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While other carriers were debating whether to buy even one Class 8 truck with a 2007 EPA-certified engine, Mike Hasinec at Penske Truck Leasing Co. was knee-deep in testing 2007 engine performance.

Components maker ArvinMeritor Inc. said its fiscal first-quarter earnings fell to $7 million or 10 cents a share, from $34 million or 49 cents a year earlier, as it said it faced challenges from the automotive, light-duty and heavy-duty truck segments.

The president of trucking software provider TMW Systems said he does not expect a slowdown in sales this year, even as some trucking companies face a downturn in demand for freight-hauling services.

The maintenance managers of two vehicle leasing companies expect few problems in their shops as the truck-operating industry shifts to the next generation of lower-emission diesel engines.

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency said Friday that truck carriers entering the United States at all land border ports of entry in California, Texas and New Mexico will be required to present advance electronic cargo information through the Automated Commercial Environment truck manifest system.

Trucking component maker ArvinMeritor and Wal-Mart Transportation have agreed to develop a dual-mode, diesel-electric drivetrain for a Class 8 tractor, the two said.

When Foodliner Inc., a liquid and dry-bulk carrier based in Dubuque, Iowa, put in a mobile communications system to track the location of its trucks and monitor the performance of its drivers, corporate controller Tom Stueck said he expected some resistance.

Canadian transportation firm TransForce Income Fund said Thursday it completed its acquisition of Westfreight Systems and Westfreight Holdings (U.S.A.). Terms were not disclosed.

Engine manufacturers and trucking officials said they recognize the need for onboard diagnostic systems to monitor the performance of emission-treatment systems because diesel engines are growing in complexity.