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Remote diagnostics systems available on modern trucks are helping fleets avoid costly repairs and reduce vehicle downtime, and this technology is rapidly advancing toward offering better predictions of when problems might occur.

Condition-based maintenance is coming to commercial vehicles, and bringing with it transformative possibilities to expand real-time operational insights, foster an improved warranty process and, perhaps, accelerate sales of replacement parts, experts said.

Paccar Inc.’s engine plant in Columbus, Miss., reached a milestone recently by producing its 200,000th MX engine for the North American market.

Class 8 orders for February trickled in to reach 16,900, down 58% compared with a year earlier, reflecting a backlog already swollen by record demand in 2018, reports ACT Research Co.

TFI International Inc., one of the largest trucking and logistics companies in the United States and Canada, is making moves in the tanker business, snapping up two trucking companies in February.

Fleets find that by performing their own repairs, they can better control repair and wait times, and going commercial enables them to offset costs. Repairs can happen quickly while drivers are at home during their off-duty hours, making it a recruiting and retention tool.

Daimler Trucks North America rode its Freightliner brand to a nearly 50% market share of U.S. Class 8 retail sales in January as volume industrywide cleared 20,000 units, WardsAuto.com reported.

LAS VEGAS — Wabco North America plans to roll out, beginning in the third quarter, a network of certified independent service centers to support trucks and trailers using its parts.

Trucking groups prepared their drivers with tips on operations and safety as a polar vortex gripped the Midwest, delivering extremely cold temperatures and harsh wind chills.

Camera monitor systems designed to replace a truck’s conventional side mirrors are getting favor­able reviews from drivers, according to exec­utives at fleets that are testing the new technology, which also recently received a nod of approval from federal regulators.