Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 456 i Deals On Wheels Australia

Leading Australian energy company Viva Energy has been announced as the exclusive broadcast partner of the second season of Bauer Media Group’s hit TV series Mighty Machines. Aired on Network 10 in Australia and Prime TV in New Zealand, and amplified across Bauer Media’s suite of print and digital platforms, the 10-episode first season proved a ratings success, reaching an average TV audience of 264,000 in Australia alone. Based on this success, season 2 of Mighty Machines will expand to an epic 20 episodes when it airs in Australia and New Zealand from Saturday, September 26. Leveraging the talent of Bauer Media Group’s stable of Australia’s leading transport and machinery journalists, videographers and editors, season 2 will again showcase the mighty men, women and machines that underpin Australia’s vital transport,…

Buyer interest in prime movers for sale on the Bauer Media Group truck classifieds network was up strongly in the first half of 2020, new data reveals. Some 1,149 prime movers – from Cats to Whites – are currently advertised for sale across the network comprising BusNews.com.au, Fullyloaded.com.au, OwnerDriver.com.au and TradeTrucks.com.au. Searches for prime movers were up 14.7 per cent – and enquiries up 1.41 per cent – in the period January 1-June 30, 2020 compared with the same period of 2019. Leading the way was UD Trucks, which experienced a 44 per cent lift in searches and a 100 per cent leap in enquiries in the period. Daimler brands Mercedes-Benz (searches +17 per cent and enquiries +73 per cent) and Freightliner (searches +41 per cent and enquiries +3 per…

If half-yearly results are anything to go by, truck sales figures for 2020 may not be the complete disaster some pundits have been spectacularly quick to predict. Certainly, the sales market to the end of June hasn’t been great and the strong figures of the previous three years now seem like a distant dream. Or were they an unsustainable illusion? We’ve never seen anything like Covid-19 before and the simple fact is that 2020 numbers to date could have been worse. Much worse. For instance, as the Truck Industry Council (TIC) reported back in May: “Despite the plummeting sales, we have not yet reach [sic] the worst sales on record, with May 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2014 sales in the post-global financial crisis era being slightly worse than those of…

The Benz has spoiled me There was a time, Graeme Cromack casually reflects, when Mercedes-Benz came close, very close in fact, to being a major part of the family trucking business. But that time was more than 50 years ago and since then, for one reason or another, Benz has largely missed the boat. Until now! It’s a long story and as Graeme sits watching company driver Ben ‘BJ’ Jacobs reverse the meticulously maintained 2658 prime mover under a similarly sleek curtainsided trailer, he recalls stories from the early days of a family which, like most families in the district, actually relied on boats for many things. Specifically, the boats which once plied products and produce to and from Grafton along the broad and occasionally flooded expanse of the Clarence…

Adecade ago or so, the transport and logistics industry was looking for efficiencies by getting to grips with handheld devices – to run baseline tasks. This was for urban truck and van drivers, mostly but not entirely for delivery purposes, and for warehouse operations. But such is the speed of technological and IT development that a germ on an idea could develop in that time into using one much higher up – to operate the whole company! Welcome to the world of Melbourne port logistics service provider Norman Carriers, the cutting-edge incarnation of which is run by Gareth Hearnden. “It all began with a dream to be able to run the entire business off a smart phone,” Hearnden tells Deals on Wheels. “The first step was conducting a review of…

Retail sales of Deals on Wheels magazine – and sister titles Earthmovers & Excavators and Farms & Farm Machinery – have spiked since the Covid-19 pandemic outbreak, new data reveals. Retail scan data shows Deals on Wheels’ average retail sales are up 1 per cent year-on-year (YoY); with sales of the two most recent issues, on sale June and July, up an even stronger 9 per cent compared with the same issues last year. Deals is sold via 2,600 newsagents and petrol and convenience outlets nationally at a RRP of $7.95. Reflecting the red-hot farm machinery market, retail sales of Farms & Farm Machinery have been especially robust, with average sales in some 1,030 retail outlets up 9 per cent YoY. Sales of the June and July issues were up…

Enquiries on the almost 2,000 truck trailers for sale on the Bauer Media Group truck classifieds network surged more than 18 per cent in the first six months of this year – despite searches dipping a little more than 8 per cent, new data reveals. Pantechs and pig trailers experienced the biggest YoY lifts in buyer interest, with enquiries up 2,000 per cent and 500 per cent respectively in the period January 1–June 30, 2020 (albeit off a very low base). Tipper trailers and side tippers also attracted heightened attention, with enquiries rising 158 per cent and 67 per cent respectively; while enquiries on grain trailers jumped 133 per cent and logging trailers 100 per cent, reflecting the strength of the agricultural sector. Other trailer types to garner greater buyer…

