News

Japanese manufacturers intend to launch a number of fuel cell powered electric vehicles (FCEVs). Honda, Nissan and Honda are all planning to introduce commercially available fuel cell vehicles in Japan. Toyota has been working on a project to develop fuel cell vehicles in partnership with German firm BMW. Nissan has been jointly developing fuel cell vehicles in partnership with Ford in the US and Daimler Benz in Germany. Meanwhile Honda has been working on its own fuel cell vehicle project. Toyota says that

Fiat Industrial’s (FI) revenues of €5.802 billion in Q1 2013 were just 0.6% down on its €5.837 billion revenues of Q1 2012, the Group has disclosed. FI said a growth in its agricultural machinery and engines businesses was able to offset “more challenging” trading conditions in the construction equipment and truck and commercial vehicles sectors. The Group posted a trading profit of €408 million in Q1 2013, down from €430 million over the same three months of 2012. Meanwhile, net industrial debt increased t

IronPlanet, a leading online marketplace for used heavy equipment, has launched TruckPlanet, an online marketplace dedicated exclusively to buying and selling used commercial trucks. “We are very excited to bring the same marketplace that changed the used equipment business to the truck industry,” said Greg Owens, CEO of IronPlanet. “Truck buyers and sellers can now enjoy the convenience and confidence at TruckPlanet that our used equipment customers have come to know and trust at IronPlanet.” Since IronPla

Altius Associates (Altius) has tipped institutional investor allocations to private infrastructure funds to grow dramatically over the next decade, either as a stand-alone asset class or as part of a broader real assets allocation. In a new report entitled ‘Infrastructure as part of a global investment portfolio’, Altius states that institutional investors currently have less than 1% allocated to infrastructure, including transport-related infrastructure projects, but it expects this figure to increase to

KordaMentha, a receiver, and investment bank Goldman Sachs have put the Clem Jones tolled road tunnel in Brisbane, Australia up for sale. Queensland Motorways as well as local and overseas pension funds are reported to be planning to bid for the asset, estimated to be worth US$617.15 million (AUD 600mn). The closing date for first round bids is expected in middle of June 2013 and completion of the deal is scheduled at the end of September 2013. The Clem Jones tunnel is owned by River City and the company ha

The capital planning for the major expansion and upgrading of Hanoi-Can Tho expressway in Vietnam is being considered ahead of a National Assembly evaluation for bond financing. The Ministry of Transport (MoT) has made a proposal for the prime minister to seek the National Assembly's permission to issue government bonds to handle the project. Last month, the MoT presented Document 2738/BGTVT-KHDT to the prime minister to seek capital resources for 17 road sections under the project. The government bonds wil

Austrian contractor STRABAG reports healthy earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of €207 million in 2012. This figure beats the firm’s own expectations and the expectations of the market. Net income after minorities stood at €61 million, showing an expected considerable decrease of 66.67% compared to the year before. “An output volume of €14 billion in 2012 – that’s nothing to complain about. With €13.2 billion, the end-of-the-year order backlog is also nearly exactly at the pre-crisis level of 2008, s

Two new road tunnels have been proposed by the Expressway Authority of Thailand (EXAT) that would pass through the Nark Kerb Mountain. The work is expected to cost in the region of US$208 million. The new links have been suggested by EXAT as a means to improve communications between Kathu-Patong beaches in Patong Muang in Phuket. The Phuket area is important to Thailand’s tourist trade which forms a key component in the country’s economy. Building the two tunnels will reduce the travel distance from 14km at

Competition is strong in the tender process for a highway project in Florida. The contract is to design, construct, finance, operate and maintain the interstate I-4 highway and the investment required for the project is expected to exceed US$1.95 billion. The tender is being held by the Florida Department of Transport through a public-private partnership. The project includes the reconstruction of 35km of the I-4 and the revamped route will feature four tolled lanes. Spanish firms OHL and FCC are partnering

The South African National Roads Agency (Sanral) is planning the construction of a further five toll roads. A feasibility study is underway for the N12 route connecting Kimberley with Johannesburg, the Limpopo N1 Botlokwa Interchange, the N3 road from Durban to Pietermaritzburg, the N1 connecting Kroonstad to Winburg and a N1 ring road at Musina.

Cautious mining customers holding back from investing in equipment is said by Atlas Copco to be a key reason behind an ‘organic’ decline of 11% in the value of its product and service orders and 5% ‘organic’ drop in revenues compared to the same three months of last year. The firm’s orders received value decreased to €2.45 billion (SEK 21,008mn) in Q1 2013 from €2.89 billion (SEK 24,827mn) in Q1 2012. Atlas Copco revenues were €2.36 billion (SEK 20,227mn) in the first three months of 2013, compared to €2.59

A report by the US Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) estimates that motorcyclist deaths increased around 9% in 2012, with over 5,000 killed. This is greater than had been expected by the US Government and if the data is confirmed, 2012 will be the 14th out of the last 15 years in which motorcyclist fatalities have increased. This shocking data is in marked contrast to US road fatalities overall, which have dropped. Motorcyclists remain one of the few roadway user groups where no safety improvemen

A consortium led by Australia-based Macquarie Group and Kiewit of the US, known as NYNJLink, is to build a new US$1.5bn bridge connecting New Jersey and New York City in the US. Chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey David Samson said that the Authority will hold on to the ownership of the existing Goethals Bridge. Upon completion, 35 yearly payments of roughly US$60 million per annum will be made to the consortium. A maximum of $500 million US Department of Transportation low-interest lo