TRUCKMAKERS' COMMENTS WORLDWIDE

* UK - Demand for Euro-5 trucks will spike as hauliers avoid expensive Euro-6

London,UK -Road Transport (UK), by Will Shiers -31 January 2011: -- Truck makers are preparing themselves for a massive surge in demand for Euro-5 trucks in 2012 and 2013, as operators attempt to delay the purchase of costly and complicated Euro-6 vehicles for as long as possible...   Euro-6 represents a massive reduction in noxious gases compared with Euro-5 (66% less particulates and 80% lower NOX). To put this into perspective, the jump is almost as great as that from Euro-1 to Euro-5 (94% less particulates and 74% lower NOX). In order to tackle this huge jump, Euro-6 trucks will be considerably more complex than Euro-5, and will feature a combination of EGR, SCR and particulate traps...  As a consequence of this, payload will be reduced and space on the chassis will be severely restricted. Fuel economy will not be any better than Euro-5, although you can expect truck makers to introduce a package of fuel-saving initiatives (like anti-idling devices, improved oil, better rolling resistance and driver-training schemes) in an attempt to make it as comparable as possible. You can expect a considerable price increase too. Based on the North American experience with the EPA10 (which uses similar technology as Euro-6), a price increase in the region of £5,000 is likely...

* 2011 truck prices to remain stable

London,UK -Road Transport, by George Barrow -7 February 2011: -- Manufacturers are taking a cautious approach to truck price rises in 2011, choosing to absorb rising production costs and unfavourable exchange rates instead of passing them on.

* Ray Ashworth, DAF Trucks managing director, says: "One of the biggest factors affecting truck pricing is the £/Euro rate. This has been made worse by some significant increases in commodity prices for steel, rubber and oil-based materials. Despite this we do not envisage a further structural price increase in the immediate future."

* Ian Mitchell, commercial truck director at Volvo Trucks says: "We continue to see 2011 as a very challenging year. Once the effect of the increase in VAT has stabilised within consumer spending and the government's austerity measures have been fully understood, we are anticipating a stronger recovery in the second half of 2011."

* Tim Pugh, business development director for Scania GB, says: "Scania looks, wherever possible, to mitigate this [price rises] through sophisticated procurement processes and focus on manufacturing efficiency. Inevitably, economic conditions always have an impact on whether prices will, or won't, be changed. Scania's approach remains to review this on a case by case basis."

* Keith Child, marketing director for Isuzu Truck UK, says: "Japan has seen rises in production costs and they are trying to pass them on to us, which in turn means that we will unfortunately have to pass some of the increase on to our customers. N-Series prices increased in November 2010 by between 4% to 5% and we hope that these prices will hold now for the entirety of 2011".

* Europe - Truck makers down after Scania Q4

London,UK -Reuters, by Oskar von Bahr -Feb 2, 2011: -- Shares in European truck makers are down, underperforming a firmer broader market after Scania says it expects demand to remain flat at the start of the year and posting fourth-quarter earnings short of market expectations... Scania shares trade 3.4 percent lower at 138.6 crowns while domestic rival Volvo is down 4 percent and Germany's MAN SE, with which Scania is discussing a possible merger, eases 2.4 percent... Scania is the first of Europe's leading heavy-duty truck makers to publish its fourth-quarter results with Volvo due on Friday, market leader Daimler on Feb. 16 and MAN on March 1... Daimler shares are down 1 percent...

* Sweden - Scania’s Profit Triples on Stronger European Demand

Gothenborg,Sweden -Transport Topics -7 Feb 2011: -- Swedish truck maker Scania AB’s fourth-quarter profit tripled as the European truck market rebounded, Bloomberg reported...  Net income jumped to $470 million from $125 million a year ago, Scania said in a statement...  Sales at the company, which is controlled by Volkswagen AG, rose 23% to $3.5 billion...  Scania said in November it was considering a merger with German competitor MAN SE to create Europe’s largest manufacturer of commercial vehicles, Bloomberg reported...

* India - Slowdown? That’s a banned word for truck makers

New Delhi,India -DNA, by Sindhu Bhattacharya -Jan 19, 2011: -- A big debate is raging across the commercial vehicle (CV) industry — has growth begun to slow down, especially in the medium and heavy CV space, or is it a quarterly blip and would things be back on track in the March quarter?... Signs of worry beads are beginning to emerge. The president of Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), Pawan Goenka, says medium and heavy vehicles grew 15% in the December quarter against an industry growth of close to 30% and this in itself is a sign of the segment’s growth moderating...  “But is this a one quarter blip or not, we still don’t know. We are not making any projections for the future,” Goenka said...  The segment grew by 13% in October, 13% in November and 18% in December...  But analysts said Ashok Leyland’s overall sales in Q3 were down 25% over Q2 because of supply chain and logistics issues and supplies from even Tata Motors were inadequate in some pockets because of similar supply chain glitches. M&HCV sales of Tata Motors grew by 21% in Q3 over Q2, though...  Apart from supply shortfalls, industry watchers also point towards the return of financing for the First Time User (FTU) — a disturbing trend which was stopped during 2008-09 after the Indian economy slowed down and financiers realised that catering to FTUs meant a huge jump in bad debts...  A senior official at one of the largest CV financing firms pointed out that 2011 could well be a year of moderation for the industry but it is difficult to say just yet whether the moderation has already begun...

OPINION * USA - Traffic planners still putting speed above safety

The priority of transportation planners and engineers has been to move as much motorized traffic as rapidly as possible

Miami,FL,USA -The Miami Herald Mobile, by Daniel Shoer Roth -4 Jan 2011: ... The Miami-Fort Lauderdale area is the third most dangerous metropolitan area for pedestrians in the United States, according to a study by the nonprofit Transportation for America in Washington D.C., which linked design of highways, streets and avenues to pedestrian fatality rates. From 2007 to 2008, the period covered by the study, there were 329 pedestrian fatalities in our region. That number represented almost a fourth of all traffic-related deaths... The root of the problem is the unbridled sprawl of urban and suburban development that entailed the creation of an overly abundant space designed exclusively for speeding cars, while sidewalks, bicycle lanes and points of access to public transit were neglected... In recent years, the priority of transportation planners and engineers who design South Florida's roads and freeways has been to move as much motorized traffic as rapidly as possible, be it on a major highway or on a street running through a city's downtown area, even on residential neighborhoods. That explains why in every corner of Miami Dade County, roads are under repair or expansion -- and crushing everyone's patience. It's yet another way of keeping us hostages to our cars... (Photo from truckaccidentlaw.org: Hialeah,FL truck accident)

* California - More CA Local Governments Adopting 'Crash Tax'

Los Angeles,CAL,USA -The Los Angeles Times - December 30, 2010: ...  Will charge motorists involved in traffic accidents for emergency response... Sacramento could be largest city in CA to implement crash tax. Smaller cities like Costa Mesa, Fullerton, Santa Ana, Hemet have done so... Costa Mesa fees based on equipment, personnel sent to accident scene... Bill collectors may be used if insurance companies don't pay. Many communities have required insurance to pay for ambulance. Insurers say response is part of public safety funded through taxation... Officials say additional services like road cleanup are logical extension of policy. Officials say budget woes are forcing them to find new revenue. But cities say ban on crash tax could "devastate" city services... Some states have banned collection of accident-response fees... (Photo by Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times - Public officials say budget woes compel them to bill drivers for the cost of sending police and firefighters to accidents. But critics are incensed that cities are charging extra for what once were considered core services)