Volvo Trucks North America and subsidiary Mack Trucks say they’ve eliminated freight charges in most cases for shipments of emergency replacement parts from its parts distribution centers (PDCs).

The new program, which the companies say will allow customers now get the parts they need without having to pay additional shipping costs, took effect in the U.S. in mid-January and becomes effective in Canada at the end of March.

This means if a part is not available at a Volvo or Mack dealership, but is available within Volvo’s network of eight and Mack’s seven U.S. and Canadian PDCs, it will be shipped overnight to the dealer at no cost to the customer.

In addition, parts can be ordered after hours and received the next day or ordered on Saturdays for Monday delivery, all with no freight charge. Oversize parts (weighing more than 150 pounds) are shipped via LTL carrier, again with no freight charges to the customer.

“Volvo’s goal is to have better than 90 percent over-the-counter parts availability at its dealers,” said Joy Johnson, director of parts support for Volvo. “If the part is not at the dealer, but is in our industry-leading PDC network, it will be shipped overnight with no freight charge for the customer.”

Adds Chris Gossler, director of parts sales for Mack: “This program eliminates customer freight costs associated with getting an emergency part, on the off chance the part is not in stock.”

Swedish heavy-vehicle maker Volvo reported a six per-cent increase in pre-tax income for the fourth quarter 2007, saying it expected higher demand for trucks in Europe while demand was still weak in North America and Japan.

Pre-tax income was 5.6 billion kronor ($A968.91 million), compared to 5.22 billion kronor in the corresponding period 2006 for the Volvo group that does not include the Ford-owned car division.

Net sales were up 25 per cent to 84.55 billion kronor ($A14.7 billion), compared to 67.27 billion kronor ($A11.5 billion) in the corresponding business period 2006.

For full-year 2007, net sales increased 10 per cent to 285 billion kronor ($A249 billion) while pre-tax profit was 21.55 billion kronor ($A3.6 billion).

Chief executive Leif Johansson said in a statement that “nearly all markets continued to show favourable development, with the exception of North America and Japan.”

Volvo estimated that “the truck market in Europe will grow by 5-10 per cent compared with 2007, with the industry’s delivery capacity as the limiting factor,” Johansson said.

Sales in Asia tripled in the quarter and the region is Volvo’s second largest market.

For North America, Volvo expected sales “on about the same level as in 2007,” Johansson said.

Volvo sold a total of 57,012 trucks during the quarter, up 27 per cent from 2006, with strong growth in Asia, Western and Eastern Europe.

In North America, the overall heavy truck market in 2007 fell 40 per cent to 207,847 trucks owing to earlier purchases of trucks with old engines and lower freight volumes.

The bus division sold 5,173 units, up 13 per cent on fourth quarter 2006 but order bookings in the quarter declined, Volvo said.

The Volvo group had 101,698 employees at the end of December compared to 83,187 at year end 2006. Most of the increase was due to acquired companies.

The group sells trucks and heavy vehicles, buses and construction machinery, and includes the divisions Volvo Aero and Volvo Penta.

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.”

Allied Transport Establishment has contracted FAMCO (Al-Futtaim Auto and Machinery Company) to supply 30 Volvo trucks for its operations in the United Arab Emirates.

The company, which selected the Volvo FH400 model with I-shift transmission technology, received the first vehicles from the order during a recent ceremony at the FAMCO headquarters in Dubai.

“Our fleet currently includes eight Volvo trucks and we have found these vehicles to be very reliable. With the addition of the latest Volvo I-Shift trucks, we will be able to achieve our objectives with much better economy and improved efficiency,” said Ali Beyat, managing director of Allied Transport.

“The primary reason for choosing these vehicles was Volvo’s superior quality and reliability, supported by FAMCO’s reputation for after-sales service,” he added.

Allied Transport is now planning to provide DHL with the vehicles to boost the courier company’s fleet network in the Middle East and support the recent increase in demand for express deliveries in the region.

“This order is part of our five-year strategy with DHL,” said Beyat. “We anticipate the supply of over 500 trucks for DHL’s requirements over this period time. The vehicles will be used to meet the growing demand for the company’s express service across the GCC and Levant countries and North America.”

