The Light Load: Everybody wants Freightliner CPCs

The thefts of common powertrain controller (CPC) modules from parked Freightliner and Western Star trucks feels like a game of Clue minus the conservatory, candlestick, Col. Mustard and, well, clues. Come to think of it, it’s nothing at all like Clue, but I digress.

Anyhow, unless Miss Marple clears her schedule, Daimler Truck North America and the authorities are going to have to sort through a passel of suspects, usual or otherwise, to get to the bottom of this high-tech poachery.

The purloined...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/the-light-load-everybody-wants-freightliner-cpcs

FMCSA warns carriers on ELD data-services shutdown

Federal regulators are attempting to head off ELD violations by urging carriers to plan ahead for the shutdown of third-generation (3G) mobile technology by major cellular companies.

Wireless providers such as AT&T and T-Mobile are phasing out 3G to make space for 5G. ELDs that are only compatible with 3G will no longer be able to transmit data to the back office or roadside law enforcement — effectively rendering the ELDs obsolete and eventually landing them on the Federal Motor Carrier Safety...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/fmcsa-warns-carriers-on-eld-data-services-shutdown

Biden spotlights computer chip shortage on visit to Mack Trucks plant

President Joe Biden highlighted a production problem that Mack Trucks and other truck manufacturers have been facing this year because of a global shortage of computer chips that enable engine operations.

On a tour of Mack Trucks’ assembly plant in Macungie, Pennsylvania, on Wednesday, Biden was told that the manufacturer was struggling to find the chips needed for engine assembly.

“We basically don’t make them anymore in America,” Biden said during a speech following the tour. “So I got together...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/biden-spotlights-computer-chip-shortage-on-visit-to-mack-trucks-plant