Freightliner Corp. Unveils New Tractor to Arkansas Companies

Arkansas trucking companies got their first look on May 6 at the new design of tractor being introduced by Freightliner Corp.

The tractor, named Argosy, is being touted by the company as a safety concept vehicle that will revolutionize the trucking industry. Freightliner’s president and CEO, Jim Hebe, broke his long-standing tradition of not attending state trucking conventions to bring the tractor to the Arkansas Motor Carriers Association in Springdale.

“I reviewed our client list and decided I better come,” Hebe told a capacity crowd of more than 100 people.

It was probably a good choice. Kirk Thompson, president and CEO of J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. of Lowell, arrived in time to see the tractor and hear Hebe’s presentation. Hunt, the nation’s largest publicly traded trucking company, has more than 7,500 tractors in its fleet, all of the cab-over design of Freightliner’s new tractor.

“We’re always interested in new products,” Thompson said after the presentation.

The Argosy is more than a new product, Hebe says. It is the first new tractor design in 25 years, he says.

“We introduced a new truck, new from the ground up,” Hebe says. “We call it unconventional.”

The unconventional features include a lower profile to reduce the chance of rollover, an electronic braking system, front wheel disc brakes, a collision warning system, a one-piece windshield with three wipers, halogen lights with a washer system and daytime running lights.

“This is the promise of what this industry can be,” Hebe says. “This truck has more safety features than any vehicle in the world.”

Ironically, the truck isn’t legal in most states. It can accommodate a 58-foot trailer, which is longer than allowed by federal law, and carry as much as 90,000 pounds, which is 10,000 pounds over the federal limit.

Hebe contends the truck should be allowed on the nation’s roads because the overall length of the tractor and trailer isn’t any greater than conventional rigs and the trailer has an extra axle to distribute the additional weight. He is part of a team of industry executives lobbying for changes in the federal law that would allow the new tractor and trailer combination on the roads.

Huckabee promises truckers

fair highway legislation

Gov. Mike Huckabee didn’t reveal his proposal for a state highway bill, as some members of the convention had hoped, but he assured them that any tax increase wouldn’t be paid entirely by the trucking industry.

“I don’t agree with the idea of letting the load pay for the road,” Huckabee said.

Huckabee praised the trucking industry and its contribution to the state economy. He promised not to propose any legislation that would harm the companies.

“There won’t be a whipping boy,” he said.

Currently, the trucking industry pays about 53 percent of all taxes used to build and maintain the state’s roads. However, trucks account for 13 percent of all traffic on the roads, Huckabee said.

Huckabee has appointed a 12-member committee to study the state’s highway needs. Lane Kidd, president of the AMCA, is a member of that committee.