Trucking news and briefs for Thursday, Dec. 2, 2021:
Randall-Reilly acquires FleetSeek, Price Digests, more from Informa
CCJ’s parent company, Randall-Reilly, has acquired Informa's Asset Intelligence Business unit, comprised of FleetSeek, Equipment Watch and Price Digests.
The brands provide proprietary pricing data, information and insights to businesses making decisions and investments in heavy construction equipment, commercial vehicles and other infrastructure assets.
"Strategically, these highly regarded brands really help us advance our progress toward being the go-to source for pricing and analytics in America's most vital industries," said Matt Reilly, president and CEO of Randall-Reilly. "They're a perfect complement to our equipment market intelligence platforms, EDA and Rig Dig, and equipmentexperts.com, our performance-based used equipment marketplace."
Price Digests is a top provider of commercial truck information and valuation data to insurers and others along the commercial vehicle value chain; FleetSeek is a database of 500,000 carriers with market intelligence used by trucking product and service providers; and Equipment Watch is a leader in construction equipment valuation and operating cost data to contractors and state DOT's.
"We wish the Asset Intelligence team continued success under their new ownership,” said Simon Ferguson, President at Informa Intelligence. “They have much to be proud of, and we are confident that Randall-Reilly will fuel further growth for these industry-leading brands."
"Adding these insights to our existing platforms means no other company better understands heavy equipment buyer behavior and risk profile, than Randall-Reilly," said Prescott Shibles, EVP & Division GM of Randall-Reilly.
Aurora using Amazon as cloud provider for autonomous trucks
Autonomous truck tech developer Aurora has selected Amazon Web Services (AWS) as its preferred cloud provider for machine learning training and cloud-based simulation workloads.
Aurora uses AWS’s infrastructure and portfolio of capabilities to accelerate the development of the Aurora Driver, its scalable self-driving vehicle technology. The Aurora Driver consists of sensors that perceive the world, software that plans a safe path through it, and a computer that powers and integrates Aurora’s hardware and software with any vehicle platform.
For its machine learning training and cloud-based simulation workloads, Aurora uses the cloud to process trillions of data points each day. Now, the company is scaling its training workloads in the cloud to complete up to 12 million physics-based driving simulations per day by the end of the year, building on the petabytes of data it collects during real-world road tests.
“Aurora’s advanced machine learning and simulation at scale are foundational to developing our technology safely and quickly, and AWS delivers the high performance we need to maintain our progress,” said Chris Urmson, CEO of Aurora. “With its virtually unlimited scale, AWS supports millions of virtual tests to validate the capabilities of the Aurora Driver so that it can safely navigate the countless edge cases of real-world driving.”
DeFazio announces plans to retire from Congress
U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Oregon) announced Wednesday he will not seek reelection in 2022.
DeFazio serves as Chair of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. He has served in the U.S. House for 36 years.
American Trucking Associations President and CEO Chris Spear praised DeFazio’s work in transportation during his time in office.
“His absence will come at a time when we need more elected officials willing to put the nation’s interest ahead of themselves,” Spear said. “Amidst bitter partisanship throughout Washington, Chairman DeFazio stands out as one of the rare solution seekers committed to advancing the legislative process. Our industry appreciates the fact that he will solicit members’ thoughts, listen to logic and make decisions based on facts, not knee-jerk rhetoric and emotion. That collaboration is something our industry looks for in an elected official and what ultimately shapes sound public policy. Few legislators have been more instrumental in driving national infrastructure policy than Chairman DeFazio. He’ll leave the House having cemented a lasting legacy that his constituents and all Americans will see, feel and use for decades to come. We thank him for his service and partnership.”
Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association President Todd Spencer also touted DeFazio’s efforts during his tenure in Congress.
“Since his arrival in Congress, Chairman DeFazio has been a leading voice on trucking issues,” Spencer said. “He has displayed a seldom matched knowledge and understanding of transportation policy that professional drivers have always respected throughout his decades of service. OOIDA has genuinely appreciated the Chairman’s thorough comprehension of the various concerns raised by small-business truckers. While we have not always agreed about how to best improve the trucking industry, we have valued the informed dialogue with the Chairman and his staff over the years. We look forward to continue working with Rep. DeFazio on addressing many of the long-standing challenges that truckers confront on a daily basis such as excessive detention time, inadequate compensation and the truck parking crisis during the remainder of his term.”
