March 2016 Volume 36, Issue 3
TRUCK NEWS A new truck!
International has introduced the HX Series – its first new model introduction since the TerraStar in 2010.
Delivering daily news at trucknews.com
11L heavyweight
Paccar’s new 11-litre MX engine isn’t for everyone, but it’s surprisingly stout. We test drove it on Texas highways.
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Think it’s impossible to work out while on the road? You’ll reconsider when you see these on-road exercises.
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On-road workouts
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Canada’s Trucking Newspaper Since 1981
What does US trucking have in store this year?
Don’t get squeezed
Shopping for a used truck? We offer tips on how to avoid a lemon.
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Growth, but also risk. By James Menzies
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f you’re having trouble figuring out how to interpret the inconsistent and unusual economic indicators you’re seeing, take heart, even economists are struggling with it. Noel Perry, senior transportation expert with industry forecaster FTR, says many economists have been waiting for the US to break out of its slow growth recovery and return to steadier growth of 3-3.2%, but it’s just not happening. “The economics community is having difficulty accepting it,” Perry said of a US GDP growth rate that’s been just over 2% in recent quarters. “Everybody thinks we’re about to jump out of what they think to be abnormal growth, back into normal growth. It hasn’t happened and I don’t think it’s going to happen.” FTR is projecting US GDP growth of 2.4% in 2016, just slightly better than current levels. However, Perry is quick to add, “Our forecast is very optimistic.” A record crowd tuned in for FTR’s recent State of Freight Webinar. Perry warned them of several risks on the horizon, including the chance of a global recession. “Our economy is inextricably linked Continued on page 7
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Barn find of a different kind We offer a detailed look at the King brothers’ extraordinary collection of antique trucks By Harry Rudolfs OWEN SOUND, ONTARIO
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Wayne and Robert King own a fascinating collection of classic Macks.
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ometime when you’re on the way to Owen Sound and you’re passing through Chatsworth, take the first road running west and head back north again on the third road to your right. Drive a few miles and keep your eyes peeled on the right side and you’ll see something pretty neat. A 1964 Model B61 Mack tractor up about 60 feet in the air, mounted on a steel cylinder, high above the pastoral farmlands of Grey County, Ont. I’ve heard that some Air Canada pilots use it as a navigation marker. But one thing is certain, when you see the “Mack on a Stick,” you know you’re in the King brothers’ territory. Wayne King has a collection of about a dozen restored ‘Bulldogs’ on the farm below the suspended B-61, and his brother Robert has his sizable collection of vintage trucks, mostly Autocars and a couple of Oshkosh snowplows, at his farm one concession to the north. The Kings are historical truck collectors and restorers. This is a special breed of trucker passionate about preserving and retaining a physical record of the trucks they drove and admired. And there is usually a strong familial
connection. E C King Contracting was started by Robert and Wayne’s parents, Laurine and Elma, in 1946. By the time the company was sold to Miller Paving in 1973, it was a thriving concern with 140 employees, five concrete plants, an asphalt operation, a quarry and several gravel pits. “We easily had more than 50 trucks on the road,” says Wayne. “We had 20 Redi-Mix trucks alone, as well as a lot of Cat equipment and Linkbelt shovels.” The family business may have been sold long ago, but its legacy of vintage Autocars, Whites and Macks lives on in the brothers’ collections. Robert has kept and restored the very first new truck he ever drove – a 1968 Ford – to mint condition. But one of his sharpest units is a 1956 Autocar that he spent 15 years restoring. “I bought it in California and it was just a piece of junk, bare frame rails, but the aluminum cab was salvageable,” he says. “Dad had a ’56 Autocar and I wanted to restore it and paint it up in the company colours, orange and green.” Continued on page 16
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