Trucking news and briefs for Wednesday, June 30, 2021:
Navistar, Traton deal given final approval from regulators
Navistar on Wednesday said it has received all regulatory approvals needed to proceed with a previously announced merger with Dusk Inc., a wholly owned indirect subsidiary of Traton SE. The merger is expect to close on July 1, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions.
Navistar, the manufacturer of International Trucks, and Traton, Volkswagen's commercial truck arm, in November entered into a merger agreement in which Traton would acquire all of the outstanding common shares of Navistar for $44.50 per share in cash. Traton previously held 16.7% of Navistar, which it acquired via a procurement joint venture and strategic technology and supply collaboration in 2016. Navistar stockholders approved the buyout deal at its annual meeting in March.
Traton CEO Matthias Gründler noted the closing of the buyout, which has been on the table in some form since January 2020, combines Traton’s strong position in Europe and substantial presence in South America with Navistar’s complementary footprint in North America to form a global company.
After the, Navistar will be part of the Traton Group, and thus support Traton in its aim to become "a global champion of the transportation industry."
[Related: International Trucks parent agrees to Traton buyout]
FMCSA finalizes driver training rule delay
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration on Wednesday finalized a delay it announced last February to the Entry-Level Driver Training rule.
The final rule published Wednesday in the Federal Register finalizes an interim final rule published Feb. 4, 2020, that delayed the effective date of the ELDT rule from Feb 7, 2020, to Feb. 7, 2022. The agency says the delay “provides FMCSA additional time to complete development of the Training Provider Registry and provides State Driver Licensing Agencies time to modify their information technology systems and procedures, as necessary, to accommodate their receipt of driver-specific ELDT data from the TPR.
The agency notes in the final rule that, while it has provided some guidance to the public, it plans to publish further guidance as the new compliance date nears.
Required training in the rule – both classroom and behind-the-wheel driving – includes the basic operation of a vehicle, vehicle control systems and dashboard instruments, pre- and post-trip inspections, backing and docking, distracted driving, roadside inspections, hours of service, driver-whistleblower protections and procedures, and more.
The rule requires training to be completed by an FMCSA-approved provider from the Training Provider Registry established by the rule, which remains at this date a work in progress.
For fleets to provide training to entry-level drivers, they must be in the registry and comply with the rule’s required curriculum.
[Related: Will it take a disaster to truly fix driver training]
