Con-way Inc. said late Monday its fourth-quarter net income fell to $34.5 million, or 73 cents a share, from $82.4 million, or $1.66 per share, a year earlier.

Revenue jumped 20.2% to $1.2 billion, from $998.6 million a year ago, the company said in a statement.

Fourth-quarter operating income dropped 36.2%, to $70 million.

Excluding one-time items such as a restructuring charge, the company said it earned 88 cents a share, compared with 83 cents the previous year.

For the full year, Con-way earned $146 million, or $3.04 per share, down from $259 million, or $4.98, in 2006.

Safeway has converted its fleet of more than 1,000 trucks to biodiesel, which the California-based grocery chain says equals removing almost 7,500 cars from the road annually.

Announced Jan. 18, the change is part of Safeway’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Initiative and its effort to manage its carbon footprint, address climate change and reduce air pollution.

Steve Burd, company CEO, and Calif. Lt. Gov. John Garamendi declared the conversion at Safeway’s “green” store in Dublin, Calif., which operates on solar and wind energy.

The company’s environmental programs include participation in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s SmartWay Transport Partnership for companies and organizations that commit to a baseline fleet fuel efficiency and a decrease in carbon emissions.

Safeway also is part of the EPA’s Grow & Go program, which promotes the benefits of renewable fuels.

Safeway buys enough wind energy annually to power 300 fuel stations and more than 50 of its 1,738 stores across North America.

Some cities have converted their entire fleets to biodiesel, including San Francisco, which completed the switch in November on its 1,500 diesel vehicles.

Diamond Companies Inc. announced that the company will bring several truck and bus dealerships, along with IdeaLease locations, under the brand name Diamond International.

The companies will operate under the single name and logo beginning Feb. 1, including Mid-America International Trucks located in Memphis.

Management will remain the same at all company locations.

Based in Memphis, Diamond Companies Inc. is one of the largest Navistar International dealers in the country with more than 600 employees at 17 locations spanning four states.

Hitachi Mining, a part of Hitachi Construction Machinery, has introduced AC drive in rigid Dump trucks. The EH3500AC is powered by a Cummins 16-cylinder, QSK50 Tier II compliant turbo diesel, developing 1491kW at 1900rpm and driving through axle-mounted Hitachi AC traction drives.

Fully loaded, the EH3500 weighs 500 tonnes with a payload of 360+ tonnes. The truck is powered by two AC traction motors, which propels the gargantuan to a speed of over 55KPH. The motors also function as electric brakes bringing the 3.6 metre wheels to a safe stop without the use of mechanical brake pads.

AC drives start-off with a basic 6-7% higher efficiency over DC drives of comparable size, allowing faster travel speeds while reducing diesel fuel consumption.

Using the same drive concept as a diesel electric locomotive, the EH3500 AC’s 3500HP diesel engine powers an AC alternator. Constant voltage DC from this alternator is transformed by an inverter into variable frequency AC, which in turn supplies the two AC electric motors installed in the rear axle of the truck. The output frequency and voltage of the inverters are controlled to provide precise motor torque and speed.

In retard, the inverters generate electric power by slowing down the motors. Braking choppers, connected to the inverters, channel that power straight into a power resistor grid that continuously dissipates the energy until the truck reaches standstill. The smooth braking action is like driving a car, but without mechanical brake wear.

AC traction drives are the logical solution for today’s higher payload and performance requirements

• AC traction drives are better than DC drives
• Their reliability has been proven in locomotive, excavator, and industrial drives
• They meet high torque at low speed and high speed requirements
• AC traction drives are virtually maintenance free
• Higher AC drive efficiency reduces fuel/oil costs
• Special control reduces brake, engine and tyre wear

The EH3500 is suitable for open-pit mining because of its compatibility with harsh Australian environment.

Toyota Motor Corp. (7203.TO) said Sunday that it will introduce diesel-engine models in the U.S. market in an effort to offer low-emission vehicles.

The Japanese car maker will also roll out plug-in gasoline-electric hybrids with lithium-ion batteries in the U.S. by 2010.

Toyota will launch the Tundra pickup truck and the Sequoia minivan, which will be powered by a new diesel V8 engine, “in the near future,” Toyota President Katsuaki Watanabe said Sunday.

