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Official Site: FreightlinerTrucks.com
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History
The following section is an excerpt from Wikipedia's Freightliner Trucks page on 8 July 2017, text available via the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
Freightliner Trucks is an American truck manufacturer and a division of Daimler Trucks North America. The division is known mainly for the heavy duty class 8 diesel trucks it offers, as well as class 5-7 trucks.
In the 1930s, Consolidated Freightways (CF) decided to produce their own truck line from reconstructed Fageols, after finding most heavy trucks lacked sufficient power to climb the steep mountain grades in the western United States. The trucks were branded "Freightliners", with the first units produced in Consolidated Freightways' maintenance facility in Salt Lake City around 1942. After production was interrupted during WW II, manufacturing began again, in CF's home of Portland, Oregon. In 1949, the first truck sold outside of Consolidated Freightways went to forklift 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, CF entered into an agreement in 1951 to sell their trucks through the White Motor Company, of Cleveland, Ohio, 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 (COE) became a familiar sight on highways across the continent.
Manufacturing began in Burnaby, British Columbia, 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 US market. In 1969, a new assembly plant was opened on North Basin St., which was then converted to parts production.
White Motor Company became troubled in the 1970s. Expansion into appliances 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 COE mainstay product. High COEs accounted for well over 50% of the US market in those days, owing to overall length regulations that limited the bumper-to-taillight dimension of a semitrailer unit to 55 ft 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 in Mount Holly, North Carolina and a parts manufacturing plant in Gastonia, North Carolina, were constructed, both in the Charlotte metropolitan area. Volumes continued to increase.
The year 1979 marked a consequential event in the evolution of Freightliner, and of the whole trucking and truck manufacturing industries. President Carter signed bills into law deregulating transport both on the ground and in the skies. Deregulation changed the economics of trucking, and removed the protective shield of regulated carriage that protected carriers allowing much needed competition.
Three years later, the Surface Transportation Assistance Act of 1982 relaxed weight and length standards and imposed a new excise tax on heavy trucks and the tires they use. No longer was the overall length of semitrailer combinations restricted; rather, only the trailer was specified, to be not greater than 53 ft 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 era before deregulation, realized it was in a fight for its life. In May 1981, it 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 1985 Freightliner introduced a new Medium Conventional series (FLC), using the passenger portion of the cabin from the then recently introduced Mercedes-Benz LK. Mercedes cabins gradually became used for a number of Freightliner trucks. In 1989, Freightliner acquired a standing plant in Cleveland, North Carolina, near Statesville, that had been producing transit buses for German manufacturer MAN.
| Date | Document Name & Details | Documents |
|---|---|---|
| 17 June 1975 | NHTSA Recall 75V119000 1967-1975 Freightliner Service Brakes, Air:Controls National Highway Traffic Safety Administration | Recall Page - 1 page |
| 1 September 2011 | Defect Information Report FL-611, Cummins V-Band Clamp RecallFrom: Nasser Zamani, Daimler Trucks North America To: Dan Smith, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration NHTSA Recall 11V474000 |  PDF - 88KB - 3 pages |
| 1 September 2011 | NHTSA Recall 11V474000 2011-2012 FCCC MC, 2011-2012 FCCC MT45, 2011-2012 FCCC MT55, 2011-2012 FCCC S2, 2011-2012 FCCC XBR, 2011-2012 FCCC XBS, 2011-2012 FCCC XCL, 2011-2012 FCCC XCM, 2011-2012 FCCC XCR, 2011-2012 FCCC XCS, 2011-2012 Freightliner Business Class M2, 2011-2012 Freightliner Coronado, 2011-2012 Thomas Built Saf-T-Liner, 2011-2012 Thomas Built MVP-EF National Highway Traffic Safety Administration | Recall Page - 1 page |
| 16 September 2011 | V-Band Clamp Assembly/Cummins From: Ric Willard, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration To: Nasser Zamani, Daimler Trucks North America NHTSA Recall 11V474000 | PDF - 27KB - 3 pages |
| 20 September 2011 | Defect Information Report FL-611, Cummins V-Band Clamp RecallFrom: Nasser Zamani, Daimler Trucks North America To: Dan Smith, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration NHTSA Recall 11V474000 | PDF - 509KB - 4 pages |
| 19 October 2011 | Defect Information Report - Supplemental Report No. 1 11V-474, FL-611, Non-School Bus, (Cummins C1154) Cummins Aftertreatment V-Band ClampsFrom: Nasser Zamani, Daimler Trucks North America To: Dan Smith, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration NHTSA Recall 11V474000 | PDF - 455KB - 11 pages |
