Freightliner Trucks
Encyclopedia
Truck
A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, with the smallest being mechanically similar to an automobile...
s, chassis
Chassis
A chassis consists of an internal framework that supports a man-made object. It is analogous to an animal's skeleton. An example of a chassis is the underpart of a motor vehicle, consisting of the frame with the wheels and machinery.- Vehicles :In the case of vehicles, the term chassis means the...
and semi-trailer truck
Semi-trailer truck
A semi-trailer truck, also known as a semi, tractor-trailer, or articulated truck or articulated lorry, is an articulated vehicle consisting of a towing engine , and a semi-trailer A semi-trailer truck, also known as a semi, tractor-trailer, or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) articulated truck...
s in the United States. The company was founded as Freightliner Inc in 1942 and is now a division of Daimler Trucks North America, a subsidiary of the German Daimler AG. The company is known mainly for the heavy duty class 8 diesel trucks that it produces, as well as class 5-7 trucks.
As of 2005 Freightliner is the largest manufacturer of heavy duty trucks in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
with annual earnings of over $32 billion (2006 est.) and over 22,000 employees (including Detroit Diesel
Detroit Diesel
As a corporation, Daimler Trucks North America has decided to rename the company "DETROIT".Detroit Diesel Corporation is an American-based diesel engine producer headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, USA...
). Because Freightliner LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Daimler, a non American corporation, it is not included in Fortune 500
Fortune 500
The Fortune 500 is an annual list compiled and published by Fortune magazine that ranks the top 500 U.S. closely held and public corporations as ranked by their gross revenue after adjustments made by Fortune to exclude the impact of excise taxes companies collect. The list includes publicly and...
rankings. It is comparable to the 125th largest company in those rankings based on the criteria used.
Early years
In the 1930s, Consolidated FreightwaysConsolidated Freightways
Consolidated Freightways , based in Washington State was the 3rd biggest trucking company in the US. In the 1930s they started their own truck manufacturing operation, Freightliner, now part of Daimler AG. In 1989, Consolidated Freightways purchased Emery Worldwide...
decided to produce their own truck line out of reconstructed Fageols, after finding that most heavy trucks had insufficient power to climb the steep grades in the mountain regions of the western United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The trucks were branded "Freightliners", with the first units produced in Consolidated Freightways' maintenance facility in Salt Lake City ca. 1942. After production was interrupted during WWII, manufacturing began again, in CF's home of Portland, OR. In 1949,the first truck sold outside of Consolidated Freightways went to fork lift manufacturer Hyster, also based in Portland. Today, that truck is in the Smithsonian collection in Washington, D.C.
Lacking distribution capability, and seeking higher volume to reduce production costs, In 1951,CF entered into an agreement to sell their trucks through the White Motor Company
White Motor Company
White Motor Company was an American automobile and truck manufacturer from 1900 until 1980. The company also produced bicycles, roller skates, automatic lathes, and sewing machines. Before World War II, the company was based in Cleveland, Ohio.-History:...
, of Cleveland, OH, and their dealer network in the US and Canada. This relationship endured for the next quarter century, and the co-branded "White Freightliner" cab-over-engine models became a familiar sight on the highways across the continent.
1960s
Manufacturing began in Burnaby, B.C., in 1961, to reduce the duty penalty on the complete vehicles sold in Canada. Assembly plants in Indianapolis and Chino California complemented the main plant on Swan Island in Portland, serving the U.S. market. In 1969, a new assembly plant was opened on North Basin St., which was then converted to parts production.1970s
White Motor Company became troubled in the 1970s. Expansion into white goods and agricultural equipment consumed capital without producing a return, and the relationship with Consolidated Freightways became frayed. In 1974, the distribution agreement was terminated, and Freightliner Corp. began life as a freestanding manufacturer and distributor. Many of the first dealers were from the White Motor Co. network, but some entrepreneurs also signed up to represent the trucks without the White Motor Co. franchise as a complement.At the same time, the company introduced its first conventional model, an adaptation of the high cab-over-engine mainstay product. HCOE's accounted for well over 50% of the U.S. market in those days, owing to overall length regulations that limited the bumper-to-taillight dimension of a semi-trailer unit to 55' on interstate highways. Conventionals were popular on western roads due to more convenient ingress/egress, better ride, and easier access to the engine for servicing.
