Recorded on November 15th, 2019
Media Release
ARTSA-i Life Members award dinner on the 6th November was another milestone for the organisation with six new life members inducted on the evening:
ARTSA-i also had one further award in absentia:
According to ARTSA-i Chair Martin Toomey, “ARTSA-i Life Members are an invaluable source of information and we aim to harness their advice in the coming years as ARTSA-i’s role evolves. We very much look forward to their contribution.”
The ARTSA-i Life Member awards followed the inaugural ceremony in September 2016 where 15 members were inducted.
For further information contact Greg Rowe, Executive Director, Tel 0407 825 132, exec@artsa.com.au
Media Release
The National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR), Transport Certification Australia (TCA) and the Australian Road Transport Suppliers Association (ARTSA) have demonstrated the success of Australia’s world-leading PBS scheme through two new reports.
The first report titled Performance Based Standards – Australia’s PBS Fleet released today, highlights that:
ARTSA-i Chair Martin Toomey said the PBS scheme was encouraging heavy vehicle renewal nationwide. “One of the key benefits of the PBS scheme has been to accelerate the renewal of the heavy vehicle fleet nationwide. The median age of PBS vehicles is four years compared to 12 years for the entire heavy vehicle fleet,” Mr Toomey said.
The second report titled Performance Based Standards – Freight Task Analysis, provides insights into the movements of heavy vehicles certified under the Performance Based Standards (PBS) scheme, using telematics data collected from the TCA’s Intelligent Access Program (IAP) across Australia.
Rob Perkins, Executive Director, ARTSA-i Data said “the report contains aggregated statistics from registered PBS freight vehicles enrolled in the IAP derived from global positioning system (GPS) records collected from vehicles during 2018. It provides a bird’s-eye view of the movements of a sample of the PBS fleet”.
The report demonstrated that:
ARTSA-i collaborates with organisations including the NHVR and TCA to produce informative documents such as this publication, but also provides a commercial service for industry wanting to access more detailed heavy vehicle data. To find out more about ARTSA-i Data and its collections contact ARTSA Data Executive Director Rob Perkins on rob@artsa.com.au
The reports can be downloaded by visiting www.artsa.com.au
The 2018 calendar year for heavy vehicle new registrations was the highest since ARTSA Data began reporting on registration data five years ago. Trailers, prime movers, rigid trucks, special purpose vehicles and buses all achieved the highest new registrations since the series started in 2014.
To read the latest free report, register here.
Media Release
This week’s ARTSA Heavy Vehicle Training was a sell out with over 40 attendees keen to learn about engineering, certification and modifications from industry practitioners. Held over three days and delivered in collaboration with CVIAA, CVIAV and the VACC, it featured over a dozen industry experts sharing their knowledge across 26 separate topics.
“It highlights the need for knowledge transfer within the heavy vehicle sector,” said Dr Peter Hart, Chairman of ARTSA and Principal of Hartwood Consulting.
“Many of the topics covered are simply not taught in formal courses at TAFE’s or University. Formal education courses have not caught up, but needs to do so before many of our experienced people retire. It is a looming crisis that does not get much coverage,” said Dr Hart.
Whilst the heavy vehicle sector has long been known for critical shortages with drivers, little coverage is given to the need for knowledge sharing in an industry that has always been led by practical people who in many cases have learnt on the job.
“Whilst it is pleasing to have a sell-out audience to share critical knowledge in the heavy vehicle space, we need to find ways to devote more resources to the documentation and dissemination of much of the content covered in the certification, engineering and modification space,” said the ARTSA Chairman.
For further information contact Rob Perkins, Executive Director, tel 0411 402 832, exec@artsa.com.au
Media Release
ARTSA Life Members award dinner on the 6th September was another milestone for the organisation with four new life members inducted on the evening:
ARTSA also had three further awards in absentia:
These further awards will be presented at the 22nd November meeting.
According to ARTSA Chairman Dr Peter Hart, “ARTSA Life Members are an invaluable source of information and we aim to harness their advice in the coming years as ARTSA’s role evolves. We very much look forward to their contribution.”
