Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 454 i Deals On Wheels Australia

Unique visitors (UVs) to Bauer Media Group’s transport industry websites skyrocketed 18.23 per cent – and classified enquiries jumped 14 per cent – in April as industry decision makers flocked to the platforms to access the latest industry news as well as research, compare and buy vital tools of trade. Google Analytics data shows combined UVs to ABC’s BusNews.com.au, ATN’s Fullyloaded.com.au, OwnerDriver.com.au and Deals on Wheels’ TradeTrucks.com.au reached 245,366 in the period, up 18.23 per month-on-month (MoM) and 8.25 per cent year-on-year (YoY). Leading the growth was OwnerDriver.com.au, up 30.8 per cent MoM and 23.1 per cent YoY; followed closely by Fullyloaded.com.au, up 21.8 per cent MoM and 23.3 per cent YoY to 103,190 UVs – the second highest number on record. TradeTrucks.com.au also had strong growth, with UVs up…

Now the market has the first calendar quarter and the first full month Covid-19 pandemic impact out of the way, clues to the outcome for the year start to come into focus. Immediately obvious is the continued fall in commercial vehicle sales totals, month on month (MoM). April saw 2,303 sales, down from March’s 2,605 and February’s 2,448, according to Truck Industry Council T-Mark figures. Observers would have to go back to 2014’s 2,214 to find a lower figure for the month, one beaten in 2015 by 87 units. The year to date (YTD) figure is not quite so bad, due to the reasonable, if softening, start. At 9,207, it is significantly up from 2014’s 8,758 and a comfortably up on 2015’s 9,005, but below 2016’s 9,297. With recent comparable…

It looks good, but it was built to work Good things come to those who wait. It’s one of those throwaway lines parents normally use when they are not allowed to swear at their kids for continually asking for some annoying new toy. The original line was “all things come to those who wait”, which seems as redundant as the line “it’ll be in the last place you look” (of course it will, why would you keep looking after you’ve found it?). Anyway, I digress. Nowadays, the more appropriate line is “good things come to those who get off their arse and earn it”. Never has this been personified better than with the simply stunning Kenworth T909 of Frank Commisso Transport. The company’s flagship truck, a 26 metre-long Viagra pill,…

I was virtually conceived in a truck! Melbourne-based truckie Daniel King tells us it started for him like it did for many other operators, in the cab of his old man’s trucking putting in a mile. “They reckon I was virtually conceived in a truck,” Daniel laughs when asked of his earliest memory in a rig. “There are so many photos of me in the truck, because i was going to work with my old man for as long as I can remember. “By the age of about 11 or 12, I was operating the forklift and delivering the bricks we carted to site. It’s all I wanted to do, to be in the brick truck helping,” he says. Daniel’s teen years saw him spending less time around trucks but,…

Terminal trucks, vintage trucks and water trucks experienced the biggest year-on-year (YoY) increases in enquiries on the Bauer Media Group truck classifieds network in the period January 1-May 18, 2020, exclusive new data reveals. Almost 6,000 trucks – from beavertails to water carriers – are currently advertised for sale across the network comprising BusNews.com.au, Fullyloaded.com.au, OwnerDriver.com.au and TradeTrucks.com.au. Enquiries on terminal trucks jumped 78 per cent in the period compared to the same time last year; ahead of vintage trucks (+75 per cent), water trucks (+62 per cent), catering trucks (+60 per cent), and tow trucks (+60 per cent). Round out the top 10 most-enquired upon truck types were vacuum tanker trucks (+58 per cent), spreaders (+55 per cent), ex-military trucks (+50 per cent), street sweepers (+43 per cent), and…

