The new Volvo FH16 for HEB Construction has been named Nightcrawler after the character from the X-Men series.

The impressive new blue and yellow heavy haul unit features on the cover of November’s New Zealand Truck & Driver magazine and our Giti Tyres Big Test puts the Volvo to work on a 94t assignment.

There’s also a Swedish theme to the November Fleet Focus as we take a look into the huge fleet renewal programme at Fern Energy. Careful planning and a finely tuned build schedule saw Fern Energy working with Lowes and Scania to update its entire tanker fleet across a two-year time period.

November’s News highlights feature the Transporting New Zealand award winners from the North Island Seminar in Napier and takes a look at the latest Euro NCAP truck safety ratings.

Japanese truck makers are readying new models for the biennial Japan Mobility Show in Tokyo at the end of October, and we report from Feilding’s annual Big Day Out event. There’s also success for Hungarian racer Norbert Kiss who clinched his seventh ETRC title and on the local scene Rodney Dow was successful in his bid for the Otorohanga mayoralty.

A global perspective on transport trends is provided by Transporting New Zealand CEO Dom Kalasih following a visit to the Heavy Vehicle Transport & Technology Forum in Quebec and sleep expert Dan Ford has advice to drivers and transport operators about the importance of a good night’s sleep.

Part two of the Bygone Days feature on Transport Wairarapa Ltd takes a look at varied fleet and its regional hubs built up in the 1970s and we also profile the five 2025 inductees into the Mobil 1 Delvac New Zealand Road Transport Hall of Fame.

November’s Southpac Trucks Legend is well-known Kenworth K200 owner-driver Phil Bourke and tells the story of “Bourkey” being the inspiration for actor Jason Burling to base a one-man play on his day-to-day experiences on the road.

Recent event coverage includes the annual Alexandra Blossom Festival Truck Show and the opening of a new display of historic logging trucks at the NZ Timber Museum at Putaruru. 

In the November update from the National Road Carriers Association, CEO Justin Tighe-Umbers outlines the importance of a strong workplace drug and alcohol policy. And James Smith looks at some key bridge replacement priorities to improve the resilience of the State Highway network.

CrediFlex Recently Registered has the latest registration data tracking the 2025 performance of the New Zealand truck and trailer market and a gallery of new rigs on the road.