The ARTSA Life Member awards followed the inaugural ceremony in September 2016 where 15 members were inducted.
For further information contact Rob Perkins, Executive Director, tel 0411 402 832, exec@artsa.com.au
ARTSA’s domain is suppliers of hardware and services to the Australian Road Transport Industry. In 2017 ARTSA will build upon its track record to deliver significant benefits to its members. Our current core activities are:
- Promoting and advocating functional and sensible regulatory change: ARTSA is perusing important change proposal for brake rules ADR 35 & 38
- Sharing knowledge and skills in our industry: ARTSA will again run training in 2017. The first training sessions will be in February
- Advocating the use and benefit of quality components and their identification: ARTSA is pursuing a recognition system for replacement parts that will allow ethical suppliers to declare compliance with standards and procedures
- Promote the correct maintenance of vehicles and components through best practice: ARTSA will again co-host the Technical and Maintenance conference in 2017
- Keep members informed about important developments within our industry: Our March Modifications and Innovation conference will allow delegates to consider the proposed amendments to Vehicles Standard Bulletin No 6 and to provide feedback directly to the NHVR
- Assist in the provision of useful market information to members through ARTSA Data: ARTSA Data’s quarterly review of registration data for all heavy vehicle registration categories is informing the market of trends. We have recently renegotiated our agreement with NEVDIS and increased the scope of information that is provided
- Encourage networking and the development of personal and corporate contacts: ARTSA’s four quarterly meetings and technical working groups provide the basis for networking within ARTSA
- Identify and seek access to research and development funding: ARTSA will again work association with Monash University on a project of interest to members
In a crowded association space the ARTSA Executive is acutely aware that ARTSA must do useful things. In 2017 we will continue to co-operate with the ATA (ITC) and the CVIAA and CVIAV and build our relationships with these important industry associations. This co-operation will result in a range of joint activities in 2017.
Peter Hart
Chairman
Australian Road Transport Suppliers Association
January 2017
Lifesaving Victoria, Port Melbourne
You can attend, one, two or all three days
Full details are found here and you can book by emailing exec@artsa.com.au
Media Release
The Australian Road Transport Suppliers Association (ARTSA) staged its inaugural Life Members Dinner in Melbourne on the 8th September and inducted 13 individuals who have made a significant contribution to the road transport sector in Australia.
Held at the Old Melbourne Gaol the event celebrated those who have either made an outstanding contribution to ARTSA, been a significant supporter of ARTSA’s purpose and advocacy or been a game changer through their significant contribution to the road transport industry.
According to the Chairman of the Life Membership Committee and Deputy Chair of ARTSA, Martin Toomey, “we wanted to celebrate the contribution that these individuals have made and to thank them with Life Membership of the ARTSA. Life members are welcome at any of our events and meetings and to also contribute to the technical agenda that is part of the ARTSA. We look forward to their ongoing contribution to our industry”
Life membership was awarded to:
Two additional awards were made to the current Chairman of ARTSA, Dr Peter Hart and its Executive Director Rob Perkins for long standing service to ARTSA.
Martin Toomey noted that two awards were held over for the next ARTSA meeting on the 24th November where Guy Maklan, long standing engineer for Detroit and David Jenkins formerly of Gough, Marshall Lethlean and Volvo will be inducted.
Photos from the Life Members Dinner can be viewed here.
For further information contact Rob Perkins, Executive Director, tel 0411 402 832, exec@artsa.com.au
Media Release
ARTSA provides lead in heavy vehicle information
The Australian Road Transport Suppliers Association (ARTSA) is leading Australia’s commercial road transport community into the age of Big Data by developing detailed reports on the heavy and medium duty commercial vehicle sector in Australia.
As part of the inaugural ARTSA Data Day held on the 8th September, ARTSA Chairman, Dr Peter Hart, announced the expansion of the Association’s registration data project, which began in 2014 with a focus on mapping the nation’s trailer industry.