We will continue to invest in our people This year marks the 50th year of Meritor’s operations in Australia. In 1969 Rockwell and Industrial Engineering established a purpose-built drive axle manufacturing plant in Melbourne. Over the years, the facility supplied drive and steer axles to brands like Ford, Chrysler, Atkinson, International, White Motors, Leader, Volvo, Mack, Kenworth and Iveco. Despite significant changes in the global truck market Meritor has continued to supply parts to some of the world’s biggest truck names – including Kenworth, Volvo, Mack, Isuzu, Iveco, Western Star and Freightliner – first as part of Rockwell International, then as Arvin Meritor, and eventually under the Meritor banner. “Off the back of Meritor’s 110 year legacy, we are delighted to be celebrating 50 years in Australia reflecting the brands…

a one-stop shop for brake shoe kits Not all aftermarket linings are created equal. So how do you select the right brake shoe lining for your vehicle? Well if you know your truck's application, TRP can recommend a shoe for you. As a requirement, all brake linings are designed to exceed maximum load limits in Australia, so axle ratings, while important, should not play a huge role in determining the right lining. What is right for one application may not be suited to another. Brake linings certified at 23,000 lb (10,433kg) can prove to be much too aggressive for some applications, causing the brake drums to wear prematurely or result in brakes that ‘grab’. Similarly, brakes certified at 21,000 lb (9,525kg) may not provide sufficient braking power to stop some…

The strong growth in classified enquiries on Bauer Media Group’s transport industry websites has continued in June and July, new data shows. After jumping 26.17 per cent month-onmonth (MoM) and 13.1 per cent year-on-year (YoY) in May, enquiries on the 25,520 stock items for sale across TradeTrucks.com.au, Fullyloaded.com.au, OwnerDriver.com.au and BusNews.com.au were up 36.2 per cent in June YoY. This growth has continued into July, with enquiries up 4 per cent YoY in the period July 1–19. The increase in enquiries was generated on the back of stable traffic, with combined visits to the transport websites hitting 336,563 in June. Visits to TradeTrucks.com.au were up 1 per cent YoY; while visits to Fullyloaded.com. au, OwnerDriver.com.au and BusNews.com. au were steady. This follows on from robust growth in May, when combined…

A white Volvo Globetrotter cab hitched with a 10-row steerable platform trailer and coupled to a 2x8 dolly is making a U-turn along a suburban road. A tall order for a 200 tonne-rated combination but when you combine Volvo’s heavy-duty strength and performance with Modern Transport Engineers (MTE) expert design and manoeuvrability, it does look easy. MTE’s 10R8 Module trailer model features hydraulic suspension with an internal hydraulic gooseneck and hydraulic steering. The trailer was recently sold along with a 2x8 dolly and a used Volvo Globetrotter prime mover by Brisbane-based truck and trailer supplier, MTP Queensland. MTP specialises in the sale of quality used equipment in the range of 50 to 250 tonnes on road. All its equipment is ready for use and available at well below showroom prices.…

Keep pushing it to its limits or getrid of it Mackay-based diesel fitter Brenton ‘Budgie’ Bugeja felt like a change of scenery, so he traded the tools for the cab of a truck – a decision he couldn’t be happier with! Brenton now operates Budgie’s Hot Shots, a general freight business running equipment and supplies to coal mines around the Bowen Basin. “I’m actually a diesel fitter and I just sort of wanted a sea change. I guess you’d call it that!” he tells Deals On Wheels. From there, Budgie’s Hot Shots was born, a similar name to Brenton’s diesel fitting business, but a change of scenery it certainly was. “Budgie is of course my nickname and my previous business was called Budgies Diesel Solutions, so we did have to…

In a Covid-19 inflicted world it’s hardly business as usual. Less social contact, border restrictions, and let’s not mention panic buying. So when Deals on Wheels wanted to catch up with an operator who simply loves his job while sitting behind the wheel of a fine example of European technology, the best option was to pick up the phone. Admittedly, the stunning photos on these pages were taken some time ago, so it was with great interest that we followed up with a call to Mark Samad as he was driving his Scania 6x2 R620 V8 Topline from Melbourne to Sydney. Naturally, Mark had his hands-free Bluetooth phone on the go, so no dramas there. However, the difficulty was also going to be hearing what Mark had to say over…

See the latest industry products and technology The Brisbane Truck Show has renewed long-term partnerships with National Transport Insurance (NTI), BP Australia and Bauer Media Group ahead of the launch of the highly-anticipated 2021 event. The southern hemisphere’s largest automotive business event will return to the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre from Thursday, May 13 to Sunday, May 16, 2021. The show is presented by Heavy Vehicle Industry Australia (HVIA), whose founding members held the first event in 1968, prior to formalising their association two years later. Following last year’s show, HVIA was presented with two prestigious awards at the Australian Event Awards, with the Brisbane Truck Show named Australia’s Best Corporate Event and Best Exhibition or Tradeshow. HVIA chief executive Todd Hacking says the accolades only served to inspire…