The Fleet Business Authority
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Trucking's Most Respected Business Report 20 HDT • MAY 2014 www.truckinginfo.com hotline Bad weather affects Q1 utilization S mith Electric Vehicles has paused production while it makes changes in its supply chain and prepares an improved version of its electric delivery truck, according to Bryan Hensel, CEO and co-founder. A "strategic decision" to stop money-losing production around the first of the year resulted in layoffs of assembly line workers, he says, but the plant and of- fice in Kansas City, Mo., remains staffed with about 100 engineering, manufacturing, sales, marketing and support people. Component manufacturing is being moved from the United Kingdom to Malaysia, where mo- tors, controllers and other parts will be made at less cost and with higher quality, Hensel says. As before, components will be shipped to Kansas City for final assembly when production resumes in mid-summer. New Generation 3 trucks will include 16,000- to 26,000-pound- MARCH 2014 CLASS 8 33,001 LBS. & OVER MAR YTD YTD SALES SALES SHARE CLASS 7 26,001-33,000 LBS. MAR YTD YTD SALES SALES SHARE CLASS 6 19,501-26,000 LBS. MAR YTD YTD SALES SALES SHARE CLASS 3, 4 & 5 10,001-19,500 LBS. MAR YTD YTD SALES SALES SHARE MANUFACTURER U.S. Retail Truck Sales Report Complied by Heavy Duty Trucking magazine. Source: Ward's Communications Chevrolet 2,274 6,245 8.79% Dodge/Ram 13,338 31,683 44.57% Ford 383 877 7.85% 1,574 3,964 29.24% 9,653 25,109 35.32% Freightliner 5,303 16,103 36.15% 1,968 5,774 51.69% 2,030 5,133 37.86% 89 542 0.76% GMC 850 2,138 3.01% HINO 146 355 3.18% 638 1,326 9.78% 65 154 0.22% International 2,690 7,294 16.37% 796 2,331 20.87% 1,236 2,820 20.80% 231 585 0.82% Isuzu 1,718 4,245 5.97% Kenworth 2,332 5,756 12.92% 262 747 6.69% 134 269 1.98% 1 1 0.00% Mack 1,345 1,833 6.52% Mitsubishi Fuso 149 381 0.54% Peterbilt 2,116 6,061 13.61% 482 1,087 9.73% 10 47 0.35% 1 3 0.00% Volvo 2,500 5,485 12.31% Western Star 162 660 1.48% Other 4 10 0.02% Totals 16,452 44,547 100% 4,037 11,171 100% 5,622 13,559 100% 23,369 71,086 100% Utilization from fleets was weaker in the first quarter of 2014, falling 1.7 points to 81.1%, according to data tracked by MacKay and Co. Weak housing starts, continued governmental budget constraints and bad weather combined to push agriculture, construction, government and other vocations below seasonal norms. These factors outweighed strength in owner-operator, for-hire, private and lease/rental fleets. GVW Newton low-cab-forward and stripped chassis models. The Edison model that used a Ford Transit van chassis has been discontinued. Outside investors are being added to the company's roster of financial backers. Despite the losses seen thus far, "we feel very confident that we will have a positive return on our invest- ment," Hansel says. "The previous supply chain was low-volume. Now it's time to go from hundreds of trucks produced to thousands." – Tom Berg, Senior Editor 88 86 84 82 80 78 76 Utilization % Changes at Smith Electric Vehicles 2013-Q1 2013-Q2 2013-Q3 2013-Q4 2014-Q1 2014-Q2 2014-Q3 Forecast Quarter Actual 4-Qtr Average ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ 81.1 82.1 Source: MacKay & Company. H o t l i n e M a y . i n d d 2 0 Hotline May.indd 20 4 / 3 0 / 1 4 4 : 3 0 P M 4/30/14 4:30 PM