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The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration last week proposed requiring nearly all interstate commercial motor carriers to install electronic data recorders to monitor their drivers’ hours-of-service compliance.

There were more signs of the trucking industry’s resurgence last week, as a number of publicly-held fleets reported improved earnings, while analysts said trailer and used trucks sales surged during 2010.

The freight-trailer industry rebounded sharply during 2010, with orders more than doubling to 166,500 and shipments rising 52% over 2009 to 119,900 units, ACT Research Co. reported.

Customers bought used Class 8 trucks at such a fast pace last year that they swept dealer lots nearly clean, triggering shortages expected to last for several years and pushing prices up as much as 30%, according to dealers and analysts.

Two transport issues left over from the last Congress are moving in different directions on Capitol Hill in the early days of the current congressional session.

UPS Inc. nearly doubled its fourth-quarter net earnings, which shot up to $1.12 billion as volumes and pricing improved across almost all business segments, the parcel carrier said Feb. 1.

Many of the maintenance professionals who keep U.S. truck fleets running smoothly will focus their attention on wider dissemination of the motor freight industry’s recommended engineering practices at the Technology & Maintenance Council’s annual meeting in Tampa, Fla.

Trucks hauled the vast majority of freight in the United States, according to the Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics.

Rick Snyder, Michigan’s new governor, is forcefully pushing to accomplish what his predecessors failed to do — building a second bridge between Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, the busiest freight crossing in the United States.

Truck tire manufacturers have raised prices up to 12% in recent weeks, citing materials costs, while concern is mounting about future supplies after the sudden rise in new tractor and trailer sales.