Like net trailer orders, Class 8 net orders fell 27 percent from June to July this year, but overall sales are trending upward, according to ACT Research’s State of the Industry: Classes 5-8 Vehicles report. Analysts attributed the month-to-month decline in part to seasonality. Medium-duty trucks showed the strongest improvement, up 100 percent from July 2009. As trucking company profitability continues to strengthen, Class 8 sales will Continue Reading

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is debating whether to require stability control systems for highway trucks in light of research that shows its addition could prevent nearly 3,500 rollover-related accidents and save more than 100 lives annually. Research from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the University of Michigan indicates that rollovers reportedly occur in Continue Reading

A new bill introduced in the Senate would allow states to up the maximum weight for trucks traveling on their interstates beyond the current federal limit of 80,000 pounds. The Safe Efficient Transportation Act is identical to a bill introduced in the House of Representatives last year which would require a sixth axle to help support the additional weight. The American Trucking Associations (ATA), one of the Continue Reading

British Columbia and local safety officials are stepping up commercial vehicle inspections for the rest of the summer. In particular, Commercial Vehicle Safety and Enforcement officers will be looking for critical defects, such as with steering, tires, brakes and rims, that should have been easily detected prior to making the trip and are indicative of poor maintenance. According to the province’s amendments to Continue Reading

The overall number of inspections completed in the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s (CVSA) Roadcheck 2010 were lower, but officials are taking the almost unchanged levels of compliance rates among drivers and vehicles as a positive sign. Still, this latest round of inspections reveals there are some areas for Continue Reading

Overall, freight seems to be trending upward, but a noticeably slow June was cause for concern among some industry analysts. It wasn’t that the numbers fell below 2007 numbers, but because they typically spike in the summer. In some ways, this flattening could be part of the economic rebound cycle, indicating a slight setback before accelerating to a new cycle high. Another reason might be the impact of Continue Reading

The Virginia rest areas closed as a cost-cutting measure, then re-opened by current Gov. Bob McDonnell to make good on a campaign promise are the subject of another budget battle. Actually, all of the the state’s rest areas must find ways to reduce costs. McDonnell has a few ideas of his own, but is waiting for Continue Reading

Buoyed by the benefits to the environment and reducing dependence on foreign oil, NGVAmerica, a national organization to furthering development and widespread use of vehicles powered by natural gas or hydrogen, is backing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposal for certifying natural gas aftermarket vehicle conversion. It’s a step that will help expand the use of alternative fuels, and one that’s Continue Reading

Four of California’s heavy-traffic trade corridors will benefit from $200 million in voter-approved Proposition 1B funds to help reduce emissions from heavy-duty trucks, locomotives and railyards, commercial harbor craft and other sources. The Los Angeles/Inland Empire, Central Valley, Bay Area and San Diego/Border regions were Continue Reading

Recent spikes in new truck sales may not be a sign of prosperity to come any time soon, according to various research firms, like Standard and Poor’s and FTR Associates and industry analysts. Now, FTR Associates is saying, that the jump may be the optimistic part of the rebound-then-fizzle-out sales cycle experienced in the 1982 recession. If that’s the case, truck sales have a hard road ahead to approach recent peak levels in the U.S. in Continue Reading