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North American trucking fleets ordered 22,500 new Class 8 vehicles in February, a 7.3% decrease from last February and the second straight monthly decline, ACT Research reported. However, truck dealers told Transport Topics they were not concerned a downward trend had begun.

WASHINGTON — The head of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration said the agency will issue strict guidance to medical examiners later this year on how to detect and treat sleep disorders when administering physicals to truck drivers.

South Dakota last month became the 31st state to pass legislation protecting truckers from shipping contracts that require the carrier to shoulder all responsibility for accidents even though they may not be at fault.

Most truck makers said they will make important announcements of new products this year at the Mid-America Trucking Show, including Peterbilt Motors Co.’s introduction of a new model.

Truck tonnage rose 3.6% in January, extending a string of year-over-year growth into a fourth year and buoying optimism that steady improvement in the consumer and manufacturing sectors will continue to lift the freight industry.

Canadian bulk hauler Trimac Transportation reported little change in quarterly and annual profits, even though revenue improved for both the fourth quarter and the year.

TransForce Inc.’s fourth-quarter net income rose to C$41.7 million, or 41 cents a share, from C$34.8 million, or 36 cents, a year earlier, the Montreal-based trucking and logistics company said Wednesday.

The U.S. economy expanded at a “modest to moderate pace” in January and early February as factories boosted production, while transportation service showed mixed results, the Federal Reserve said Wednesday.