LAS VEGAS — North America’s leading truck maker, Freightliner LLC, will begin “in the next few weeks” road testing of engines built to meet 2007 federal emissions regulations, Chief Executive Officer Rainer Schmueckle said..

LAS VEGAS — Outgoing American Trucking Associations Chairman Fred Burns Jr. said that another 12 to 15 states are expected to provide “significant tort reform” in the coming year, joining 26 other states that already have done so.

LAS VEGAS – The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration intends to publish results of its hazardous materials security technologies testing late this month, a hazmat specialist from the truck safety agency said.

LAS VEGAS — Information — gathering, disseminating, analyzing and applying it — is the next driving wheel of truck making, leading truck manufacturers said Oct. 6 in their panel discussion during American Truck Associations’ Management Conference & Exhibition here.

LAS VEGAS — North America's largest truck makers told fleet owners that introduction of the next generation of cleaner-burning diesel engines may not disrupt the market as much as had been feared.

The driver turnover rate at large truckload carriers hit 116% on an annualized basis in the second quarter of 2004, just three percentage points below the all-time high of 119%, as the competition for scarce drivers intensified, American Trucking Associations said.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Technology and Maintenance Council said it would develop three new Recommended Practices to serve as guidelines for fleets interested in learning more about forward collision and lane departure warning systems as well as roll stability systems.

Hotter-running diesel engines coming in 2007 could spur the demand for synthetic motor oils that have already carved a niche for themselves by withstanding extreme temperatures. br clear=all>

The truck sales boom of 2004, which has been particularly evident in the heavy-duty Class 8 segment, has also brought sizable gains for medium-duty truck makers.

U.S. retail sales of Class 8 trucks climbed 29.5% in July to their highest level in four years, as truck makers said both their highway and vocational markets remained strong despite the industry’s challenges of higher-priced fuel, finding enough drivers and dealing with a parts shortage..