Trucking Magazine No.361 Blues & Twos Back Issue

Well, 2013 certainly ended with a bang! According to figures recently released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), new truck registrations saw an unprecedented 93 per cent surge in the fourth quarter of the year as operators raced to get their hands on the last
available Euro 5 vehicles before the December 31 cut-off. The rush to beat Euro 6 also resulted in a record number of registrations in a single day, with no fewer than 1000 trucks hitting the books on December 18.
But while commercial vehicle manufacturers are celebrating the boom,
they are also remaining cautious about how the market will perform in
2014. As Iveco’s UK MD, Claudio Zanframundo, told us at the Italian
truck-maker’s annual State of the Nation conference in January, Q1 orders are likely to be down as a result of the pre-Christmas rush. For more on this story, see Industry News, starting page 6. Elsewhere this issue, we test drive Volvo’s Euro 6 FH-460 tractor unit. Dubbed ‘fleet spec’ by the manufacturer, the truck is still surprisingly feature-rich and offers a ride we think any driver would be more than happy with. For more, turn to page 28. In Truck on Trial, we head to north-east Scotland to put a big-cabbed MAN TGX 26.540 up against a V8 Scania R560 Topline at bulk-haulier WJ&J Green. The firm has traditionally run tag-axle Scanias, but has recently taken the TGX due to a good offer from a local dealer. The company needs powerful trucks for the work it does in the Scottish Highlands and throughout the rest of the UK, so how does the new MAN fair against the growling Swede? Head to page 36 to find out. Needless to say, there’s plenty more besides in this month’s issue – and we hope you
enjoy your read!