FOCUS on Transport and Logistics

12/11/2025

🔥 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘂𝗺 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗱 𝗨𝗦$𝟭 𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻
A fire at a Novelis aluminium plant in New York has halted production, threatening the supply of aluminium for Ford’s F-150 trucks and potentially slicing US$1 billion off the automaker’s earnings.

The incident highlights how safety incidents can ripple through the supply chain, impacting production, deliveries and ultimately the bottom line.

For fleet operators and OEMs, it’s a stark reminder: robust safety protocols aren’t just about compliance – they protect revenue, jobs and operational continuity.

11/11/2025

𝗛𝘆𝗱𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗲𝗻-𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗽𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗿𝘀
🚚 Fuso debuts heavy-duty hydrogen trucks at JMS2025

Long-haul heavy-duty transport remains one of the hardest sectors to decarbonise – so the fact that major truck makers are exhibiting hydrogen-powered heavy trucks signals serious momentum in this regard.

At the Japan Mobility Show, Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation (MFTBC) has unveiled two hydrogen-powered heavy-duty concept trucks. It’s a world-first showcase of both hydrogen combustion and fuel cell technologies for long-haul transport.

💧 H2IC: Hydrogen Internal Combustion – uses compressed hydrogen gas and existing diesel components, paving a faster route to zero emissions.
⚡ H2FC: Hydrogen Fuel Cell – powered by liquid hydrogen with a range of up to 1200km and 15-minute refuelling time.

Co-developed with Linde Engineering, the subcooled liquid hydrogen (sLH₂) refuelling system solves a key challenge: no more boil-off gas losses.

This innovation shortens refuelling time, boosts range and simplifies station infrastructure – bringing a hydrogen economy closer to reality.

Together, these trucks point to a carbon-neutral future for heavy-duty transport – built on real-world performance and scalable technology.

10/11/2025

10/11/2025

Big news for the transport and logistics community!

Buffalo Truck Stop has officially opened in East London – a first-class facility designed with drivers, fleets, and logistics professionals in mind.

From secure parking and hot showers to overnight accommodation, wellness clinics, and top-tier workshops (Scania, Aero Truck, Hi-Q), this is more than a stop – it’s a destination.
Grab a bite at Steers, stock up at PnP Go, or freshen up at the laundromat and truck wash.

Find us on Google Maps: https://maps.app.goo.gl/sop3Wy3M4uDXxptD8

One workshop/warehouse unit (±490m²) still available to let – act fast!

07/11/2025

𝗗𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗴𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗮𝗸𝗸𝗶𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗲!
🚙 Land Rover’s modern Defender gets a bold new twist thanks to Heritage Customs and Urban Automotive, who’ve reimagined it as a pickup (or, as we proudly say in SA, a bakkie).

Unveiled at the upcoming 2026 Goodwood Festival of Speed, the Defender-based double cab is offered in two flavours – the elegant Heritage Edition and the sporty Urban Edition — both powered by JLR’s 5.0-litre supercharged V8 (313 kW, 550 N·m).

A “spiritual successor” to the classic Defender 110 crew cab, this coachbuilt beauty brings rugged nostalgia roaring into the future.

👉 Would you trade your bakkie for this one?

📸: Heritage Customs

06/11/2025

𝗣𝘂𝗺𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴
🔬 A major motor vehicle industry-backed research organisation is hitting the brakes on cruel experiments on animals, following more than two years of talks with PETA scientists.

🚌 The Health Effects Institute, which studies the effects of air pollution and is largely funded by the global automotive industry and the US Environmental Protection Agency, confirmed to PETA that it has no plans to fund experiments on animals for the foreseeable future.

🐭 This shift in gears is a welcome change from decades of air pollution experiments on thousands of animals around the world – including dogs, monkeys, rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, rats and mice – that the institute bankrolled since its inception in 1980.

🧪 Experimenters would force the animals to inhale carcinogens and ozone and to ingest toxic chemicals before killing and dissecting them.

The decision comes after PETA first contacted the institute in 2023, urging it to switch to state-of-the-art, animal-free and human-relevant research methods.

05/11/2025

𝗦𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗼𝗳𝗳 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗱𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀
🤔 What can go wrong when a driver or pilot reaches their cognitive load limit?

🚚 Driving seems so natural that many people are hardly aware of the enormous amount of information they have to process behind the wheel. Speed, RPM and fuel level; the navigation system; traffic lights, road signs and other road users must be observed. Drivers may also be talking to passengers or listening to the radio. Once a driver reaches their cognitive load limit and needs to make a decision in a critical traffic situation, things can become dangerous.

🔬 Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS in Erlangen, Germany, are developing a system to support individuals in performing complex activities in various settings while taking into account their cognitive load limit.

💓 The solution involves two proprietary technologies: a network of sensors that measures biosignals such as pulse, respiratory rate and movements; and AI-driven algorithms that recognise when a person has reached their cognitive load limit.

⌚ The maphera® sensor systems can be integrated into clothing or embedded in wristbands and smart patches to continuously monitor biosignals. The data is then transmitted using Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE).

