Trucking news and briefs for Thursday, March 16, 2023:
Tijuana resident sentenced in double-broker identity theft scheme
On Feb. 24, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California sentenced Alexis Castillo-Padilla of Tijuana, Mexico, to 30 months in prison, three years of supervised release, $239,904 in restitution, and a $400 special assessment.
On Oct. 6, 2022, Castillo pleaded guilty to four counts of wire fraud related to a double-broker scheme.
According to the Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General, an investigation revealed that from around 2015 until October 2017, Castillo led a double-broker scheme in which he stole the identity of an interstate carrier and agreed to make deliveries using the company's stolen identity.
Rather than delivering the loads, Castillo posed as a shipper and re-brokered the same loads to other carriers who delivered the freight. Castillo collected the payments for the completed deliveries but did not pay the carriers who actually delivered the loads.
Navistar appoints supply chain expert EVP
Stefan Palmgren has been named Executive Vice President, Production and Logistics at Navistar as of June 1.Palmgren, who will serve on Navistar's Executive Board and report to President and CEO Mathias Carlbaum, will be responsible for guiding the strategic direction of all manufacturing, supply chain and logistics activities at Navistar. Most recently, he was Head of Industrial Operations Production at Navistar-parent Traton Group. He will continue to serve in this role as part of the Traton Truck Board with responsibility for global production of the TRATON Group.
Palmgren has extensive experience in production, manufacturing, logistics and supply chain management. For 12 years, he served as Head of Powertrain Production at Scania based in Södertälje, Sweden. In this role, he was responsible for powertrain production and was integral in launching TRATON's first modular product at Scania.
Drivewyze adds Pennsylvania to weigh station bypass network
Drivewyze announced this week that Pennsylvania is the latest state to offer its PreClear weigh station bypass service. It joins 45 other states and provinces in the Drivewyze network with more than 880 sites and bypass opportunities.
“This is a key new state in our network and we’re ecstatic to now have Pennsylvania on board,” said Brian Heath, CEO of Drivewyze. “Pennsylvania is a major thoroughfare for freight transport, and this will give our PreClear customers additional opportunities for bypass -- saving time and money, while allowing drivers to pull more miles.”
Unlike other states, Pennsylvania has 37 inspection locations that are either at rest areas or welcome centers at state borders. Most are located along the 23 interstates within the Pennsylvania highway system. The mobile platform for Drivewyze allows law enforcement to utilize inspection bypass at all locations where inspections can take place.
“Inspection officers in Pennsylvania rotate where inspections take place -- sites are not operated on a fixed schedule,” said Heath. “Since our system is mobile and can ‘go with’ inspection officers, it allows the state to offer our bypass service wherever inspections are taking place.”
Some of the key routes include I-80, which is a major commerce interstate that starts in San Francisco and goes all the way through Pennsylvania and into New Jersey. Drivewyze has sites in Pennsylvania covering the three locations going eastbound, and the two headed westbound.
Another major thoroughfare -- I-79 through western Pennsylvania and West Virginia -- makes up part of the corridor to Buffalo, New York and the Canadian border, and is covered with five new Pennsylvania Drivewyze sites northbound, and four sites southbound.
SAF-Holland breaks ground on new plant
SAF-Holland, a global manufacturer of heavy-duty commercial vehicle components, broke ground on new manufacturing plant in Piedras Negras, located in Coahuila, Mexico, last week. The new facility in Mexico will produce products for the U.S. and Mexico markets, with the manufacturing focus on Holland fifth wheels.