In 1979, a new plant was constructed in Mount Holly, North Carolina
Mount Holly, North Carolina
Mount Holly is a small suburban city in northeastern Gaston County, North Carolina, United States. The city is situated on the western bank of the Catawba River in the Southern Piedmont area of North Carolina, north of Interstate 85, south of North Carolina State Highway 16, and west of Charlotte....
, and a parts manufacturing plant in Gastonia, North Carolina
Gastonia, North Carolina
Gastonia is the largest city and county seat of Gaston County, North Carolina, United States. It is also the third largest suburb of the Charlotte Area, behind Concord and Rock Hill. The population was 71,226 as of Gastonia is the largest city and county seat of Gaston County, North Carolina,...
, both in the Charlotte metropolitan area. Volumes continued to increase.
1979 marked a consequential event in the evolution of Freightliner, and of the whole trucking and truck manufacturing industries. President Carter signed into law bills deregulating transport both on the ground and in the skies, altering the "rules of the game" for both. The echoes are still being felt today, with the financial crises being endured by the mainstream airlines. Deregulation changed the economics of trucking, and removed the protective shield of regulated carriage that protected carriers from competition and allowed the Teamsters Union to develop a stranglehold on the nation's economy by virtue of the Master Agreement with all significant freight transport companies .
1980s: Daimler-Benz takes over
Three years later, the Surface Transportation Assistance ActSurface Transportation Assistance Act
The Surface Transportation Assistance Act of 1982 was a comprehensive transportation funding and policy act of the United States Federal Government, . The legislation was championed by the Reagan administration to address concerns about the surface transportation infrastructure...
of 1982 relaxed weight and length standards and imposed a new excise tax on heavy trucks and the tires that they use. No longer was the overall length of semi-trailer combinations restricted; rather, only the trailer was specified, to be not greater than 53' in length. Individual states retained more restrictive overall length laws, but fundamentally, the rules had changed forever.
Consolidated Freightways, a traditional, unionized carrier that flourished in the pre-deregulated era, realized it was in a fight for its life. In May 1981, Consolidated Freightways sold its truck manufacturing business and the Freightliner brand to Daimler-Benz, allowing it to concentrate its management attention and financial resources on its traditional trucking business. Around this time, the Chino and Indianapolis plants were closed permanently. Consolidated Freightways continued carrier business until 2002, when it ceased operation on Labor Day weekend.
In 1989, Freightliner acquired a standing plant in Cleveland, North Carolina
Cleveland, North Carolina
Cleveland is a town in the Cleveland Township of Rowan County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 808 at the 2000 census.It is named after Cleveland, England, but it is rumored that the town is actually named after Grover Cleveland after he visited the town during his presidential...
, near Statesville, that had been producing transit buses for German manufacturer MAN.
1990s
In 1991, the company displaced a poor-selling line of Mercedes-Benz medium duty vehicles with an all-new, range of medium duty trucks designed for North America that the company called the Business Class. Sharing some cab components with the Mercedes-Benz LKN mid-range European cabover, the truck was a conventional design which was the first all-new entry in the medium-duty market in over a decade. It proved quite successful.Another pronounced downturn in the industry's fortunes necessitated drastic measures to restore the company to financial health, and Dr Dieter Zetsche
Dieter Zetsche
Dieter Zetsche is a German businessman and the Chairman of Daimler AG and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars since 2006 as well as member of the company's Board of Management since 1998....
, now the Chairman of Daimler's Board Of Management, was dispatched to lead the project as CEO. The Burnaby assembly plant was closed, a new facility in St. Thomas, Ontario, replaced it, and cost reduction programs across the company restored profitability when the market rebounded.
Significantly, production of Freightliners also commenced in Santiago Tianguistenco, Mexico, about 30 miles (48.3 km) outside Mexico City, in a plant owned by Daimler-Benz and also producing at that time buses, Brazilian-sourced medium-duty trucks, and compact Mercedes-Benz passenger cars.
The 90s were a go-go era for truck manufacturers in general, and for Freightliner in particular, under the leadership of flamboyant James L. Hebe, a former Kenworth sales executive who joined the company in 1989. Freightliner made numerous acquisitions:
1995 - Oshkosh
Oshkosh
Oshkosh may refer to:Places in the United States* Oshkosh, Wisconsin, a city and the largest place with the name* Oshkosh , Wisconsin* Oshkosh Township, Yellow Medicine County, Minnesota* Oshkosh, Nebraska...