Other Japanese car makers also said earlier in the day at the North American International Auto Show that they want to bring in diesel-powered vehicles in the U.S. as regulations for gas emissions are becoming stricter and gasoline prices remain high. Diesel engines are about 20% more fuel efficient than gasoline engines.

Honda Motor Co.  President Takeo Fukui said that it will launch diesel vehicles under its luxury Acura brand by 2009.

Toyota, which is the world’s leading gasoline-electric hybrid car maker, will also show two all new, dedicated hybrids, one for Toyota and one for Lexus, next year, Watanabe said.

There are varieties of Bulldozers available in market today, each showing their uniqueness in terms of usage, features, style, versatility, etc. The new caterpillar wheel bulldozer offers you a unique and wonderful combination of mobility, versatility, power generation, speed, etc what a normal buyer may be looking for. The power of this wonderful machine is very much similar to that of any of the tracked bulldozers and the mobility of this machine is similar to that of a wheeled dozer. This new bulldozer offers you Cat C9 engine offering you a speed of 2100 rpm. It also offer wonderful high power horsepower with low displacement.

The engine is best in terms of fuel economy and offers you durability for longer usage of years, this not only reduces the overall operating cost but offers good stability in longer run. The wonderful feature of this bulldozer is its crankshaft which is steel forged, hardened and carbonized to meet the standards for a long term durable truck or a bull dozer.

At any given point of time, you must have noticed that when a person is comfortable with particular task of work, the productivity and profits increase same is the case with Bulldozers, if the person operating it is comfortable with driving it without any much of stress, the bulldozers are easy to control and the work can be carried on for longer period of time. The monitoring system of this bulldozer is equipped with a unique electronic analog gauge that helps giving great reliability and is also the most effective. The system checks for bulldozers performance on a regular basis and informs the operator in case of any problems. It even informs the operator of potential dangers regarding the air temperature, electrical system, engine oil pressure, fuel filter, parking brake status, low voltage, etc.

The modern bulldozers come equipped with good hard working stability giving much more output then thought of. The caterpillar has provided with vents that keeps the air flowing to improve the cab’s heating abilities, this also helps in defrosting, cooling and defogging.

Volvo Action Service goes that little bit further reckons Biglorryblog.

Just how far do you think a manufacturer should go to attend a breakdown asks Biglorryblog? Try asking John Pettitt. For little did the Hartshorne Potteries Volvo workshop technician realise that when he was asked by his boss to attend an ‘off-site’ repair, it would involve a round trip of nearly 16,000 miles.

It all began when the Commanding Officer of the Mount Pleasant RAF base on the Falkland Islands contacted Hartshorne’s service department at Newcastle-under-Lyme. The Royal Air Force workshop, he said, needed some technical assistance with the diagnosis and repair to the fuel system of a Volvo FL6 fire tender operated by the base.

Now click through here to read all about it and see a typical Falkland Islander…..

Although Hartshorne’s service team first gave technical advice over the telephone, it soon became apparent they were going to have to send a workshop technician to the Falklands to sort the job out. The RAF have been a Hartshorne customer for some time and the dealer team were delighted to respond positively and travel plans were quickly made.

Having been ‘volunteered’, John was quickly on his way to the military air-base at Brize Norton in Oxfordshire to catch the 17-hour long scheduled flight to Port Stanley—stopping only to refuel at Ascension Island. I wonder what the in-flight film was? A range of Volvo Parts, including an injector set, was also despatched in the hold of the DC10.

On arrival, John was taken straight to the base, which is located about 35 miles from the capital Port Stanley, where he worked with two RAF technicians to diagnose the fault and fix the problem – which turned out to be fuel-pump related.

John tells BLB that his only mistake in the rush to prepare for the long journey was to pack full thermals and winter clothing. Unfortunately, when he arrived, he quickly discovered that it was mid-summer and a baking 80 degrees. However, the welcome he received from the RAF ground crew more than made up for that and he describes the trip overall as a “once in a lifetime experience.”

The blown tire caused the Garbage truck to cross the center line, he said, and strike the smaller-sized SUV. Police were still investigating the cause of the original collision, he said.

The crash was reported at 10:08 a.m., Tyler said. The woman, who was conscious afterwards, was transported by ground ambulance to Hartford Hospital. Police had not released her name by early Friday afternoon.

The road was closed for more than two hours after the crash. The crash occurred on the section of the road that is just west of the intersection with Garden Street