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After a year in which the trucking industry has been battered by a recession and buffeted by political change, members of American Trucking Associations will gather next month in Las Vegas to celebrate surviving the storm and to rally one another in preparation for the coming rebound.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Truck and engine makers took advantage of one of the last major marketing forums before the onset of new federal emission rules to starkly set the stage for buyers of heavy-duty vehicles in choosing between SCR and EGR for their diesel engines.

Trucking suffered the greatest loss of jobs in history during January, excluding the month of the national drivers’ strike in 1994.

The Maryland Transportation Authority has approved increased truck tolls its seven toll facilities, the Associated Press reported.

Truck and engine maker Navistar Inc. said it will take a “leadership role” in trying to convince Congress and the new administration to delay full implementation of 2010 heavy-duty truck engine emission mandates.

WASHINGTON — Congress may link any change in truck size- and-weight limits in upcoming highway legislation to a new commercial vehicle-miles-traveled tax, Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.), chairman of the House Highway and Transit Subcommittee, said last week.

A federal judge last week denied American Trucking Associations’ request for a preliminary injunction against controversial portions of emission-reduction programs at the California ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.

Astronomic fuel prices are only part of the economic drag on trucking these days. Add the growing length of time on accounts receivables, more customer bankruptcies and the tightening of credit by suppliers and lenders, and it’s easy to see how carriers’ cash flow has ebbed.

Trucking-related highway fatalities fell again last year, to their lowest level in 15 years, according to data from the Department of Transportation.

A federal judge tentatively denied American Trucking Associations’ request for an injunction that would delay the start of concessionaire programs for drayage drivers at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.