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Fed by the international economic recovery and a weak U.S. dollar, North American truck makers are enjoying a sharp upturn in sales of heavy-duty trucks to the rest of the world, particularly Central and South America, Africa, the Middle East and Australia.

TravelCenters of America, the nation’s only major truck stop chain that is publicly traded, announced a secondary offering of 10 million shares to be priced at $5.69 each.

TravelCenters of America, the second-largest U.S. truck-stop chain, said it launched a version of its TruckSmart mobile software for Google Inc.’s Android operating system.

Heavy-duty U.S. truck sales leaped 41.1% in April, compared with the same month in 2010, marking the 16th straight month of expansion, and outpacing the in-dustry’s 35.9% growth for the first four months of this year.

When we read or watch news reports concerning the devastation caused by natural disasters, we usually are able to relate to the tragedies on a human level.

TravelCenters of America said its first-quarter loss narrowed from a year ago.

Orders for new Class 8 trucks in North America shot up dramatically in April to around 38,000, about 160% higher than the year-ago level, lengthening delivery schedules, according to industry officials.

As the backlog of orders for heavy-duty trucks has grown to levels not seen since late 2006, at least three of the four major vehicle manufacturers have announced commodity surcharges, with the extra fees as much as $975 a truck.

The American Truck Dealers held its annual convention in Phoenix this month, with members cheerful over the economic rebound but increasingly leery of pending federal regulations.

Several tank-truck operators said freight volumes are increasing and rates are moving higher thanks to the combination of that higher level of demand and lower capacity on the carrier side.