Today, ARTSA is not only able to quantify the nation’s entire truck and trailer population, he said, but also paint a more detailed picture of the highly fragmented component market – including the amount of axles, brakes and tyres currently in use around the country.
According to Dr Hart, ARTSA is now able to break down each industry segment by make, State or even country of origin, and also put a specific dollar value to it.
“The true size and scope of Australia’s truck and trailer market has long been the subject of intense debate,” he said.
“While the Truck Industry Council (TIC) has been publishing monthly truck sales data since 2008, there has been no comparable effort to unravel the mystery behind the nation’s total heavy and medium duty vehicle and component population.”
Dr Hart said the Association is now ready to bring the project to the next level and market what could be the most detailed set of data on Australian medium and heavy vehicles to ever be made available.
“We believe we have added an important building block to the data currently in circulation that will help businesses and governments make more informed decisions and bring Australian trucking closer to the level the US or Europe already operate on today,” Said Dr Hart.
To illustrate just how patchy information on Australia’s commercial road transport industry still is, ARTSA invited a suite of high-ranking industry representatives to Melbourne to share their – often frustrating – experiences collecting data on Australian road transport and give the audience an overview of the information that is currently in circulation.
“There is a surprising amount of information out there, but the industry’s efforts to date have been very insular and not well connected,” said Dr Hart. “The problem is that the different data sets that do exist are hard to access, often based on old information, and rarely focusing on the equipment used to get the job done.
“We are now adding a string to that bow by mapping out the actual fleet that is getting the job done every day – in combination with existing information, we believe it could make doing business in Australia that much more effective.”
As part of ARTSA’s Data Day, David Mitchell, Section Head for Infrastructure and Corridor Analysis at the Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics (BITRE), indicated that a new project is underway to map freight movements in Australia with the help of GPS technology. In collaboration with the new ARTSA data, he said significant inroads could be made to truly understand Australian trucking.
Melissa O’Brien, Senior Policy Analyst at the National Transport Commission, was equally bullish about the new opportunities arising from the upgraded ARTSA project. She also pointed out the key issue in Australia may not be a lack of information, but more so access and administration.
“In producing our latest ‘Who Moves What Where’ report, we realised just how hard it was to pull everything together and paint a coherent picture of Australian trucking,” she said. “There is a lot of good stuff happening, but it would be certainly helpful to foster more co-operation and enable more efficient data-sharing. ARTSA’s initiative could be very valuable in that regard.”
New information circulated by ARTSA on the day focused on the size and value of the truck and trailer market – some 9,000 trailers and 5,000 heavy trucks were registered in the past Financial Year – as well age and origin of the equipment in use.
Monash University Accident Research Centre (MUARC) gave a comprehensive run down on data sources that can assist in describing the safety record for the heavy vehicle sector.
Les Bruzsa, Chief Engineer for the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator provided detailed PBS statistics and was able to show by combining NHVR PBS data with the ARTSA data that PBS has captured over 90% of the 4 axle dog trailer sector. It is a stunning figure and shows the degree to which PBS is providing productivity benefits to the heavy vehicle sector.
In a surprising statistic, ARTSA consultant, Andrew Perkins, revealed that some 60 per cent of all new heavy trucks registered in Australia are meant for multi-combination use, even though the general truck population is geared toward single-trailer use – a sign of the “fundamental impact” productivity initiatives like the B-double or PBS have had on Australian transport of late.
Detailed information on the Australian transport equipment industry can be obtained from ARTSA either in pdf formatted Analytics Reports through to detiaed excel spreadsheets that include manufacturer information as well as a range of other variables.
Photos from ARTSA Data Day 2016
The presentations from the 2016 ARTSA Data Day are available here.
For further information on ARTSA Data contact Rob Perkins, Executive Director, tel 0411 402 832, exec@artsa.com.au or view the ARTSA Data brochure.
The current RSRT debate risks overlooking the broad range of safety initiatives that are needed if we are to make Australia a world leader in road safety.
The transport industry needs to set an ambitious heavy vehicle road safety improvement target and measure our progress towards that outcome.