Custom Chassis in Gaffney, South Carolina
Gaffney, South Carolina
Gaffney is a city in and the county seat of Cherokee County, South Carolina, United States, in the upstate region of South Carolina. Gaffney is also sometimes referred to as the Peach capital of South Carolina. The population was 12,414 at the 2010 census...
becomes Freightliner Custom Chassis, producing the underpinnings for walk-in vans used by companies like UPS to deliver parcels and Cintas for uniform laundry services; diesel recreational vehicles; conventional school buses; and shuttle buses. The Oshkosh and Freightliner partnership has dissolved, and Oshkosh is not affiliated with Freightliner any longer.
1996 - American LaFrance
American LaFrance
American LaFrance is an emergency and vocational vehicle manufacturer, currently based in Summerville, South Carolina. Focusing primarily on emergency apparatus fire engines and fire aerial including ambulance and rescue vehicles.-History:...
, a 130 year-old manufacturer of fire apparatus that was Mr. Hebe's first employer. LaFrance had fallen on hard times and was moribund at the time of the acquisition.
1997 - The heavy duty truck ("AeroMax
Ford L-Series Trucks
Ford L-Series trucks was a long running series of heavy-duty trucks built by Ford Motor Company between 1970 and 1998. It was distinctively styled with a bold hexagonal grille at its introduction...
") products of the Ford Motor Co. were acquired, and renamed Sterling
Sterling Trucks
Sterling Trucks, a manufacturer of heavy duty trucks, was a subsidiary of Daimler Trucks North America, based in Portland, Oregon, United States, a member of the Daimler AG Truck Group. It was originally the heavy truck division of Ford Motor Company, but was purchased and rebranded in 1997....
(from an early White Motors brand). Ford dedicated its Louisville, KY, facility to more profitable light truck production
1998 - Thomas Built Buses
Thomas Built Buses
Thomas Built Buses, Inc. is a bus manufacturer based in High Point, North Carolina, United States and a subsidiary of the German Daimler AG. Thomas produces school buses, activity buses/MFSAB , and commercial buses; both small and full-size buses are produced.Thomas traces its roots to 1916, when...
, of High Point, NC, producer of all classes of school bus bodies, and forward control chassis.
New millennium - 2000 - 2007
2000 - Western Star TrucksWestern Star Trucks
Western Star Trucks is a Fort Mill, South Carolina, United States based manufacturer of Class 8 commercial trucks and a subsidiary of the German Daimler AG.-History:...
, Inc., the successor to the White Motor Co. of Canada, and its assembly plants in Kelowna, BC, and Ladson, SC.
2000 - Detroit Diesel Corp., Redford, MI, the former General Motors subsidiary had been revived by Roger Penske
Roger Penske
Roger S. Penske is the owner of the automobile racing team Penske Racing, the Penske Corporation, and other automotive related businesses. A winning racer in the late 1950s, Penske was named 1961's Sports Car Club of America Driver of the Year by Sports Illustrated...
and was attractive to DaimlerChrysler as a point of entry into the North American heavy duty diesel industry. This company was actually acquired by another unit of DaimlerChrysler, but operations were gradually integrated into Freightliner.
Throughout this era a number of small fire and rescue apparatus manufacturers were acquired and rolled into the American LaFrance entity.
By 2001, the company was awash in used trucks it couldn't sell, and saddled with a number of non-performing operations at a time when the core business, still the Freightliner over-the-road truck offerings, was in recession. Former Freightliner CFO Rainer Schmueckle was dispatched by DaimlerChrysler to once again turn the company around. The Kelowna Western Star plant was closed, as was a Thomasbuilt facility in Woodstock, Ontario and parts manufacturing at the old Portland plant was discontinued. American LaFrance production was consolidated in the former Western Star plant in Ladson, SC, but the attempt to integrate specialized emergency vehicles into a company noted for high volume production capabilities proved unworkable, and American LaFrance was sold in 2005 to a private equity fund.
2007 - Present
On 2 April 2007, the Strike Committee of United Auto WorkersUnited Auto Workers
The International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, better known as the United Auto Workers , is a labor union which represents workers in the United States and Puerto Rico, and formerly in Canada. Founded as part of the Congress of Industrial...
(UAW) Local 3520 called for a strike at the Freightliner Trucks' assembly plant in Cleveland, North Carolina
Cleveland, North Carolina
Cleveland is a town in the Cleveland Township of Rowan County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 808 at the 2000 census.It is named after Cleveland, England, but it is rumored that the town is actually named after Grover Cleveland after he visited the town during his presidential...
