EPA Announces July Biodiesel Production Figures

WASHINGTON - The EPA on Thursday reported 132 million gallons of biodiesel production for the month of July and year-to-date volume of more than 768 million gallons.

Biodiesel is the first EPA-designated Advanced Biofuel to reach 1 billion gallons of annual production. The industry has surpassed RFS targets for two consecutive years and is on pace to do so again this year.
The production volumes are reported under the Biomass-based Diesel category under the RFS. To view the figures, visit the EPA's website here. The latest numbers show a total of more than 166 million gallons of Biomass-based Diesel in July, but that total also includes production of renewable diesel. The biodiesel portion of the total was 132 million gallons.

Made from an increasingly diverse mix of resources such as recycled cooking oil, soybean oil and animal fats, biodiesel is the first and only EPA-designated Advanced Biofuel with commercial-scale production nationwide. It is produced in nearly every state in the country and supports some 50,000 jobs. The National Biodiesel Board is the U.S. biodiesel trade association.

Speakers Announced for 8th Annual AltCar Expo in Santa Monica

Santa Monica, CA – August 29, 2013 – Presented by the City of Santa Monica, the 2013 AltCar Fleet Conference and Expo, September 20-21, features distinguished speakers from leading automakers, policymakers, alternative-fuel infrastructure planners, and fleet managers who will share the latest information on alternative vehicle technologies and infrastructures.

The most stringent mandates on fuel economy standards in U.S. history, along with the Obama Administration’s commitment and Governor Brown’s support of critical investments in advanced vehicles, fuel technologies, and public transport combine to make the AltCar Expo activities especially relevant to Southern Californians.  

A veritable who’s-who in the alternative energy transportation arena, Friday’s Fleet Conference will feature:

·         Terry Tamminen, Former Secretary of the California Environmental Protection Agency

·         Ted Lieu, California Senator from the 28th District

·         David Friedman, Deputy Administrator of the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration

·         Jacob Ward, Department of Energy

·         Terry O’Day, Director of California Business Development for NRG EV Services and Councilmember in the City of Santa Monica

·         J.R. DeShazo, Director of the Luskin Center

·         Randall Winston, Special Assistant to the Executive Secretary, Office of Governor Edmund G. Brown, Jr.

·         Jon Coleman, Fleet Sustainability & Technology Manager Ford Motor Company

·         Richard Battersby, Public Sector Fleet Manager of the Year, East Bay Clean Cities

Saturday’s activities will feature panel discussion on such topics as:

·         Barriers to the widespread adoption of alternative technology vehicles, moderated by John O’Dell, Senior Editor Fuel Efficiency and Green Cars for Edmunds.com

·         Alternative Technology Debate, moderated by Susan Carpenter, Auto and Motorcycle Critic for the Orange County Register

·         Alternative Technology Vehicle Owners Panel, moderated by Dave Kunz, Car Specialist for ABC7 Eyewitness News

Highlights of this year’s AltCar Expo will also include:

·         A “Ride & Drive” event, featuring the country’s largest variety of alternative technology vehicles -- open and free-to-the-public from 10:00 a.m. to 5 p.m. both Friday and Saturday. Electric, natural gas, propane, biofuel, ethanol, hydrogen fuel cell and hybrid powered technologies will be feature.  Participating manufacturers will include Chevrolet, Honda, BMW, Nissan, Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz and Smart, as well as Via Motors and Zero Truck.

·         Vehicle debuts, including Southern California Gas Company’s west coast introduction of four new prototype consumer vehicles built to run on compressed natural gas and capable of using gasoline as backup.

·         Santa Monica-area high school students, members of environmental science and advocacy group Team Marine, will debut a gas-to-electric conversion project four years in the making.   

·         A chance to win free weekend rentals of a Tesla Model S and a Nissan Leaf with on-site registration. 

WTS International Congratulates Feinberg on Executive Role at USDOT

Aug. 28, 2013— (Washington, DC) U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx has announced that Sarah Feinberg will be joining the U.S. Department of Transportation as his Chief of Staff.

“WTS International would like to congratulate Ms. Feinberg on her new post at the DOT. Secretary Foxx’s selection of a woman for an executive role illustrates his commitment to an administration led by a gender-diverse team,” said Marcia Ferranto, WTS President and CEO.

WTS, the association whose mission is to build the future of transportation through the global advancement of women, has historically had great support from the USDOT for its programs. In May of 2010, former DOT Secretary Ray Lahood signed a memorandum of understanding with WTS to establish the Transportation YOU program that has already proliferated across the U.S. with local programming aimed at generating awareness among 13 – 18 year-old girls about the depth and breadth of transportation career opportunities.

The appointment of Feinberg to the Chief of Staff post—in addition to the appointment of Beth Osborne as Acting Assistant Secretary for Transportation Policy—are steps that further the WTS mission. “WTS looks forward to continuing our work to attract, retain, and advance women in transportation with Secretary Foxx’s team,” Ferranto added.

According to Secretary Foxx’s announcement, Feinberg served in the Obama Administration as a Special Assistant to the President and Senior Advisor to White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, serving as his liaison to the Obama economic team, the national security team, and the press and communications departments. Most recently, Feinberg managed Facebook’s Washington-based outreach and communications as well as the company’s political and crisis communications.  Prior to that, she served as Director of Communications and Business Strategy at Bloomberg LP, where she managed Bloomberg’s Washington-based communications.