ARTSA has released this statement to highlight the broad range of opportunities that need to be considered when forming an inclusive road safety improvement strategy. Any one measure will not deliver the world class safety outcome that we should be aiming for in Australia.
The ARTA Matters report for March includes the Executive Director’s Report for 2016.
It covers the program for the year across conferences, training, information services, ARTSA Parts, representation and the social program.
It is the most comprehensive program yet delivered by ARTSA and its Executive team.
It’s an exciting program and we look forward to your participation throughout the year.
Rob Perkins
Executive Diretor
8.30am – 12 noon, Thursday 18th February ARRB Group, 500 Burwood Highway, Vermont South
An important meeting to establish the 2016 agenda It includes:
Our AGM and elections
This year we seek nominations ahead of the meeting. Please download, complete and forward your ARTSA Executive nomination form to Rob Perkins by COB 17 February.
We are also proposing some amendments to our Articles of Association to make them consistent with our current operation including updating our objectives (cl 3), a life membership provision (cl 5) and inclusion of the Executive Director as part of the Executive team (cl 29). Please read the Articles of Association and suggested amendments and come prepared to discuss and vote on these draft changes.
Membership category changes are also proposed and these will be voted upon at the meeting.
Quarterly meeting
Our meeting immediately following the AGM will have presentations on a range of technical projects:
- Steer axle mass
- Auxiliary braking
- Brake Advisory
- ARRB’s trailer testing rig
- Driverless vehicle trials
There will also be items to do with projects in the near future:
There is a lot to discuss and share
As usual there is a sandwich lunch at 12 after the meetings conclusion
ARTSA has released the latest in its quarterly reports on the Australian heavy vehicle registrations. The report is available on line at http://www.artsa.com.au/store
New heavy vehicle registrations in 2015 were 11% down on the equivalent figures in 2014. The reductions were not uniform with heavy trailers down 20% and prime movers down 12% compared with 2014. There was modest growth for rigids and buses. For more on this story see “heavy vehicle registration report 2015”
ARTSA has released the latest in its quarterly reports on the Australian heavy vehicle registrations. The report is available on line at www.artsa.com.au/store
According to the latest quarterly report, new vehicle registrations have yet to recover to the levels of 2014 with the first three quarters of 2015 at 13% below the equivalent quarters in 2014.
Retirements of vehicles have continued to climb compared with 2014 and the year to date shows a 31% increase compared with the previous year.
The overall impact is that the heavy vehicle fleet had a net addition of close to 11,000 vehicles in the first three quarters of 2014. This increase has shrunk to around 4400 vehicles in the first three quarters of 2015. This is a more than halving of the growth compared with the previous year.
More detailed figures held by ARTSA show the total number of registered multi-combination prime-movers (B-double and road train capable) declining in 2015, as have dolly registrations. This gives support to the theory of a general downwards trend in freight volumes, as these vehicles represent the “workhorses” of the freight sector.
To be held in Melbourne, focused on a range of technical and maintenance topics for heavy vehicles. Brought to you by the ATA and ARTSA. Click here or on the logo for program and registration details.
ARTSA and NBTA are again combining to hold a meeting at the Brisbane Truck Show on the opening day, Thursday 14th May from 3pm to 5.30pm with drinks to follow. The meeting is located on the Plaza level of the Truck Show venue in room P11.
This is always a popular meeting and you have to book to attend. There is no charge for members.
The meeting features:
You need to book with exec@artsa.com.au to attend this meeting
With an impressive speaker list including the Global Director of Safety for Volvo trucks as well as leaders from industry and the regulatory sector, this two day summit aims to distill the top 10 safety initiatives that will make a difference in improving heavy vehicle safety.
Our lead sponsor is BP, with session sponsors Volvo, Knorr Bremse, Hella, VicRoads, ARRB Group and NRMA.
Key topics to be covered include safety statics, the current safety agenda in Australia, case studies, workshopping of opportunities and a final safety communique. The Summit dinner will be held at the historic Queens Hall at the State Library of Victoria.
