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Bosch Pursues Electric, Fuel Cell Powertrains

HANOVER, Germany — Bosch presented a range of products and innovations to support the trucking industry’s movement toward vehicle electrification and automated driving here at the IAA Commercial Vehicles show.

The global automotive supplier introduced an electrified axle for semi-trailers, highlighted its investment in battery-electric and fuel cell technology for commercial vehicles and outlined its vision for “hub-to-hub” autonomous trucks in the United States.

“The road freight of the future should ideally be as free of emissions, accidents and stress as possible. To achieve this, we have to increasingly electrify, automate and connect it,” Rolf Bulander, a Bosch board member and chairman of its mobility solutions business, said during the company’s IAA press conference on Sept. 19.

Moving forward, Bosch sees a variety of alternative powertrain options having a place in commercial trucks.

China on track to become largest LNG importer by next year, vessel rates go through the roof

This puts China on track to overtake Japan as the largest importer of LNG in the world as early as 2019.

The August import numbers were 51.5 percent above the same period in 2017, according to the Customs Authority. Imports of natural gas have grown to meet increasing demand driven by environmental policies to replace coal-fired electricity generation.

The rapid growth in LNG imports is also driving the cost of transportation higher, with Atlantic cargoes bound for Asia approaching $100,000 per day for Large LNG carriers, up from $30,000 per day a year ago.

In addition to China’s appetite for LNG, utilities in Japan and South Korea have also been storing up LNG for the winter season.

‘If you’re at $85,000 now, you could easily see $115,000 to $120,000 in the winter’, US investment bank Jefferies’ energy shipping analyst Randy Giveans told Reuters.

More tonne miles from longer distances covered to transport LNG from new terminals in the United States and Arctic Russia, as well as a limited number of ships, is adding further momentum to the bullishness in the LNG shipping market. Combined, these factors have led to a strong period charter market for LNG carriers, spurring owners to add a record number of new build ships to the shipyard order book.

Norfolk Southern likely to leave Virginia for Atlanta; planes and people are a big reason

Norfolk Southern (NYSE: NSC) is reportedly getting ready to pull up stakes and move its corporate headquarters to Atlanta, a move a corporate relocation expert calls “an opportunity for them to recalibrate and refresh their brand.”

“They’ll be relocating to an exciting city like Atlanta,” John Boyd of The Boyd Companies said in an interview with FreightWaves. He cited the “skill set” of the people in Atlanta, where Norfolk Southern already has a little less than 2,000 employees in Atlanta’s Midtown area. A story in the Norfolk Virginian Pilot said the railroad had about 500 employees at its corporate headquarters in downtown Norfolk across two buildings.

In a recent fact sheet, NS listed about 4,700 employees in Georgia, though that would be on its rail system as well. The company operates about 1,700 miles of track in the state.

There’s another huge factor in the move: Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, the busiest in the world. A recent glance at the online flight board for Norfolk’s airport found the usual lineup of flights to major hubs: United to Houston, American to Chicago, Delta to Detroit, and so on. Want to go somewhere else? Change planes.

But moving to a city with an airport that has direct flights to just about everywhere is a “common denominator” in corporate headquarters moves, Boyd said.

Port of Savannah plans 45 percent boost in container handling over next decade

The Port of Savannah plans to boost its container handling ability through a $2.5 billion project aimed at making the Port the main East Coast gateway to U.S. inland markets.

Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) executive director Griff Lynch says his agency will bring total container handling capacity to 8 million twenty foot equivalent (teu) in containers, up from current capacity of 5.5 million teus, over the next decade.

“We’re preparing to redefine the Port of Savannah as not simply the load center for the Southeastern U.S., but as the port of choice for major inland markets east of the Mississippi River,” Lynch said at an event at the Port of Savannah.

The expansion includes the Mega Mason Rail Terminal project at the Port of Savannah. Mega Mason, which just received $92 million in funding from the GPA, will double intermodal capacity to 1 million lifts per year, at the Garden City Terminal, Savannah’s main container handling site.

Officers Issue 57,405 Citations, 87,907 Warnings During Operation Safe Driver Week

Commercial motor vehicle enforcement officers patrolling U.S. and Canadian highways issued more than 57,000 citations and nearly 88,000 warnings for unsafe driving behaviors during 2018 Operation Safe Driver Week, the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance reported Sept. 19.

