Author Archives: Carlos De Sordi

Some States Consider Eliminating Speed Differentials

Several states are considering changes to laws that enforce speed differentials, requiring trucks to drive at different speeds than other vehicles.

According to reports, new proposals in California, Indiana and Iowa would do away with speed differentials for trucks and other large vehicles. Most speed differential laws like this are opposed by organizations like the Owner-Operator Independent Driver’s Association (OOIDA), who advocate that they have a negative impact on safety.

Current California law limits large vehicles to 55 miles per hour in some locations while smaller vehicles are permitted to drive 65 MPH. Indiana’s current law limits all vehicles over 26,000 pounds to 65 MPH (compared to 70 MPH for cars). Iowa wants to raise its speed limit to 75 MPH for all vehicles. Only two states that have a speed limit set at 75 MPH require trucks to travel at lower speeds.

Construction Begins on BART Extension

California’s Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) began construction on the second phase of its Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) extension, a $4.7 billion dollar project.

According to reports, this phase of the project will include building five miles of subway tunnel, a ground level station, three underground stations, a maintenance facility and storage yard and two ventilation facilities. The overall project calls for the building of 16 miles of track and will connect north San Jose to downtown Santa Clara. Phase II will run through 2020, with the entirety of the project estimated to be complete by 2026.

The project will be paid for through a combination of grants and local taxes. Once completed, the system will be maintained and operated by BART.

Carlos Ghosn Officially Steps Down from Renault Roles

Carlos Ghosn has officially stepped down from his role as Renault’s Chairman and CEO as he faces charges of financial misconduct.

According to reports, Jean-Dominique Senard will take over as chairman while Thierry Bollore will serve as chief executive. Ghosn, who has been detained in Japan since his arrest in November, is accused of failing to disclose more than $80 million in additional compensation from 2010 to 2018. He had previously refused to step down, but calls for a leadership change from the French government and rejected bail requests led him to do so. The French government owns about 15% of Renault.

Renault is part of an alliance with Japanese automakers Nissan and Mitsubishi. According to reports, the future of that alliance could be in jeopardy as a result of the allegations against Ghosn.

Survey Shows Concern For Potential Skills Crisis

Some oil industry professionals are beginning to express concern that their industry will soon face a substantial skills crisis according to the latest Global Energy Talent Index (GETI).

According to reports, more than 17,000 respondents participated in this year’s GETI survey, with 40% saying they believe the industry is already facing a skills crisis. Another 28% believe a skills crisis will begin within the next five years. The survey report cited cuts to graduate programs and apprenticeships, as well as continued fallout from the latest economic unrest.

While it expressed concern, the report also noted that talent in the oil industry tends to come and go as the economy fluctuates.

Companies Will Use Blockchain Technology to Monitor Cobalt in DRC

A group of companies from across the globe announced they will collaborate on a program using blockchain technology to monitor cobalt production in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

According to sources, U.S. based Ford and IBM will team up with South Korea-based LG Chem and China-based Huayou Cobalt. The project, expected to be completed by the middle of this year, will use blockchain to track the journey of the metal mined in the DRC in an effort to ensure its responsibly sourced. Cobalt is a critical element in lithium ion batteries used to power electric vehicles. As these vehicles become more popular, human rights groups have put more pressure on companies to ensure the materials they use are mined and produced ethically.

According to reports, the DRC is the worlds largest producer of cobalt. 2018 final numbers were not available, but the African nation produced 64,000 tons in 2017. However, the nation has also been wracked with an unstable political climate.

Ford Plans to Release an All-Electric F-150 Model

Ford announced it intends to release an all-electric version of its F-150 pickup truck, but has not said when that vehicle may be released.

According to reports, the announcement was made with little other information, including a potential timeline or any details on the vehicle’s power train. Industry insiders have been speculating about an electric F-150 since Ford execs hinted at the possibility last year. It is unclear whether such a vehicle would be a part of the recently announced partnership between Ford and German automaker Volkswagen.

This would not be the first time Ford has attempted to create an all-electric pickup. They briefly produced an electric Ranger model from 1998 to 2002. Ford has also announced a hybrid version of the F-150 slated to release in 2020.

Oil Industry Poised for More Growth in 2019

2018 was a banner year for oil and gas and while the industry may slow a little bit in 2019, its still poised to see growth.

In 2018, oil production in the United States averaged about 10.8 million barrels per day (B/D). In November, production went as high as 11.6 million B/D, the highest in the world. The U.S. ended 2018 as the world’s largest oil producer and shattered its previous record highs.

“It was a combination of more drilling and unexpected improvements in process and technology,” Dean Foreman, Chief Economist for the American Petroleum Institute (API) said. “The efficiency of the industry and the efficacy at which it is producing continues to exceed expectations. (The industry is) learning how to optimize its operations from a process standpoint. Tying in infrastructure, drilling parent and child wells, using learning process to target what wells they are completing and how we’re doing it. We are using analytics much more than we have previously.”

Foreman said it is unlikely U.S. oil industry will see the kind of growth it did last year. However, he is still optimistic about continuing growth in 2019, especially as imports continue to remain at record lows.

“It’s not the same quantum, we aren’t going to see another 2 million barrels of growth like we did last year,” Foreman said. “But it’s going to grow. In 2018 the U.S. supplied virtually all global oil demand growth and its poised to do that again in 2019. We’re optimistic despite what appear to be significant headwinds and challenges.”