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WTS International and WTS Foundation, headquartered in Washington, DC, seek to attract, retain, and advance women in transportation. As the industry's premier multi-modal association, WTS boasts a network of more than 5,000 transportation professionals—women and men from across the United States, Canada, and Great Britain. Every transportation mode is represented, as is every service within the industry. From federal leaders to engineers and planners, the WTS membership base represents nearly 1,500 companies and 400 agencies in more than 90 cities. WTS Foundation has provided more than $1,000,000 in scholarships to deserving women throughout the transportation industry, supporting the next generation of transportation professionals and advancing the principles of WTS. More information can be found at www.WTSinternational.org

Advanced Life Cycle Analysis Tool Gives ARI insights Users More Power to Make Better Data-Based Decisions When Selecting Fleet Vehicles

Mount Laurel, NJ (August 29, 2013) – ARI^®, a leading global fleet services provider specializing in complex car and truck fleets, is pleased to announce the reintroduction of its Life Cycle Analysis tool within its award-winning ARI insights^® web-based and mobile fleet management system.

The new tool allows for a side-by-side view of up to four vehicles, and fleet managers have the power to choose and compare among a multitude of different variables – including lease terms, miles driven, maintenance costs, fuel and depreciation – to help them determine total cost of ownership and vehicle cost per mile. Safety and environmental ratings give fleet managers additional information they can use when choosing among vehicles.

“ARI’s clients can use this pre-ordering tool to compare vehicles and gain a better understanding about what is the right vehicle for their fleet and what that vehicle should cost, both at the time of acquisition and over the life of that vehicle,” said Tony Candeloro, ARI’s vice president of product development. 

Primarily, the ARI insights system collects and integrates critical vehicle and driver data from around the world. The newly reintroduced Life Cycle Analysis tool, as well as others that allow for selector building, vehicle ordering, and production tracking, supplement the system’s analysis and reporting tools to make it one of the most comprehensive and advanced fleet management systems in the industry.

System development efforts and the implementation of the SAP HANA^TM in-memory technology have garnered ARI recognition through Constellation Research’s 2012 SuperNova Awards – “Data to Decisions” category, a Bronze Stevie^® Award in the Tech Innovation of the Year category at the 10th Annual American Business Awards, and a 2012 Fleet Europe Industry Award.

About ARI^®

ARI, part of the Holman Automotive Group, is a global vehicle fleet management organization that drives the best results for each of its clients’ unique and complex needs by employing the industry’s best fleet professionals, processes, and technology. A workforce numbering close to 2,500 collaborates across offices located throughout North America, Europe, the UK, and Hong Kong to manage more than 978,000 fleet vehicles in North America and Europe, and combined with its strategic partners, more than two million fleet vehicles globally. A leader in its industry, ARI has been recognized as one of the “100 Best Companies to Work For” by FORTUNE magazine. ARI is headquartered in Mount Laurel, New Jersey.

New Startup Works To Help Fleets "Right Size"

A new startup called Local Motion is providing the tools necessary for businesses to reduce waste and right-size their fleets of cars, which could save them significant money in the long term. To move forward, the startup has just taken $6 million in Series A financing from Andreessen Horowitz, and will be adding former Microsoft exec and recent a16z addition Steven Sinofsky to its board.

Local Motion, in short, wants to bring the same sort of efficiencies that the sharing economy promises to consumers — the ability to curtail ownership in certain goods and help manage usage to make them more readily available when needed — and apply those principles to enterprise and government entities.

Read more : http://techcrunch.com/2013/08/28/local-motion-6m-a16z/

Fleet Advantage Ranked One of the Fastest Growing Private Companies in U.S. by Inc. Magazine

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (Aug. 28, 2013) – Fleet Advantage, a leading innovator in truck fleet business analytics and equipment financing, has been named to Inc. magazine’s 500|5000 list of the fastest growing companies in the nation.

Late last month, Inc. ranked Fleet Advantage No. 1428 among the nation's fastest-growing private companies. For companies on the list with $100 million or more in annual revenues, Fleet Advantage ranked No. 68.  The ranking report notes that Fleet Advantage’s three-year sales growth exceeded 281 percent.

The seventh annual Inc. 500|5000 list represents the most comprehensive look at America’s independent entrepreneurs. According to Inc., the companies represented 142 percent median growth rate, created more than 520,000 jobs in the past three years, and generated revenue of $241 billion.

“Being recognized as one of the fastest growing companies speaks to the value that we are delivering to our clients and to the exceptional dedication and drive of every individual in our organization,” said John Flynn, CEO of Fleet Advantage.  “We will continue to drive growth through innovation and further enhancements to the proprietary technology we offer to owners of large truck fleets.”

This is Fleet Advantage’s first appearance on the Inc. 500|5000 lists. The company was founded in 2008.

   

Fleet Advantage serves the needs of Fortune 500 private truck fleets in North America by leveraging proprietary IT processes with the latest clean diesel technology to achieve the Lowest Cost of Ownership (LCO) for clients.  In 2011, CEO John Flynn was awarded the Florida Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year^® award in the Emerging category.  The award recognizes entrepreneurs who demonstrate excellence and extraordinary success in such areas as innovation, financial performance and personal commitment to their businesses and communities.

For more information on Fleet Advantage, visit www.fleetadvantage.net.