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In spite of the abundance of high-tech ideas about how to improve security some fleet managers are showing a preference for simple theft-deterrent hardware, stepped-up training and better emergency response procedures to address threats.

Retail sales rose 0.6% in February, the Commerce Department said Thursday, while January's sales were revised to a 0.2% gain from a 0.3% decline..

The Transportation Services Index rose about 1% in December to a reading of 118.5 in December, which Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta said Wednesday was a sign the economy would continue to improve.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it planned in April to issue its long-awaited stopping-distance rule for trucks, a regulation that could have major ramifications for trucking, especially if it necessitated significant design changes such as disc brakes, industry officials said.

Stock analysts said they expected to recommend buying or holding trucking stocks longer than they normally do when the economy is expanding because a rare convergence of market forces could significantly improve motor carriers’ profit margins throughout this year, as long as they can avoid adding capacity..

Study: Cargo Security Remains Vulnerable • U.S., Britain Focusing on Simultaneous Terror Threat

Inventories at U.S. wholesalers rose 0.1% to $295.8 billion in January after a revised 0.6% jump the month before, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.

With less than three weeks before the Transportation Security Administration’s extended deadline for states to begin background checks of truckers hauling hazardous materials, industry officials said the government had yet to release any information about the process.

While trucks have long been vulnerable to hijacking and, in fact, have been used as weapons, the need to keep any one of hundreds of thousands of trucks from being commandeered for a 9/11-style disaster has breathed new life into software products that expand the vision of security surveillance and monitoring.