The Drake Group brings together more than six decades of engineering and manufacturing expertise to design and deliver quality, reliable and innovative products for the local and international markets. The diversification and integration of the business over the years has led to enhancements across its transport and heavy haulage offerings and internal growth. With presence across the eastern and western coasts of Australia, the business now employs in excess of 320 staff. “The Drake family started their trailer business from a small trailer engineering and alterations workshop in Brisbane in 1958. Over the years they pioneered and developed specialised trailers for the heavy haulage industry and today they are the market leader in the field,” The Drake Group’s technical sales representative Rory Gerhardt says. it has greater stability and fast…

once they drive the Scanias, most attitudes start to change Like so many family transport businesses in every part of the country, Warners Transport & Distribution in the Perth industrial suburb of Forrestfield, grew from humble beginnings on the back of hard work mixed with ample loads of self-belief. Typically, it was an inauspicious start for Len Warner and wife Denise. The mid-90s saw Australia finally breaking through ‘the recession we had to have’, and also saw Len put life as an interstate owner-driver behind him as the couple developed a small local distribution and storage business with a modest line-up of second-hand rigid trucks. In time, opportunities would arise to expand the company’s horizons and there was no shortage of willingness to diversify into other transport fields, including long-distance…

The world’s best heavy truck innovations Mercedes-Benz has launched the new Actros; the first-ever truck in Australia with cameras for mirrors. Of course, those lucky enough to have attended last year’s Brisbane Truck Show were given a view of this marvel. But the fact remains; the new Actros is the first vehicle on Australian roads to replace traditional outside mirrors with cameras – full stop. No carmaker has yet managed this technological feat, not Tesla, not Rolls Royce and not even … Mercedes-Benz. So much for the idea that truck technology has to lag behind that of cars. The ‘MirrorCam’ feature, which is not standard, but an option on the Benz heavy hauler, is the headline grabber for the updated version of a truck the manufacturer continues to put through…

Pantechs, grain trailers and pig trailers recorded the biggest year-on-year (YoY) increases in enquiries on the Bauer Media Group truck classifieds network in the period January 1-May 18, 2020, exclusive new data reveals. Almost 2,100 trailers – from A-trailers to water tankers – are currently advertised for sale across the network. Enquiries on pantechs leapt 71 per cent in the period compared to the same time last year; ahead of grain trailers and pig trailers (+55 per cent), tag trailers (+48 per cent), tipper trailers (+36 per cent), refrigerated vans (+28 per cent), logging trailers (+25 per cent), curtain-sider pull trailers (+20 per cent), extendable trailers (+17 per cent), and car transporters (+14 per cent). Horse floats, meanwhile, experienced the largest percentage increase in enquiries in the period, up 24…

Our people know parts like you know trucks The recently unveiled next generation DAF XF and CF trucks are a result of extensive redesign and redevelopment in Europe. The new generation of trucks set new standards in transport efficiency and driver comfort. Innovations including new PACCAR MX-11 and redesigned MX-13 engines, new TraXon automated gearboxes, new rear axles with faster ratios, battery energy monitoring and aerodynamic optimisations result in significantly reduced fuel consumption, according to DAF. As a result, the total cost of ownership reduces. “Building on the excellent reputation for fuel efficiency, reliability and driver comfort that the Euro 6 DAF range has earned in Europe, DAF has developed a new generation of XF and CF trucks offering the best possible solutions for both the customer and the driver,”…

Tasmanian owner-operator Kevin Clark’s liking for a friendly chat appears to be one of the reasons behind his success in the excavation business. Another is his strategic choice of equipment; the latest being a medium-duty Hino 500 Series Wide Cab, which he proudly states is one of the “nicest looking trucks going around Hobart”. Just over six months ago, the Euro 5 280hp (209kW) Hino GH1828 became the sole truck in the scaled-back Kevin Clark Excavations fleet. Based in the suburb of Lenah Valley, the business has been operating for more than three decades. It’s worth noting that Kevin’s long-standing business should not be confused with another operator under a similar name in the same suburb. Kevin, however, has been driving excavation trucks for around 50 years. Before that he…

the big news is under the skin In keeping with present Covid-19 pandemic strictures, UD Trucks and parent company Volvo recently conducted a virtual walkaround of a new UD Croner PD. Hosted by newly-elevated Volvo Group Australia strategic projects and communications manager Matt Wood, the Facebook initiative took a closer look at the 6x2 PD model with a 14-pallet curtainsider body. Though the 4x2 PK gets a mention or two, it is very much in a supporting role for this exercise. “The big news for Croner is under the skin, the things you can’t necessarily see at first glance,” Wood says. “For a start, the Croner offers more grunt than its medium-duty predecessor. “While it still puts out 280 horsepower [209kW], the eight-litre GH8E makes 1,050Nm of torque, up from…