Complaints: None at this writing. This is one of the best wagons available in a market that has few wagons.

Ride, acceleration and handling: Excellent in all three categories for Point A-to-Point B drivers, people who want pleasurable motoring rather than racetrack fantasies.

Head-turning quotient: Luxurious without being over the top, and sexy without being trashy.

Body style/layout: The XC70 is a luxury, front-engine, mid-size, all-wheel-drive station wagon with four side doors and a rear liftgate.

Engine/transmission: The wagon comes with a standard 3.2-liter, 24-valve, in-line six-cylinder engine that develops 235 horsepower at 6,200 rpm and 236 foot-pounds of torque at 3,200 rpm. The engine is mated to a six-speed transmission that can be operated automatically or manually.

Capacities: There is seating for five. Luggage capacity is 33 cubic feet with the rear seats up and 71 cubic feet with the rear seats folded. The fuel tank holds 18.5 gallons of required premium unleaded gasoline. That’s “required” as in “premium only.” If you want to use a lower grade of gasoline, you are hereby advised to buy something else.

Mileage: Not impressive. We averaged 14 mpg in congested urban driving in the District of Columbia and its Northern Virginia suburbs. We averaged 23 mpg in Virginia highway driving.

Safety: Standard equipment includes electronic stability and traction control, rigid body construction, side and head air bags and four-wheel antilock brakes. Adjustable rear child-safety seats are optional. We advise you to buy them if you are transporting small children.

Price: The base price on the 2008 Volvo XC70 wagon is $36,775. Dealer’s invoice price on that model is $34,604. Price as tested is $41,710, including $4,190 in options and a $745 destination charge. Dealer’s price as tested is $38,951. Prices are sourced from Volvo Cars and edmunds.com

Shares of companies that make Heavy trucks rose Wednesday, pulled up by a strong overall market, along with new data showing an increase in truck orders.

According to data from ACT Research LLC, orders of Class 5 through heavy-duty Class 8 trucks rose 12 percent over November 2006 levels.

The November increase came after a 9 percent jump in October, which was preceded by a drop in the three previous months, according to the data included in an analyst note from Wachovia’s Andrew Casey.

Casey said the sustained strength in orders showed that truck market weakness may have bottomed, which is a relative positive for the companies in the sector, he said.

Also on Wednesday, Paccar Inc. announced a special dividend of $1 per share and a regular dividend of 18 cents per share.

The company said it would increase production at its DAF Trucks subsidiary by 5 percent in the first quarter in light of the strong Western and Central European truck market.

Here how Heavy truck stocks finished Wednesday:

Paccar rose $3.94, or 7.8 percent, to close at $54.55.

Cummins Inc. gained $4.52, or 3.9 percent, to finish at $122.

Eaton Corp. added $2.48, or 2.8 percent, to end at $91.74.

Navistar International Corp. rose $2.20, or 4.4 percent, to close at $52.20.

World number two truck maker Volvo has given notice of redundancy to 650 employees at its plant in Dublin, Virginia, a spokesman for the firm said on Monday. Volvo spokesman Marten Wikforss said the staff affected had been informed of the measure last month and would be leaving the firm at the end of January next year.

Sweden’s Volvo was hit by production problems at its U.S. truck operations earlier this year as it began manufacturing a new line of heavy-duty trucks and had had to bring in extra staff to deal with the problems.

“We were forced to take in more people to handle the hump and now we have rationalised and put things in order,” he said.

Up to 650 people working for Volvo Trucks North America will be cut next month at its Dublin plant in southwest Virginia.

The layoffs are the second round since November 2006, when about one-third of plant’s 3,170 work force was let go. Many of those workers were rehired, and the plant now has 970 workers, Volvo spokesman Jim McNamara said in an e-mail Friday to The Associated Press.

The 2008 layoffs, which will occur at the end of January, are permanent, he said.

McNamara said the new job cuts reflect “current market demand.”

The 1.6 million-square-foot (0.15 million sq. meter) New River Plant is the largest Volvo truck manufacturing center in the world. It manufactures 148 vehicles daily.

Workers were informed of the layoffs on Nov. 20.