TRUCKMAKERS NEWS * USA - Volvo rolls out lightweight, integrated fifth wheel

(Photo: The Fontaine fifth wheel is integrated into the truck)

 Greensboro,N.C.,USA -Truck News (CAN) -Feb 8, 2011: -- Volvo Trucks has come out with an integrated lightweight fifth wheel system, designed in partnership with Fontaine...  The new option is installed directly into the truck's frame and weighs about 100 lbs less than a conventional fifth wheel system, the company announced...  Volvo worked with Fontaine to develop a new lower assembly that supports both the fifth wheel and the truck fame, allowing engineers to reconfigure the top plate without losing stability, strength or durability, the company says. The cast steel top plate weighs 165 lbs...

* USA - Oshkosh Corp. to upgrade more than 2,000 mine-resistant trucks in Army deal

Oshkosh,WIS,USA -AP/Yahoo Finance -February 11, 2011: -- The defense arm of Oshkosh Corp. has received an Army order to reinforce more than 2,000 specialized heavy-duty trucks. The order is currently valued at nearly $102 million... The order is for armor and protection kits, which are used to strengthen military trucks already designed to withstand the blasts of roadside bombs... The all-terrain trucks are proving popular with the Pentagon because they can handle the terrain in Afghanistan, which is especially mountainous and rugged... Oshkosh Defense has sold nearly 8,400 of the mine-resistant trucks to the U.S. Army to date...