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PierPass Inc., which operates the off-peak program at Southern California ports, said the container terminals at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach will require trucks to be equipped with TruckTags in order to gain access to the terminals, starting Dec. 1.

Hybrid drivetrains, combining diesel and electric power and developed by Eaton Corp., will be available in 2008 on medium-duty truck chassis made by Freightliner Corp., International Truck and Engine Corp. and Paccar’s DAF, Kenworth Truck Co. and Peterbilt Motors Co., according to several announcements by the manufacturers involved.

U.S. retail Class 8 truck sales continued their 2007 free fall in August, plunging 58.9% from last year, the fourth straight month sales have dropped more than 50%, Ward’s Communications said.

The current truck-driver hours-of-service rules — allowing 11 hours of driving and restarting a week after 34 hours of rest — are likely to remain in place for at least several more weeks.

Sharply contrasting with the U.S. drop, sales of heavy-duty trucks are booming in Europe as many fleets buy new models early to reap government incentives to adopt new emission technology before it becomes mandated.

Driver turnover at large truckload carriers fell 11 percentage points to an annualized rate of 116% in the second quarter, compared with the previous three months, American Trucking Associations reported.

Crude oil hit a new closing record Thursday, its sixth in seven trading days, as a tropical depression formed in the Gulf of Mexico that was on track to make landfall near New Orleans, Bloomberg reported.

Truck maker Freightliner LLC is studying relocating some of the operations in its aftermarket division from Oregon to the East Coast, the Oregonian newspaper reported Friday.

Five counties in southwestern Indiana will switch from Central to Eastern time beginning Nov. 4, the U.S. Department of Transportation said.