MATS REPORT: Cummins brings back the 600; says orders strong
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Among several product announcements made by Cummins just prior to the Mid-America Trucking Show here, one will find special favor with many Canadian truck operators -- a 600-horse ISX with a whopping 2050 lb ft of torque, on sale this fall. Offered also with a torque rating of 1850 lb ft, the big engine sports dual overhead camshafts and electric actuation on the patented VG turbo for improved engine response. The Intebrake system, an integrated compression brake that generates over 600 braking horsepower, continues as standard equipment. It uses a single diesel particulate filter. In addition, Cummins is offering two new Smart Torque ratings -- the ISX 425 ST aimed at truckload fleets, and the ISX 485 ST for owner-operators. The company has also approved the use of B20 biodiesel fuel in all its engines. And it also announced that the long awaited Comfort Guard auxiliary power unit is now in production. It features both heating and cooling, with an in-cab thermostat that can be controlled manually or programmed to start automatically based on temperature settings or time of day. For cooling, the unit’s compact 12,000-Btu-capacity evaporator section mounts under the bunk and delivers up to 350 cu ft per minute of cool air. It has a 4,000/8,000-Btu two-stage electric heat function. Unlike some competitive systems, Cummins says, its 120-volt power remains available from the APU receptacles for powering other loads while the heating and cooling system runs at full capacity. Cummins says its order board is strong through June, strong enough that its heavy-duty engine plant in Jamestown, NY is busier than earlier projections anticipated. According to OEM sales vice president Dave Garrity, the company’s original plan for 2007 assumed a substantial downturn through the first half of the year. But export sales have been very brisk, and the company has even had to recall some temporary workers who haven’t been employed at the plant for over a year. Last year set records for the engine maker, with total sales of US$11.4 billion and production of 883,000 engine large and small, said Jeff Jones, vice president, sales and market communications. Some 70 percent of that revenue came from engine sales, and the total was split evenly between North American and international sales. The company’s efforts in China are a bright spot, Jones said. Cummins has 10 factories there along with a new tech center, a parts distribution facility, 12 company-owned branches, and about 300 dealers. With more than a million Cummins engines in service in the huge country, its market share – combining bus and truck sales -- is just shy of 20 percent. About two thirds of the Cummins engines on Chinese roads were built locally, the rest imported from the U.S.