Baking & Snack - September 2014 - 120

TRUCKS

US, Sprinter carries the badges of Mercedes-Benz and
Freightliner, both subsidiaries of The Daimler Group.

Augmenting the fleet
The large step van, popularly called a bread truck, still
commands the lion's share of the baking industry's fleet.
"For baked goods deliveries, you still need step vans for
bulk deliveries," said Brian Tabel, director of marketing,
Isuzu Commercial Truck of America, Anaheim, CA,
"but you can also need another type of truck to handle
city conditions and emerging customer channels."
What's happening is that some fleets now buy both
types of vehicles. "I've been seeing many fleets augment
their large trucks with the smaller-size vehicle," said
Joseph G. Langhauser Jr., commercial product and sales
support manager, vans and mobility, General Motors,
Detroit. "It becomes an operations management issue."
The smaller size is also attractive for local bakers and artisan food producers moving into restaurant supply with
customers needing more than one delivery a day. "They
compete well for parking availability," he added.
GM's lineup, badged both Chevrolet and GMC, provides a spectrum of vehicles from small cargo vans up
to large box trucks built on the company's cutaway chassis. "The Chevrolet City Express at 122 cu ft is about half
the size of our full-size cargo vehicle with 240 cu ft," Mr.
Langhauser said, "and the box trucks can be as big as a
step van.
"We've seen mixing of fleets to minimize costs," he
added.
With the launch of Transit Connect, Ford emphasized

choice. "It's not necessarily that smaller vans are better,"
explained Minyang Jiang, brand manager, Transit/Transit
Connect/E-Series, Ford Commercial Vehicles, Detroit.
Choice is also a matter of what works best for situations faced by the baker and snack food manufacturer. "Our philosophy is to offer the right truck for the
right operating conditions," Mr. Tabel said. "We have

Rules that only complicate
New regulations now cover the hours
worked by drivers of Class 2 and higher
trucks and went into effect in July last year.
Specifically, some drivers are now required to take two consecutive nights' rest
between the hours of 1 a.m. and 5 a.m.
"These new rules would push trucks
onto the road during peak commuting
times in already congested urban areas,
"
said Mike Goscinski, manager, government relations and public affairs for the
American Bakers Association (ABA).
The association's Logistics Committee,
chaired by Bob McGuire, vice-president,
transportation, Alpha Baking Co., has
been working with members of Congress
to dial back some unwarranted provisions of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration's (FMCSA) hours of service
(HOS) regulations.

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Baking & Snack - September 2014

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