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Manufacturing activity levels in the Chicago region declined this month but continued to show expansion this month, the Institute for Supply Chain Management-Chicago said Wednesday.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Cummins Inc., the only remaining independent truck engine builder, said last week that it will use federal emissions credits to meet new government pollution standards with its 2010 models.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Navistar Inc. has introduced the ProStar Plus, a lighter, more fuel-efficient version of its ProStar Class 8 tractor.

Truck component maker Accuride Corp. said Wednesday it lost $140.1 million, or $3.59 per share, in 2009, compared with a loss of $328.3 million, or $9.24, in 2008.

Electronic onboard recorders should be mandatory for all truckers operating in North America, the president of the Canadian Trucking Alliance said.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has moved a step closer to publishing two key trucking regulations — a final rule mandating that some fleets use electronic onboard recorders and a proposal aimed at limiting texting and other distracting activities by drivers.

The owners of more than two-thirds of the 2,200 new Class 8 trucks bought with the assistance of $20,000 each in Port of Los Angeles grants face financial penalties because their trucks will not make the required 300 gate moves during their first year of operation, port officials said.

ABF Freight System and the Teamsters union appear to be heading toward talks that could result in wage, health or pension concessions for the nation’s fifth-largest less-than-truckload carrier, officials from both sides have said.

Manufacturers and their dealers sold 19.1% more big trucks in February than they did a year earlier, marking the second consecutive month in which Class 8 sales beat their year-ago totals, according to WardsAuto.com.