid petroleum gas and bulk haulage industries. The combined group forecasts revenue to exceed $550 million in this financial year, growing to $700 million the following year. “[Rivet and SMS] will boast a combined order book of $1.3 billion and a combined tender pipeline in excess of $2 billion.” The group will boast a combined order book of $1.3 billion and a combined tender pipeline in excess of $2 billion, they say. The combined entity will operate in 15 locations across five states with a total…

The National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) has announced a review into heavy vehicle safety around New South Wales saleyards following issues regarding mass limits in areas such as Dubbo and Forbes. Following a number of mass breaches, Roads and Maritime Services (RMS) sought action higher up the supply chain, suggesting weighbridges be installed at saleyards and calling for saleyards and councils to be responsible for matters such as fatigue management and banning repeat offenders for overloading. Councils were angered by being burdened with the additional responsibility, arguing costs would be unsustainable and inevitably passed on to local business, while vehicle weight compliance is normally handled by the state. Forbes Shire Council general manager Steve Loane recently called on the NHVR to resolve the issue and work towards harmonised regulation. In…

Permits will not be required for performance-based standards (PBS) A-doubles operating between Toowoomba and the Port of Brisbane at masses up to 79.5 tonnes (general mass limit) or 81.5 tonnes (concessional mass limit). The new National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) notice was developed in collaboration with the Queensland government and Queensland Trucking Association (QTA) to improve productivity along one of Queensland’s busiest freight routes. Transport and main roads minister Mark Bailey says that, due to the prevalence of PBS A-doubles on the road network, the move was a logical step forward. “Safety is always our priority, but where we can provide improved access and reduce the need for permits, industry benefits, as does the environment and other road users, by halving truck trips for some freight tasks,” Bailey says. “This…

NSW POLICE STAKEHOLDER relations manager chief inspector Phillip Brooks says speed limiter tampering is back, highlighting the Chain of Responsibility (COR) implications. In a LinkedIn post, Brooks says the issue is ‘back, bolder than ever’, before discussing the risk of speed tampering under COR and outlining a recent breach. “At a time when COR laws have placed exec officer liability up front, the risk to business and individuals is very real and quite possible for those in the ‘Chain of Responsibility’,” he says. “Remember, someone has actually had to do this, potentially in front of others. “How is it that routine checks and balances miss this, particularly in an era of technology that would detect such anomalies?” Brooks confirms that it was, “yes, a national fleet/carrier”: an alarming detail. The…

ALC chair Philip Davies has warned that, unless a more considered and long-term approach to planning and using freight infrastructure is adopted, Australia will be unable to meet the growing freight task relative to population growth. His comments come in the Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA) November 2018 report, Connecting people with progress: securing future economic development. Davies’ perspective, in his excerpt titled ‘Business as usual won’t deliver the goods’, contends that, despite representing around 8.6 per cent of Australia’s GDP and employing around 1.2 million people, enhanced supply chain efficiency is not necessarily a top priority for all governments. He likens freight to IT or energy: an industry not given much appreciation or attention to until problems occur. “People don’t necessarily make the connection between the truck…

DELIVERYQUOTECOMPARE (DQC), a price comparison and bidding platform for shipping and courier services in the UK, has launched in Australia. The website, www.deliveryquorecompare.com.au, allows freight companies to bid on removal, shipping or courier jobs listed online by consumers looking for competitive pricing. “The platform allows consumers to receive instant quotes on a job, compare prices and past customer feedback at no cost,” the company says. “It enables freight providers to bid on live jobs and access consumers directly, saving time on sales enquiries. The company launched in the UK in 2009.” The concept uses the reverse auction format; the company offers a free, no obligation service to both consumers and transporters. DQC MD David East is confident that the company will mirror the success of its UK counterpart. “DeliveryQuoteCompare offers…

A TRANSPORT COMPANY has been blitzed following a crash at Fairy Meadow, near Wollongong, on Monday, November 5. The inspection came after a driver lost control of a rigid flat-bed truck, travelling through a roundabout at the Old Mount Ousley Road and Princes Highway intersection; crashing into cars in a MacDonald’s car park. A 57-year-old woman was taken to Wollongong Hospital with suspected broken ribs, while the 23-year-old male driver was also taken to hospital with back injuries and had a mandatory blood sample obtained, NSW Police reports. NSW Police officers and Roads and Maritime Services (RMS) inspectors conducted compliance checks on the company’s 10 heavy vehicles at the RMS Wetherill Park Inspection Station. All the vehicles received defect notices, which ranged from defective brakes and bald tyres to seatbelt…