Details are on the Summit website.
ARTSA members enjoy a significant discount on the ticket price so watch for your members invitation.
The quarterly data summary of Australian heavy vehicle registrations has been posted to the ARTSA website at http://www.artsa.com.au/store
The free download provides a summary of the quarterly changes in heavy vehicle registrations in Australia. The table below summarises these changes for the 12 months to mid January 2015.
| New | Retired | Net | Total registered | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| % | % | % | Jan-15 | |
| Trailers | 5.0 | 1.5 | 3.5 | 234259 |
| Prime movers | 5.8 | 3.8 | 2.1 | 100627 |
| Rigid vehicles (>12 tonnes GVM) | 3.8 | 1.9 | 1.9 | 176337 |
| Special Purpose Vehicles | 4.7 | 2.6 | 2.1 | 51702 |
| Buses | 4.9 | 3.2 | 1.7 | 26672 |
| Total | 4.8 | 2.2 | 2.6 | 589597 |
Prime movers were the stand out for 2014 with a 5.8% increase in new registrations followed by trailers at 5%. Once retirements are accounted for, trailers added a net 3.5% to their total of 234,259 registered trailers at mid January 2015.
There is a large difference in the retirement rates during 2014 with trailers having a low retirement rate of 1.5% compared with prime movers at 3.8%.
From the March quarter, ARTSA will be able to make quarter by quarter comparisons with the preceding year to see if seasonality is playing a part in order and retirement patterns.
These statics will be discussed at the upcoming ARTSA meeting on the 25th February being held at ARRB Group. Details of that meeting are at www.artsa.com.au
ARTSA media contact: Rob Perkins, Executive Officer, tel 0411 402 832, email exec@artsa.com.au
8.30am - 1pm, Wednesday 25th February
ARRB Group, 500 Burwood Highway, Vermont South
We have invited NTC, NHVR and the Department of Transport to outline their agendas for 2015 and the years ahead.
We all have a lot of agendas that we are following.
It is time to see what alignment and agreement we can achieve during 2015 and to discuss our priorities and goals for the year.
ARRB Group will also provide technical presentations.
We will also update the meeting on a range of issues including:
There is a great sandwich lunch at 1pm
Book in now with Rob at exec@artsa.com.au and put it in your diary
The latest September quarter registration data for heavy vehicles is now available for free download
The data shows a slight slow downin new registrations across trucks and trailers compared with the June quarter figures. Some key points are:
ARTSA will review this data in its up coming meeting on the 27th November.
Our final meeting for 2014 will be held at:
Time: 8.30am - 12 noon with lunch 12 noon - 1.30pm
Venue: Lifesaving Victoria, 200 The Boulevard, Port Melbourne
This is our customary pre-Christmas meeting with a review of issues and the release of the program for 2015 We will have guest speakers on a range of topics including truck and dog proposed changes, heavy vehicle research, review of the recent heavy vehicle international conference in South America, PBS tyres, industry statistics, brake code developments and much more.
The lunch is our traditional long table Christmas affair and commences at 12 noon
To attend the meeting and the luncheon you must let Rob Perkins know on exec@artsa.com.au. Please indicate your ability (or not) to stay for lunch, to assist with catering numbers. Attendance at the meeting and the luncheon is free for ARTSA members and their guests.
With the announcement by the NSW Government that all tank trailers will require roll stability function within a five year period (see link Media release ), ARTSA has prepared a Frequently Asked Questions document to answer many of the detailed questions that sit behind this decision.
These FAQ’s were developed in close co-operation with EPA NSW to assist operators to better understand the technical aspects to do with retrofitting their equipment.
The FAQ document is available in the ARTSA library: Industry advisory: fitting of roll stability function on dangerous goods trailers
The ARTSA training courses on truck and trailer engineering as well as a separate course on certification and homologation are being held at Lifesaving Victoria in Port Melbourne from the 1st to the 3rd October.