📷 Vehicle manufacturers are showing a strong interest in this technology since camera-based advanced driver distraction warning (ADDW) systems will be mandatory in new vehicles from 2026 as part of the EU’s General Safety Regulation. These systems are designed to assess whether the person behind the wheel is paying attention.

Fraunhofer IIS is a world leader in applied research and enables groundbreaking products and services for the digital world of tomorrow.

04/11/2025

⛵ 𝗜𝘀 𝗡𝗲𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴?
The world’s first large, commercial, wind-propelled cargo ship – the Neoliner Origin – completed its first transatlantic voyage in October.

🎞️ Watch footage of the ship here, courtesy of TVP World: https://buff.ly/e5apHro

Fitted with two rigid sails, the 136-metre vessel sustained minor damage to its aft sail but successfully reached Baltimore after crossing the Atlantic, in what is being hailed as a milestone in wind-powered shipping.

The Neoliner is a Ro-Ro cargo ship with 1,200 lane meters for cargo across three areas. It can also carry refrigerated cargo. Up to 12 paying passengers as well as 13 crew can be accommodated onboard.

💚 French company Neoline says their ship can cut greenhouse gas emissions by about 80% versus conventional diesel vessels, which collectively produce about 3% of global CO₂ emissions.

The world’s largest cargo sailing ship, the Neoliner Origin, has completed its first transatlantic voyage, marking a milestone in wind-powered shipping.

04/11/2025

𝗛𝘆𝗱𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗲𝗻-𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗽𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗿𝘀
🚚 Bosch recently started using a fuel-cell electric truck at its Nuremberg plant, as part of its ongoing commitment to climate-friendly logistics 🌍.

🏆 The truck is equipped with the Bosch fuel-cell power module (FCPM), recently nominated for the German President’s Future Prize.

⚡By converting hydrogen and oxygen into water and electricity, the 40-tonne truck can be operated completely electrically. Using renewable hydrogen even makes the truck’s powertrain climate neutral.

Several thousand trucks with Bosch fuel-cell systems are already on the road worldwide.

03/11/2025

📢 𝗟𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗔𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗢 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗴𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗱
While the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (AARTO) system has been operating in Johannesburg and Tshwane for years as pilot projects, the final details of the phased national rollout have been confirmed as the AARTO Regulations, 2025, supporting Amendment Act 2019, have been gazetted.

Published on 31 October 2025, Government Gazette 53605 can be downloaded from the website of the Government Printing Works (www.gpw.gov.za).

⚠️ The new regulations focus on individual driver behaviour instead of penalising companies.

👉 The following commencement dates should be noted:
• 1 December 2025 - 69 municipalities will join the AARTO system.
• 1 April 2026 - Remaining 144 municipalities join.
• 1 September 2026 - The points demerit system will be active.

❓ Questions? Visit https://buff.ly/51P99bJ or ask Alta Swanepoel & Associates, www.altaswanepoel.co.za.

30/10/2025

🚌 𝗕𝘂𝘀 𝘀𝗮𝗳𝗲𝘁𝘆 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗽𝗼𝘁𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁
Tragedy struck near Makhado, Limpopo, earlier in October when a DNC Coaches bus veered off the road and plunged down an embankment – claiming 43 lives and injuring another 40 passengers. (https://buff.ly/2VcBMH7)

⚠️ A preliminary Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) report revealed alarming details: the bus was speeding, one of its five brakes was not working, and none of the four brakes on its trailer were operational. The trailer’s suspension was also in poor condition.
This is not an isolated case. In 2024 alone, 146 people died in bus crashes across South Africa – the highest toll in five years. Weak and inconsistent enforcement of regulations continues to put lives at risk.

📢 Transport Minister Barbara Creecy has instructed the RTMC to:
• Investigate DNC Coaches’ accountability for roadworthiness and consider a culpable homicide charge;
• Review the bus’s maintenance and service records;
• Identify the testing centre that issued its roadworthy certificate;
• Audit the company’s entire fleet; and
• Coordinate with provincial law enforcement for compulsory roadworthy inspections at border posts.

❓ Will these measures finally bring lasting change to South Africa’s bus safety standards?

💬 Share your thoughts below.

29/10/2025

🏆 𝗚𝘂𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗞𝗶𝗮 𝗣𝗩𝟱 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗼 𝗲𝗟𝗖𝗩!

🚚 The Kia PV5 Cargo, the company’s first dedicated electric light commercial vehicle (eLCV), has officially broken a GUINNESS WORLD RECORD™ title for the following achievement:
“The greatest distance travelled by a light-duty battery-powered electric van with maximum payload on a single charge is 693.38km (430.84 miles)”.

🔋 Part of Kia’s pioneering Platform Beyond Vehicle (PBV) line-up, the PV5 Cargo Long Range 4-door variant was utilised for the trial with its maximum authorised payload of 665kg. Featuring a 71.2 kWh battery, the model covered 693.38km on a single charge – setting a new benchmark for efficiency and endurance in the eLCV segment.

The record-breaking drive took place on 30 September 2025 under authentic, real-world conditions on public roads north of Frankfurt, Germany.

👉 The Kia PV5 Cargo will be on display at the Solutrans tradeshow in Lyon from 18 November 2025. FOCUS will see you there!