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TAMPA, Fla. — Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems said it has distributed the first of more than 130,000 kits to fix a defective brake-system valve, but said the process could take about six months to complete as manufacturers, dealers and fleets scramble to repair more than 67,000 affected U.S. and Canadian trucks.

The total U.S. Class 8 fleet dropped 2.1% in the 4th quarter of 2011 compared with the last quarter of 2010, as fleets continued to squeeze out their oldest trucks to bring freight capacity more into alignment with available loads, according to R.L. Polk & Co.

TAMPA, Fla. — Lee Long, the maintenance director of Southeastern Freight Lines and new chairman of American Trucking Associations’ Technology & Maintenance Council, said his biggest interest is drawing more people into work as heavy-duty technicians.

Trucking industry leaders, company associates and family members paid tribute to Don Schneider, the former president and CEO of Schneider National Inc., in a memorial service attended by an estimated 700 people at St. Norbert College in De Pere, Wis., on Feb. 15. Schneider died in January after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease.

The Environmental Protection Agency has formally granted Navistar Inc. approval to pay up to a $1,900 penalty for each new heavy-duty engine it produces that is not compliant with 2010 federal emissions standards, the agency confirmed last week.

The price of retail diesel rose last week for the fourth consecutive time, edging up 1.7 cents a gallon to $3.96, the U.S. Department of Energy reported.

Oil extended its longest rally in two years, rising to finish the trading week over $109 a barrel, Bloomberg reported.

Universal Truckload Services reported higher fourth-quarter and full-year profits on higher truckload revenue.

After battling rivals and rising costs for years, Northeast regional truckload hauler Atkinson Freight Lines has shut its doors.

The U.S. Postal Service said it will close or consolidate 223 mail processing centers and eliminate up to 35,000 jobs as part of a cost-cutting strategy, Reuters reported Friday.