AN INTERCOMPANY sale within the Volkswagen Group (VW) to streamline its portfolios is said to strengthen VW’s truck unit, Traton, ahead of a future initial public offering (IPO), while reports speculate it could be part of a wider strategy to buy out Navistar and challenge global trucking rivals Daimler and Volvo. VW and MAN SE agreed to transfer 76 per cent of transmission manufacturer Renk and 100 per cent of engine maker MAN Energy Solutions from the latter to the former. VW says the slimming of MAN’s ‘Power Engineering’ portfolio is to allow Traton to be the head company of a “pure truck and bus group”, which, along with MAN, also comprises Scania and Volkswagen Caminhões e Ônibus brands, and consolidates its financial position ahead of a possible 2019 IPO.…

VOLVO GROUP AUSTRALIA has promoted its aftersales and services vice president Tony O’Connell to vice president of sales. Rising through the group’s ranks, O’Connell started with Volvo as a project coordinator in 2005, and has held roles in project management, business development and retail support over the past 13 years. “My role in aftersales and services has been focused on helping to resolve issues before they become problems, which means getting close to customers to understand their businesses and their priorities,” Mr O’Connell said. “This has given me invaluable insight into what matters most to our customers, and I am looking forward to translating this into my new role leading Volvo Trucks Australia.”…

CMV Group’s Miles Crawford has joined the Heavy Vehicle Industry Australia (HVIA) board. Currently operations manager at the Crawford-family-owned heavy vehicle dealership group, HVIA reports Crawford’s appointment was universally endorsed by directors. His career in the heavy vehicle industry began at Volvo Group Australia in heavy-duty truck development and industrialisation, before joining Westport Fuel Systems in Canada to lead key projects, developing alternative powertrain solutions with major European and Asian truck manufacturers. Crawford says he has a strong focus on technological developments that improve heavy vehicle productivity, performance and safety on Australian roads.…

Anecdotal evidence is that post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is one significant outcomes of SBT. Others include shame and depression and sleeplessness. The ripple effects can include financial pressures on truck drivers’ families if the drivers seek a recovery break or if they leave the industry altogether, and this is true of PTSD from any source. Toll classifies all fatalities as significant safety incidents, or SSIs. “They require thorough investigation. All drivers involved in fatalities or other serious incidents are required to debrief and are offered counselling and assistance, either through the Toll Chaplaincy or the Employee Assistance Program,” Toll Group general manager for road transport safety and compliance Dr Sarah Jones says. Toll’s group manager of wellbeing and senior chaplain is Ruth Oakden. “While not all people affected following an…

If you travel through the Pilbara region of Western Australia wearing a pink shirt and driving a pink truck, you are bound to meet new people and get some interesting insights. Under the professional guidance of Heather Jones, owner of Pilbara Heavy Haulage Girls, I recently drove a pink 700hp (522kW) Volvo, towing a triple road train, a couple of thousand kilometres, doing deliveries to the oil, mining and gas sector. Heather specialises in training women to become proficient and professional heavy vehicle drivers and has delivered scores of excellent drivers to the industry through her programs. It was wonderful to see first-hand the respect she has of people from all industries across the region, and in fact the state. Each time we stopped, or even across the UHF radio,…

Scania executive vice president and head of research and development Claes Erixon is expected to discuss cutting edge alternatives to the established propulsion system, so eyebrows are raised when he talks of a new internal combustion engine. Details are scarce as it is still early days, but the move is something of an antidote to the understandable hype surrounding new technology and alternative fuels. While Erixon makes plain that the formation of new parent company Traton Group will see often competing brands such as Scania and MAN unchanged, a united effort will be expected in developing a new conventionally powered truck engine. His company remains very focused on lowering emissions, not least due to European Union rules starting in January that require heavy duty vehicle manufacturers in the EU to…

2018 RAM 1500 LARAMIE Engine: 5.7L Hemi 16-valve V-8 Power: 395hp (291kW) @ 5,600 rpm Torque: 410lbft (556 Nm) @ 3,950 rpm Transmission: Torqueflite eight-speed automatic Front suspension: Upper and lower ‘A’ arms, coil springs, twin-tube shock absorbers, stabiliser bar Rear suspension: Five-link with track bar, coil springs, stabiliser bar, twin-tube shock absorbers, solid axle Steering: Electric power assisted Length x width x height (mm): 5,817 x 2,017 x 1,917 Wheelbase (mm): 3,569 Towing, max. braked: 4,500 kg (70mm ball) Tub payload: 800kg Cargo tub SAE volume (cu m): 1.4 Gross vehicle mass: 3,450kg Kerb weight: 2,650kg Fuel consumption (combined): 12.2L/100km Wheels: Alloy 20” Tyres: Hankook Dynapro HT 275/60R20…

