In the latest of a series of recent announcements by companies that offer driver training through simulators, safety- and regulatory-training company J.J. Keller & Associates Inc. and insurance broker Synaxis Group Inc. said they were selling new simulator products.

International Truck and Engine Corp. added its voice to a growing number of truck makers predicting Class 8 truck sales were on the verge of accelerating through 2006. And company executives predicted International could climb to second place from fourth in its market share of U.S. retail sales.

Sales of heavy-duty Class 8 trucks fell 19.9% in August from the abnormally high levels of a year earlier, and were even down slightly from the recession period of August 2001.

CINCINNATI — Truck maintenance and information technology specialists said recently that IT is becoming integrated with trucking operations, but industry standards are needed to promote their use by fleets and their ability to increase income.

CINCINNATI — A new electronic format to simplify and speed up trucking fleets’ warranty claims to their suppliers could be in place as early as next year, industry representatives said this week.

CINCINNATI — The Technology and Maintenance Council is studying what can be done to decrease corrosion on trucks and trailers caused by ice-clearing and dust-settling chemicals on highways.

International Truck & Engine Corp. has named Ford Motor Co. executive Dee Kapur president of its truck group, the company announced Sept. 2.

International Truck and Engine Corp., the operating arm of Navistar International Corp., said last week it would introduce an onboard communications package for Class 6-8 trucks that could send safety, operational and security data from a vehicle to a fleet’s facility or other sites, such as border crossings.

Security of freight shipments on the nation’s highways will receive special attention at the Information Technology & Logistics Forum sponsored by the American Trucking Associations’ Technology & Maintenance Council and Transport Topics Publishing Group, organizers said.

Buyers and sellers of heavy-duty used trucks said they are working harder to find the equipment they need as an earlier glut of used trucks eases and prices rise. One difficulty, they agreed, is that low-mileage used Class 8 vehicles have virtually disappeared from a marketplace that is redefining the term “roadworthy.”