. This strike lasted only one day, but because the UAW declared the strike unofficial, it was considered a wildcat strike action
Wildcat strike action
A wildcat strike action, often referred to as a wildcat strike, is a strike action taken by workers without the authorization of their trade union officials. This is sometimes termed unofficial industrial action...
, resulting the firing of 700 employees. Nearly all these were at length allowed back to work, six remained terminated for about a week, but five (known as the "Cleveland Five" or "Freightliner Five") remain terminated.
Also in 2007, Freightliner laid off 800 US workers from its Portland, Oregon plant, relocating manufacturing work to a new multimillion-dollar plant in Mexico. However, plans to close the plant completely were dropped in September 2009, and it remained open to produce military vehicles.
After DaimlerChrysler sold the Chrysler division and changed its name to Daimler AG in 2007, it was announced Freightliner LLC would be renamed to Daimler Trucks North America, LLC on January 7, 2008.
Today Freightliner remains active in heavy-duty trucks, and in commercial vehicles in classes 5 through 8 in North America. It leads the school bus, diesel Class A recreational vehicle chassis, and walk-in van markets. Its Detroit Diesel and Mercedes-Benz engine offerings are also industry leaders. The Freightliner badge also adorns the Sprinter
Mercedes-Benz Sprinter
The Mercedes-Benz Sprinter is a light and heavy commercial vehicle, built by Daimler AG of Stuttgart, Germany as a van, chassis cab and minibus, and sold as a Mercedes model, except in the U.S. where it is built from complete knock down kits and was sold by Freightliner until 2010 when Mercedes...
, a Class 2 van produced by Mercedes-Benz in Europe and marketed through Freightliner dealers, as well as through Chrysler
Chrysler
Chrysler Group LLC is a multinational automaker headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan, USA. Chrysler was first organized as the Chrysler Corporation in 1925....
dealers as a Dodge-branded offering.
Tesla Motors
Tesla Motors
Tesla Motors, Inc. is a Silicon Valley-based company that designs, manufactures and sells electric cars and electric vehicle powertrain components. It was the only automaker building and selling a zero-emission sports car, the Tesla Roadster, in serial production...
is supplying battery packs for Freightliner's Custom Chassis Electric Van.
Models
ArgosyBusiness Class M2
- Business Class M2e Hybrid
- Business Class M2 106
- Business Class M2 112
- Business Class M2 106V
- Business Class M2 112V
- C2 (bus chassis)Freightliner C2The Freightliner C2 is a Type C conventional bus chassis manufactured by Freightliner, used for school bus applications. It was introduced in 2004 as the replacement for the FS-65...
C-Series
Cabover Engine semi-trailer cab
Cargo
Cascadia (code named P3)
Century Class
- Century C120
- Century Class S/T (code named P2)
CL 120 64 ST
Classic Series
- Classic
- Classic XL
COE
Columbia
Coronado
- Coronado SD
FL-Series
- FL
- FL 112
- FL 50
- FL 60
- FL 70
- FL 80
FLA-Series
- FLA
- FLA 104
- FLA 104 64
- FLA 75
- FLA 7542T
- FLA 8662
- FLA 8664T
- FLA 9664
- FLA 9664T
FLB-Series
- FLB
- FLB 100 42T
- FLB 104 64
- FLB 9664
FLC-Series
- FLC
- FLC 112
- FLC 112 62 ST
- FLC 120
- FLC 120 64
- FLC 120 64 T
FLD-Series
- FLD
- FLD 112
- FLD 120 42 S
- FLD 120 64 ST
- FLD 120 64 T
- FLD 120 HD
- FLD 120 SD
- FLD 120 SFFA
- FLD 132 64T Classic XL
- FLD-SD
- FLD 120
FLT-Series
- FLT
- FLT 6442
- FLT 9664
- FLT 7564
FS-Series
- FS-65Freightliner FS-65The Freightliner FS-65 is a Type C conventional bus chassis manufactured by Freightliner, used for school bus and commercial bus applications. It was introduced for the 1997 model year for Thomas Built Buses...
Freightliner Sprinter
Mercedes-Benz Sprinter
The Mercedes-Benz Sprinter is a light and heavy commercial vehicle, built by Daimler AG of Stuttgart, Germany as a van, chassis cab and minibus, and sold as a Mercedes model, except in the U.S. where it is built from complete knock down kits and was sold by Freightliner until 2010 when Mercedes...
Step Van
- Step Van MT-45
- Step Van MT-55
WFT