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The heartbeat of virtually every business enterprise is the ability to process data. Pressure is mounting on motor carriers to move more data and move it faster and to more partners as customer companies extend their supply chains across borders and increase their reliance on air, rail and ocean carriers to augment highway transportation.

The number of heavy-duty trucks in use in the United States fell 0.6% in the third quarter, an indication that the expansion of hauling capacity by carriers may have peaked, according to industry analysts.

DALLAS — Higher fuel costs and increasing traffic are driving interest in onboard navigation systems that help drivers find the most efficient and safest routes possible, according to vendor representatives.

The nation’s largest for-hire carriers entered uncharted territory this year as growing demand and tight capacity continue to fuel a financial revival, and trucking executives try to adapt to fundamental changes in the flow of freight and a growing labor crisis.

Despite a steep drop in stock prices in the past month, trucking and transportation stocks continue to be hot commodities, turning what was once considered a highly volatile sector — with fortunes of motor carriers rising and falling with the state of the economy and fuel prices — into one of the strongest and most consistent performers over the past five years.

Calculating the cost of insurance for motor carriers is not as simple as it once was. Insurance underwriters that traditionally have relied on claims data to assess risk are now also looking at financial strength, driver training procedures, motor vehicle records and a company’s “safety culture” to determine the amount of premium to be paid.

Private fleet operators are beginning to confront some of the same challenges facing for-hire carriers in terms of capacity, rising costs and a growing shortage of qualified truck drivers, according to industry officials and fleet managers.

TUCSON, Ariz. — The Transportation Intermediaries Association said it intends to release its version of a model contract for freight brokers and carriers on May 1, despite objections from trucking industry officials who said it doesn’t do enough to protect the rights of carriers to collect unpaid freight charges from shippers.

A persistent shortage of freight-hauling capacity and the reluctance of many fleets to make trailers available for loading and unloading are leading shippers to use more of their own trailers to manage the distribution of their goods, trucking and trailer industry officials said.

The chairman of the Truck Trailer Manufacturers Association said he sees an improving outlook for trailer makers as they prepare for TTMA’s annual meeting April 5-9 in Phoenix.