Interpretation ID: nht79-2.12
DATE: 12/14/79
FROM: AUTHOR UNAVAILABLE; F. Berndt; NHTSA
TO: Mack Trucks
TITLE: FMVSR INTERPRETATION
TEXT:
DEC 14 1975
Mr. Thomas F. Brown Mack Trucks Engineering Division P.O. Box 1761 Allentown, Pennsylvania 18105
Dear Mr. Brown:
This responds to your October 17, 1979, letter asking about the proper certification label for an intermediate manufacturer that alters the tires and rims on a chassis thereby affecting the gross axle and vehicle weight ratings. In your letter, you suggest an abbreviated certification label that would list the manufacturer's name and date of manufacture, and would make the statement that the vehicle will conform to certain standards if the incomplete vehicle document is followed. The agency agrees that this is a correct certification.
Intermediate manufacturers are required to attach labels to vehicles that they modify to indicate that some manufacturing operation has occurred on a vehicle between the manufacture of its chassis and its final manufacture. The intermediate manufacturer is permitted to select, from among a number of certification statements, the statement or statements that accurately represent the nature of the work undertaken by that manufacturer. Therefore, it is not necessary for an intermediate manufacturer to use all of the certification statements on its labels.
In the situation that you describe, the intermediate manufacturer will make a statement on its label identical to one of the statements made by the chassis manufacturer. Although this appears to be redundant, it is necessary to have the intermediate manufacturer's label on the vehicle making the required certification statement so that a final-stage manufacturer can continue to rely upon the certification labels and upon the statements made in the incomplete vehicle document.
Sincerely,
Frank Berndt Chief Counsel
October 17, 1979
Administrator, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration U.S. Department of Transportation 400 Seventh Street, S.W. Washington, D.C. 20590
Dear Madam: Subject: Request for Interpretation 49 CFR Part 567, Certification Intermediate Manufacturer's Label Section 567.5(b)
Mack Trucks, Inc., a manufacturer of heavy duty diesel trucks, requests interpretation of 49 CFR 567.5(b) concerning the "Intermediate Manufacturer's Label".
In the heavy duty truck industry, the practice of changing the tires and/or rims from those originally furnished on the incomplete vehicle, before delivery to a final-stage manufacturer, is not uncommon.
If a dealer (distributor) changes the tires and rims on a Mack chassis-cab, and the change alters the GAWR's and GVWR of the vehicle, then the dealer becomes an intermediate manufacturer since the validity of the incomplete vehicle document is affected (ref: 49 CFR 568.5). Therefore, the dealer is required to affix an intermediate manufacturer's label to the vehicle.
The requirements pertaining to the content of this label are specified in 49 CFR 567.5(b). As we interpret this section, only one of the four (4) statements (567.5(b)(2)) specified in 567.5 (b)(1) through (b)(3) possibly applies to a tire/GAWR/GVWR change since the conformance status of the safety standards has not changed. Therefore, the intermediate manufacturer's label could consist of only the following:
1. "This vehicle will conform to Standard Nos. ------------ if it is completed in accordance with the instructions contained in the amended incomplete vehicle document furnished pursuant to 49 CFR Part 568."
2. "INTERMEDIATE MANUFACTURE BY" followed by the dealer's name.
3. The month and year of intermediate manufacture.
In the case of a tire/rim/GAWR/GVWR change, statement 1 above, when completed, is simply a restatement of a sentence on the "Chassis-Cab Label" and seems redundant since the only difference between the two statements will be the word "amended".
Mack Trucks, Inc. would appreciate the Administration's comments on what is required of a dealer (distributor) who changes the tires/rims/GAWR/GVWR of an incomplete vehicle.
Very truly yours,
MACK TRUCKS, INC.
Thomas F. Brown Executive Engineer- Vehicle Regulations and Standards
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