During the July 15-21 safety initiative, 51,000 law enforcement officers made contact with more than 113,000 commercial motor vehicle and passenger vehicle drivers. The campaign was conducted to call attention to driver behaviors, the main cause of crashes, and combat those behaviors through heightened traffic safety enforcement and educational research, CVSA said.

A total of 42,144 commercial motor vehicle contacts were made with 10,709 citations issued, and 71,187 passenger vehicle contacts were made with 46,696 citations issued. Commercial vehicle drivers were given 29,908 warnings, while 57,999 warnings were given to passenger vehicle drivers.

Diesel, Gas Prices Creep Upward

The nationwide average price of diesel increased by a penny to $3.268 a gallon, the Department of Energy reported Sept. 17.

Trucking’s main fuel costs 47.7 cents a gallon more than it did a year ago, when the price was $2.791.

It appears that Hurricane Florence has had little impact on the price of diesel or gasoline as the storm, while causing widespread flooding in North Carolina, did not track into the Gulf Coast, where many of the nation’s oil processors have refineries.

California Aims to Drop Fossil Fuels for Electricity by 2045

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California has set a goal of phasing out electricity produced by fossil fuels by 2045 under legislation signed Sept. 10 by Gov. Jerry Brown.

Brown, who has positioned California as a global leader in the effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, approved the measure as he prepares to host a summit in San Francisco of climate change leaders from around the world starting Sept. 12.

The renewable energy measure would require California’s utilities to generate 60% of their energy from wind, solar and other specific renewable sources by 2030. That’s 10% higher than the current mandate.

The goal would then be to use only carbon-free sources to generate electricity by 2045. It’s merely a goal, with no mandate or penalty for falling short.

Brown

“It’s not going to be easy and will not be immediate, but it must be done,” Brown said. “California is committed to doing whatever is necessary to meet the existential threat of climate change.”

Ocean Shippers Fear Engine Failures as Industry Forced to Upgrade Fuel

Add oil tankers breaking down at sea to the list of things shipping companies are worrying about as they brace for a once-in-a-generation overhaul to the kind of fuel the industry must consume.

From Jan. 1, 2020, the vast majority of the world’s merchant fleet will have to use fuel containing no more than 0.5% sulfur, down from 3.5% in most parts of the world today. The change is expected to upend shipping and refining industries, with analysts forecasting higher oil prices, slower-sailing ships and some observers even warning of risks to world trade.

Diesel Inches Up 0.6¢ to $3.258 a Gallon

The U.S. average retail price of diesel inched up 0.6 cent to $3.258 a gallon, while crude oil prices fell amid questions over supplies in light of looming sanctions against Iran.

Trucking’s main fuel costs 45.6 cents a gallon more than it did a year ago, when the price was $2.802, the Department of Energy said Sept. 10.

Averages rose in all regions but New England and the West Coast less California.

The national average price for regular gasoline rose 0.9 cent to $2.833 a gallon, DOE’s Energy Information Administration said. The average is 14.8 cents higher than it was a year ago.

Average gasoline prices rose in all regions.

Crude oil futures trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange closed Sept. 10 at $67.54 per barrel compared with $69.87 on Sept. 4.

Electric Trucks Could Save Europe 11 Billion Barrels of Oil

Transforming the European Union’s truck fleet to electric and hydrogen vehicles from diesel-powered engines could cut oil use by as much as 11 billion barrels through 2050, or more than two years’ worth of imports.

The transition to efficient and zero-emission trucks can spur “consistent” economic growth over the next three decades as spending on oil is cut, according to the European Climate Foundation and Cambridge Econometrics in a report backed by Tesla Inc., Volvo AB and Siemens AG. Europe imports about 89 percent of its oil, most of which is used for transport fuel.

Commercial trucking accounts for 22 percent of EU transport emissions despite making up less than 5 percent of all road vehicles. The European Commission has said that if the heavy goods vehicle, or HGV, fleet doesn’t start making its rigs more efficient, emissions will grow 10 percent by 2030.