While drilling has slowed, a large number of drilled but uncompleted wells, or DUCs, position the industry to continue moving forward. With as many as 8,700 DUCs, Foreman estimated the industry could go up to seven months without drilling and still have supply. The bigger challenge comes not from extracting the oil but transporting it. Booming business in the Permian Basin and Bakken Formation have strained industry infrastructure.

“Right now, we have significant infrastructure constraints in the Permian basin and the Bakken formation,” Foreman said. “Some of the pipelines that are coming will alleviate that. In the meantime, we are using a lot of rail and trucking to try and get production to market. To really get the most out of 2019 we need the infrastructure and the trade concerns to clear.”

On a larger scale, a volatile global market and Pending trade deals are also complicating manners for U.S. oil producers.

“I think the biggest thing people will look for is whether a trade deal will be reached with China,” Foreman said. “Second to that is the ratification of the U.S.-Canada-Mexico trade agreement. If those move forward it will reinforce the global trade cooperation that has been a source of prosperity over the last two or three decades.”

While those issues are concerning, Foreman is confident the oil industry in the U.S. will continue to grow and that growth will continue to have a positive impact beyond just major oil producers.

“There is a pervasive and important economic impact that has gone with the energy revelation in the U.S., not just in the drilling but everything downstream,” Foreman said. “We are seeing petrochemicals and energy intensive industry coming back. As that happens, the question is how do you keep that investment going.”

Volkswagen Announces Six New Fleet Incentives

Volkswagen announced it will add fleet incentives for six vehicles in its 2019 lineup.

The automaker also said it will modify two more incentives that had already announced, according to sources. The incentives include a $1,000 incentive on several golf models, including the Golf, Golf SportWagen, Golf Alltrack and GTI. The high-end Golf R and all-electric E-Golf will not receive any incentives. Volkswagen is also offering a $1,500 incentive on its Atlas SUV and $1,000 on the more compact Tiguan.

Also announced were increases to the incentives on the Passat at $3,000 and Jetta at $1,250. According to Volkswagen’s website, eligible customers may be eligible for larger incentives with larger purchases. Fleet managers must keep vehicles in service for a minimum of 6 months or 18,000 miles to receive their incentives.

Tech Showcased at 2019 Consumer Electronics Show

The Consumer Electronics Show, which took place Jan. 8-11 in Las Vegas, has long been a forum for tech companies to introduce their latest and greatest innovations. While it might conjure up images of 3D printers, high end smartphones and augmented reality, the automotive industry also had a major presence at the 2019 event. From new in-car technology to unique new vehicles, here are some of the more unique and innovative products revealed by automakers at CES 2019:

Hyundai’s Elevate UMV – Hyundai showed a new concept vehicle, the Elevate UMV, is a creation of the Automaker’s Center for Robotic-Augmented Design in Living Experiences, or CRADLE. It’s an electric modular vehicle with legs that can pivot and twist. This allows the vehicle to climb 5-foot walls or span large gaps. Hyundai has already built and tested a one-tenth scale proof of concept model.

Honda’s Dream Drive – Honda introduced a prototype for its mobile-based in-car dashboard that will provide a range of services for both drivers and passengers. The concept was first introduced at CES in 2017. Plans are to offer services like in-car payment technology, anti-distraction features and mixed reality games for passengers. Read more about it here.

Mercedes Benz’ Vision Urbanetic – Mercedes Benz showed off a working model of its Vision Urbanetic, an autonomous electric vehicle with a modular chassis. The vehicle has interchangeable modules for transporting people or product and can be fed real-time traffic reports. While they did create a working model, the automaker has said it does not yet plan on bringing the vehicle to market.

Toyota’s Guardian Safety – While other automakers introduced tech that may not be ready for several years, Toyota focused on more attainable goals with its Guardian safety system. Guardian uses a series of radar and cameras to monitor driver awareness and occasionally jumping in to add steering or braking inputs. Toyota representatives believe the system will roll out in the early 2020s.

Freightliner’s Cascadia Class 8 – Passenger vehicles weren’t alone in debuting new tech. Freightliner announced it will add systems like pedestrian detection, adaptive cruise control and traffic sign recognition to its Cascadia Class 8 trucks. While these features have been fairly common in passenger cars for years, most trucks don’t have them or only have them in a limited capacity. The Class 8 will go on sale in July.

With all the new vehicle technology inside and out, the automotive industry is quickly changing. While there are a lot of positive aspects of this new technology, it may be a challenge to adapt and its something the automotive industry should prepare for.

Citing Transparency, Tiffany & Co. to List Origin of Diamonds

In what its CEO calls an effort to be more transparent, retailer Tiffany & Co. has announced it will begin identifying where its diamonds are sourced from.

As of Jan. 9, customers at the retailers’ stores will see origin information displayed alongside all diamond rings. According to sources, store employees will also be able to provide that information on request. Currently, the region or country of origin for each registered diamond is readily available. Insiders say Tiffany & Co. plan on making more information available to consumers by 2020, including each stone’s complete trip from through the supply chain.

According to sources, most of the retailer’s diamonds come from mines in Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Russia and Canada. They are one of few jewelers that cut and polish their own stones. According to diamond giants DeBeers, the diamond industry has annual sales of around $80 billion.