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Trucking Recovery To Be Driven by Supply Side?
Chris Fisher The signs of a freight recovery that appeared early this year are gone, replaced by a tough market where recovery will have to come from a supply-side correction, American Trucking Associations’ Chief Economist Bob Costello said at ATA’s 2025 Management Conference & Exhibition in San Diego.
Costello delivered a blunt and sobering economic warning: new tariffs, persistent stagflation, and a slowing labor market have created “absolutely unsustainable” conditions for many carriers, and the only way out, at least near-term, is to erase capacity from the highway.
“It’s not easy to talk about because it’s people’s livelihoods, but it’s a necessary evil,” Costello said, noting that freight demand is unlikely to improve anytime soon. “This has got to be a supply-driven change in the market.”
The current 18% effective tariff rate, nearly six times higher than it was during the first Trump administration, is a level not seen since the 1930s. Costello warned that the industry is only in the “bottom of the second or top of the third inning” of feeling the impact. “Any benefits of putting tariffs on foreign goods… are years in the future, but the cost hits much quicker,” he said.
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Jack Prince Joins Power Systems Research
Jack Prince Jack Prince has joined Power Systems Research as a business development manager. He’ll be working out of the Ann Arbor, MI, office. Jack brings over 25 years of business development and commercialization experience to the global automotive and mobility industries. He uses research and data to help clients identify market opportunities and improve business efficiency while enhancing product performance.
Jack has advised emerging ventures on market discovery, product strategy, and investor…
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Green Construction Equipment Sees Growth
Jack Hao In China this year, green construction machinery is seeing rapid growth, and demand across multiple scenarios is becoming unmistakable. EVE Energy is delivering full-scenario solutions for earthmoving equipment, aerial work platforms and specialized machinery. After six years of shipments in the construction-machinery segment, EVE Energy now ranks second nationwide; individual vehicles have logged more than 16,000 operating hours, and the company’s products are fitted to over 60 OEMs including LiuGong, SANY and Lingong.
According to data from the Construction Machinery Association, domestic sales of new-energy construction equipment are expected to surpass one million units by 2028, and the incremental market for green machinery is opening up rapidly—yet pain points remain: bulky batteries, short cycle life and complex assembly.
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GST 2.0 Could Be Fiscal Reset for Auto Industry
INDIA REPORT
Aditya Kondejkar The Indian automobile industry has received a significant policy boost with the rollout of GST 2.0, a major change in indirect taxes aimed at restoring affordability and stimulating consumption. The reform, which reduces GST rates on vehicles and components, arrives at a crucial juncture when entry-segment sales, rural demand, and OEM margins have been under pressure.
Scale of reduction and market impact. GST 2.0 lowers the rate on small cars and two-wheelers from 28% to 18%, while standardizing the rate on most auto components at 18% instead of the earlier 18%–28% range. Larger SUVs and luxury models now fall under a simplified 40% composite slab, down from nearly 50% earlier. These changes translate into tangible price cuts—ranging from $750 USD (₹65,000) for hatchbacks to over $3,400.00 USD (₹3 lakh) for premium models—resulting in an estimated 10-percentage-point drop in overall tax burden for the sector. Analysts see this as a long-awaited correction that could lift FY26 passenger-vehicle demand by 8–10%.
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China’s LiuGong To Invest in Factory in West Java
INDONESIA REPORT
Akihiro Komuro In October 2025, LiuGong Indonesia, the Indonesian subsidiary of the Chinese construction machinery manufacturer LiuGong, signed a memorandum of understanding regarding its investment plan for an industrial zone. The new factory in Karawang, which is expected to begin operations in 2026, will have an annual production capacity of 5,000 units and will require a total investment of $317 million. The factory will incorporate AGVs, MES and a dedicated R&D center for electric construction machinery, advancing the adoption of advanced technologies.
Through partnerships with local suppliers, the company aims to increase its TKDN (local content requirement) and achieve certification within five years. Products will be exported to the domestic market, as well as to Southeast Asia, Australia and North America, with an expected annual foreign exchange earnings effect of $40 million. LiuGong views this investment as a contribution to strengthening Indonesia’s heavy equipment industry ecosystem and supporting sustainable development.
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Kawasaki Launches Hybrid Hydrogen Engine
JAPAN REPORT
Kawasaki Heavy Industries has launched a generator engine that runs on a mixture of natural gas and hydrogen. It can operate using a hydrogen blend of up to 30% by volume relative to natural gas. This is the world’s first product of its kind to be launched.
The newly launched 'Hydrogen-Blended Gas Engine' is based on existing natural gas-fueled power generation engines. Due to the explosion risk posed by hydrogen, it is equipped with safety devices and mechanisms to remove residual hydrogen…
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Mahindra Starts Construction of AG Equipment Plant
Fabio Ferraresi Mahindra Brazil has started construction of its new manufacturing facility in Dois Irmãos (RS), supported by an investment of around US$ 17.5 million over five years. The new plant will cover 89,000 m², with 38,568 m² built and an expansion potential of 24,000 m², tripling production capacity from 3,000 to 9,000 tractors per year. The project is expected to create about 300 direct and indirect jobs and marks Mahindra’s transition toward a more localized industrial base in Brazil.
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