This course describes in practical terms, the basic engineering principles and characteristics of heavy vehicles and their components. It covers:
This course describes in detail the certification requirements for heavy vehicles covering:
Both of these courses are popular and suit people with a professional interest in heavy truck and trailer safety and mechanical performance. Whilst the courses have a strong engineering flavour they are not only for engineers. They present accurate information at a level that will be readily understood by inspectors, insurance assessors, fleet managers and workshop managers.
Course notes will be provided as part of the registration fee.
For more details and on-line registration go to www.artsa.com.au/training
When: 8am for an egg and bacon roll breakfast, followed by the meeting from 8.30am to 12 noon with a light sandwich lunch to follow
Where: ACE, Docklands
Parking: The cheapest is the Casino for around $8 and a 10 minute walk past Jeff’s shed and over the footbridge. There are plenty of other higher priced options!
What
The agenda will cover:
To attend, email exec@artsa.com.au
We have two important meetings back to back on the 22nd May:
8.30am - 12 noon, Thursday 22nd May
Venue: National Transport Commission, Level 15, 628 Bourke St Melbourne
The meeting will focus on maintenance related issues including:
The NTC have also been invited to provide an overview of their relevant projects and to debate additional topics that ARTSA considers worthy of their attention
A light lunch will be served at noon giving attendees a chance to network with fellow members and NTC staff
This is an important meeting and you need to register with exec@artsa.com.au to attend
Note: this meeting is a replacement for the scheduled meeting on the 15th May
1.30pm - 4pm, Thursday 22nd May
Venue: Victorian Transport Association, Wirraway Drive, Fishermans Bend
ARTSA in conjunction with the NHVR PBS office has developed a PBS tyre proposal. It recommends a process for achieving approval for a wider range of tyres for use on PBS vehicles. In order to achieve this outcome there are a number of assumptions around the standards to be adopted and the test regime that need ot be discussed and agreed. This meeting is open to all comers who have an interest in tyres. It is hosted by ARTSA on behalf of industry and intends making a recommendation to the NHVR on the process to adopt.
To obtain a copy of the draft proposal and to attend the meeting, please contact Rob Perkins on exec@artsa.com.au or 0411 402 832
We have some significant meetings next week to which you are invited:
6th March
The National Bulk Tanker Association is hosting a meeting wit Roads and Maritime Services in Sydney on Thursday 6th March at St George Rowing Club in Wooli Creek, near the airport. ARTSA members are invited.
The meeting will commence at 9.30am and RMS will make a number of presentations on their recent maintenance experience. EPA NSW will also present on the recent Competent Authorities Panel decision on ESC for tankers. RMS will depart at lunchtime.
After lunch, there will be a tanker inspection and we have invited a number of supplier members to conduct a walk through of maintenance procedures and experience with safety critical components. We will have a tanker on site for this part of the meeting. The meeting will close with a forum to discuss how ARTSA can assist in the maintenance area. It is expected to finish around 3.30pm.
For those interested in attending this meeting, please let me know on exec@artsa.com.au
There is no charge to attend
Friday 7th March at VTA, Wirraway Drive, Fishermans Bend, Melbourne
Last week we agreed at our meeting to hold a series of committee meetings to discuss some current issues. We will hold these meetings back to back on Friday 7th March as some people may wish to attend more than one. They are:
8.00am ARTSA VIN data project - discussion of data and possible analysis
10.00am ABS trailer brake rule - discussion of changes and implications and recommendations
12.30pm PBS tyres - review of the current draft and recommended changes for forwarding to NHVR and the PBS panel
Members who wish to attend need to let Rob Perkins know on exec@artsa.com.au
A final reminder for this Wednesday’s AGM and Quarterly meeting at ARRB Group in Melbourne. The agenda is full of relevant discussion and presentations including:
The meeting will close around noon with a networking sandwich lunch. The content is highly relevant to members. We have several guests from the NHVR presenting as well as technical experts from ARRB Group
If you have not already registered let Rob Perkins know on exec@artsa.com.au
See you at 8.30am this Wednesday 19th February at ARRB Group, 500 Burwood Highway, South Vermont.