Betts Bower Haulage Group recently announced the acquisition of Tutt Bryant’s Hunter-based Heavy Lift and Shift division. Betts Bower is a partnership between long-term affiliates Betts Transport and Bower’s Heavy Haulage, and specialises in general freight and heavy haulage. Heavy Lift and Shift is the cranes, heavy lifting, heavy haulage and specialised transport arm of the Tutt Bryant Group, which also operates equipment sales and general hire. The acquisition involved the equipment located at Muswellbrook, NSW. “On the 1st October 2018, the third generation of Bower’s Heavy Haulage went to work as usual, but carrying a little extra weight,” managing director Daniel Bower says in a statement. “We add to the Hunter Valley heavy haulage history by taking on the Tutt Bryant Heavy Lift and Shift heavy haulage fleet. “Thank…

LINFOX has reached an agreement with Aurizon to purchase the company’s Queensland Intermodal business. The transaction will increase the scale and scope of Linfox’s services throughout Queensland and provide greater Queensland-based pick-up, delivery and warehousing capability. As part of the deal, Linfox will have access to Queensland Intermodal freight depots in Queensland, including access to the Acacia Ridge terminal; will acquire trucks, trailers, rail wagons for intermodal containers and heavy lift assets; and will be transferred existing customer contracts, and about 190 existing Aurizon employees. Under a separate 10-year commercial contract, Aurizon’s Bulk business will also provide rail linehaul services and some terminal services to Linfox using Aurizon locomotives, which significantly enhances Linfox’s intermodal network. The agreement is subject to the lifting of an interlocutory injunction on Aurizon. “This deal…

Total transport activity contributed $122.3 billion to the Australian economy in 2015-16, according to a new experimental account the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released, accounting for 7.3 per cent of the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP). ABS combined the total contribution of transport activity across all industries in the Australian economy, through the Australian Transport Economic Account: An Experimental Transport Satellite Account. While the contribution has been included in the measures of the economy, this is the first time the complete transport contribution has been transparently reported, ABS notes, with most recent data accounting for the 2015-16 financial year. The transport industry alone accounted for $77 billion (4.6 per cent) of GDP that year. Transport was also integral to the day-to-day business of connected industries, which added a further…

TRUCK DRIVER OF 45 YEARS, Lew Rowe, was honoured recently with the coveted Bandag Highway Guardian award after saving a fellow driver from a truck fire; the third time he’s saved someone’s life on Australian roads. The Linfox driver was recognised with the award at the Castrol Vecton Awards Dinner in Melbourne and commended for helping the driver of a rolled truck to escape as it caught fire. Rowe was at a standstill for a separate incident near Holbrook on his run from Melbourne to Tarcutta on the night of September 25, when another truck collided with a car behind him, rolled on its side and came to a stop alongside his B-double. Without delay, Rowe began using his fire extinguisher to suppress flames and helped the driver out from…

Scania Australia stalwart Dean Dal Santo has been promoted to the position of sales director, trucks at Scania Australia. Dal Santo is responsible for sales of on and off-highway Scania trucks, including the burgeoning mining and resources business Scania has nurtured during the past seven years in Australia, as well as national fleet, fire and specialised vehicles. Dal Santo was previously national sales manager, trucks for Scania. He has worked for Scania for 17 years, and has run Scania Australia’s pre-sales department in that time. “I am very excited to accept this new role at this time, as supplies of the very well-received New Truck Generation Scania prime movers and rigids begin to arrive in big numbers in Australia,” Dal Santo says.…

Introducing new dynamics to the workplace, Ivan Vanis is one of the few millennial CEOs within the transport and logistics industry who is hungry for more. Generation Y is famous for asking the question “why?”, but Vanis is a doer, disrupting the typically conventional areas of the industry and building a career on people and purpose. Five years ago, the last time we spoke to Vanis, he was the company’s business development manager. Now, in 2018, the 33-year-old was appointed to the CEO role earlier in the year by director Craig Morris, who’s played an integral part in building a solid team. “Craig has been a mentor and friend from the moment I joined Tasman and is someone I owe a lot to,” says Vanis. He accidentally fell into the…

MACK ROAD STABILITY ADVANTAGE (RSA): This full-stability system helps drivers mitigate rollovers and loss-of-control situations on wet and dry roads. The system helps to mitigate vehicle jack-knifes, slides, skids and loss-of-control through advanced monitoring of a variety of vehicle parameters and automatic or selective application of vehicle brakes. BENDIX BLIND SPOTTER: Reduces the driver’s blind spot and increases the field of view by up to 120 degrees. This assists with safer lane changes, drifting in lanes and reduces sideswipe accidents. ALERT PRIORITISATION: Provides the most critical alert first (typically the impact alert) leading into a collision mitigation braking event, helping minimise driver distraction from multiple alerts occurring simultaneously. LANE DEPARTURE WARNING: The system alerts your driver to unintended lane changes. FOLLOWING DISTANCE…