���ϳԹ���

California environmental regulators have delayed until June the first compliance deadline for large fleets seeking to phase in SmartWay technologies for 2010 and older model 53-foot box-type trailers and the tractors that pull them.

Most truck makers said they will make important announcements of new products this year at the Mid-America Trucking Show, including Peterbilt Motors Co.’s introduction of a new model.

Shippers depend on trucking as the key element in meeting their transportation goals. The old slogan, “If you got it, it came by truck,” is as valid today as it was 30 years ago.

Two items in your Feb. 20 issue were striking in their relevance. The first was an article about how fleets are finally realizing that one size doesn’t fit all applications and are spec’ing equipment to match operational challenges in urban environments.

The news from the oil patch just keeps getting worse and worse. As if $4-a-gallon diesel isn’t bad enough for the trucking industry, now comes a warning from the federal government that ultra-low-sulfur diesel may soon become scarcer and even more expensive in the Northeast because of a string of refinery closings.

Truck tonnage rose 3.6% in January, extending a string of year-over-year growth into a fourth year and buoying optimism that steady improvement in the consumer and manufacturing sectors will continue to lift the freight industry.

Because storage limitations, concerns about theft and supply problems have altered the way trucking companies purchase tires, carriers, manufacturers and experts said the tool of choice for economically managing this valuable commodity is a contract that allows fleets to get what they need when they need it — at a preset price.

Three advocacy groups filed a lawsuit last month to challenge the federal hours-of-service rule published in December, seeking to overturn the rule, which they say does not go far enough to prevent fatigue among truck drivers.

North American truck makers installed 99,504 Cummins Inc. engines into new 2011 Class 8 trucks, slightly increasing the independent engine maker’s leading market share to 39.1% from 38.5% in 2010, WardsAuto.com reported.