Newsletters

Hi everyone, Greetings from Down Under! In the essential and traditional weather update: I can sadly report that winter has officially started here in the Southern Hemisphere with temperatures dropping below 7 degrees during the nights in Brisbane and I had to dig out my jumpers! The heavy vehicle industry in both Australia and New Zealand is going through some challenging times, but I think that is the same everywhere. Let’s start with New Zealand. The primary production sector is the backbone of New Zealand’s economy, driven primarily by dairy, meat, wool, horticulture, forestry, and seafood. The dominating transport constraint... Read More

Dear HVTT Forum subscriber, This month’s newsletter focuses on the theme of truck safety, specifically highlighting two recent truck safety developments in the Canadian context. As HVTT marks its 40th anniversary in 2026, it seems appropriate to reflect on this theme since it was one of the key objectives of the technical analysis conducted as part of the Canadian Vehicle Weights and Dimensions Study in 1986. That study underpinned the development of Canada’s Memorandum of Understanding on Vehicle Weights and Dimensions (an MoU that is still active today) and was instrumental in the formation of HVTT. The 1986 Study pursued three principal objectives: improving truck safety,... Read More

Hello everyone, I hope this message finds you well. I trust operations with your heavy-duty vehicles have not been overly affected by recent rises in fuel prices. Affected by ongoing tensions in the Middle East, diesel prices in China have risen by 10.5% since the start of 2026, reaching approximately US$1.19 per litre. This has not only increased the cost of road transportation but also strengthened the Chinese government’s resolve to accelerate the electrification of commercial vehicles. Authorities plan to continue promoting the replacement of older diesel trucks, while further expanding electrification in urban logistics and public transport. At the same time, China’s... Read More

Dear HVTT Forum subscribers, I would like to begin this newsletter by marking a very special milestone in the history of our community. In 2026, we celebrate 40 years since the first Heavy Vehicle Weights and Dimensions Symposium (HVWD1), held in Kelowna, Canada, in 1986, which laid the foundations for what would later become the HVTT Forum. The Forum itself was formally established at the third HVWD symposium in Cambridge, UK, in 1992, as the “International Forum for Heavy Vehicle Weights and Dimensions”. It was later renamed the International Forum for Road Transport Technology (IFRTT), and then in 2019 adopted its... Read More

Dear HVTT Forum subscriber I trust that you have experienced a good start to 2026, even though we are certainly living in uncertain times! Besides an update on weather in the Region (which is significant I might add), there are two topics in this newsletter: progress with the introduction and rollout of electric trucks in Africa, input from Abdool Kamdar, an HVTT Board member, and the first phase of a project regarding the use of Weigh-in-Motion (WIM) equipment for overload control law enforcement in South Africa, input from Gerhard de Wet, an ISWIM Board member, and me. Unlike many electric... Read More

Dear HVTT Forum subscriber, Greetings from Canada! It’s hard to believe that six months have passed since HVTT18 Symposium in Québec City! As the calendar turns to December, Winnipeg’s temperatures have turned cold, but we remain remarkably snow-free! I begin this newsletter with a topic that has dominated news headlines in Canada for the past several months: the fast-tracking of major projects deemed in Canada’s national interest. I’ll also highlight ongoing work by the HVTT Board to organize a learning and collaborative exchange in 2026, plus a must-attend workshop coming soon! Projects of national (Canadian) interest: Implications for road freight... Read More

Dear HVTT Forum subscribers, Welcome to this autumn edition of the HVTT newsletter from Europe. In this issue I would like to report on two developments, from Germany and the Netherlands, which illustrate how high capacity vehicles -specifically A-double-  are moving very slowly yet steadily from pilot ideas to practical, interoperable systems — and how technology, regulation, and logistics are coming together in this transformation. EcoDuo pilot successfully completed in Germany After a year of intensive practical testing between Wolfsburg, Lehrte, and Barcelona, the EcoDuo pilot project in Germany has been successfully completed. The pilot, conducted under real-world logistics conditions, demonstrated significant potential for improving freight transport efficiency. The German EcoDuo combination... Read More

Greetings HVTT family from New Zealand      It seems like an age since Quebec and HVTT18 and thank you Julien, Jonathan and the team at Université Laval for a fabulous symposium. In my role it’s easy to get swept along by the issues we face here but I’ve always found the HVTT symposia are a great way of bringing a sense of reality to what’s happening internationally in terms of research, technical development and policy areas. To demonstrate the value HVTT brings, fellow Kiwis, Doug Latto and Mark Robilliard, will join me to share their learnings and insights at the Institute... Read More

Free circulation of all types of B-doubles on Argentine National Roads The Argentine Government has authorized free circulation for all types of B-double vehicle configurations on the entire National Road Network. Resolution 1196/2025, published August 19th, 2025, eliminates time restrictions and the requirement to request specific corridors, allowing all B-doubles up to 75-ton and 30.25 meters, 9 axles to travel on almost the entire National Road Network. You have to give it to semantics, the resolution replaced the “positive exclusion” practice (which restricted circulation to specific approved corridors) with the “negative exclusion” principle (free circulation, except on few sections of... Read More

Dear HVTT Forum subscribers, China’s Ministry of Transport Releases 2024 Transportation Industry Statistics Report in June 2025 In June 2025, China’s Ministry of Transport unveiled the 2024 Statistical Bulletin on the Development of the Transportation Industry. As of the end of 2024, China’s total operational highway vehicles reached 12.1224 million units, comprising 11.557 million freight vehicles (95.3%) and 565,400 passenger vehicles. The country operated 658,100 public buses and trolleybuses, with electric buses accounting for 74.1% (487,500 units)—a 13,600-unit increase from 2023—highlighting progress in promoting new energy public transit. In 2024, China handled 56.875 billion metric tons of freight volume, up 3.9% year-on-year, while freight turnover hit 25.4486 trillion ton-kilometers, a 5.7% YoY increase. China’s... Read More

Dear HVTT Forum subscribers, It has been a busy time of year for those of us in the heavy vehicle transport sector in the UK, with several of the major industry events taking place recently. This includes the Commercial Vehicle Show, Multimodal and the Road Transport Expo (my personal favourite), all of which take place near the city of Birmingham in the West Midlands region. This is perhaps apt given that the region—more specifically the areas of Coventry and the Black Country—is considered the birthplace of the UK’s automotive industry. Today, Jaguar Land Rover, Aston Martin and even Chinese OEM... Read More

Dear colleagues, It’s with pleasure that I bring you the HVTT Forum newsletter for May 2025. On the eve of HVTT18, I’ll cover some key developments and activities which are shaping heavy vehicle transport and technology in this part of the world. A big thanks to my fellow board members from Australia and New Zealand for helping to compile this newsletter! National Heavy Vehicle Driver Competency Framework A key development which is being implemented by Austroads is the National Heavy Vehicle Driver Competency Framework. The Framework aims to address inconsistencies in heavy vehicle driver licensing, enhance training quality nationally, and... Read More