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Ryder System’s board approved a 2-cent increase in its quarterly dividend, to 23 cents a share.

Johnson Refrigerated Truck Bodies said that it has developed an automatic defrost option for its fiberglass truck bodies that is “100% automatic, requires zero man-hours [and] no water.”

WASHINGTON — In a controversial report calling for huge new spending on the national transportation system, a congressional commission last week made several recommendations that would affect trucking, including new flexibility in the federal driver hours-of-service rule in congestion-prone areas.

Parts and engine systems maker Eaton Corp. said Monday that it has formally introduced its first commercially available hybrid power system in China.

The commission charged with examining the future of the national transportation system is set to recommend a significant increase in federal fuel taxes to Congress, according to wire service reports and other sources.

Information technology vendors took aim at smaller fleets in 2007, offering software and tracking options that don’t require carriers to invest in full onboard computer systems.

The U.S. Department of Transportation asked private companies and governments to provide information on commercially available technologies that could be used to reduce congestion and improve the safety of the transportation system.

On the heels of YRC Worldwide’s settlement with the Teamsters union on a new five-year labor contract with in-creased work-rule flexibility, ABF Freight System said it will offer an ambitious proposal to spend about $825 million to “withdraw from all of the 27 multi-employer pension plans to which we contribute.”

Ryder System said Wednesday it will buy the truck leasing business of Lily Transportation Corp., a Northeast regional transportation services company based in Needham, Mass.