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The number of Class 8 vehicles operating in the United States totaled 3.641 million units in the second quarter, an increase of less than 1% over the same quarter in 2008, transportation research firm R.L. Polk & Co. said.

Diesel prices rose for a fourth straight week, gaining 2.7 cents to its highest price in nine months, $2.652 a gallon, the Department of Energy said Aug. 17.

U.S. biodiesel production has been rocketing upward in each of the past 10 years and reached 690 million gallons last year, but industry officials and analysts said it would drop this year by half to 350 million gallons or as low as 250 million gallons.

Truck component maker Eaton Corp. said that it would provide the electric power systems for 378 Class 5 electric hybrid plug-in vehicles under a federal grant, which it called the “largest commercial hybrid deployment” ever.

All nine publicly traded less-than-truckload carriers reported classic signs of overcapacity — tonnage and pricing falling simultaneously — during the second quarter of this year, leaving the industry unable to capitalize on the 47% decline in diesel prices from the corresponding time in 2008.

With total U.S. container import traffic down more than 20% in the first half of 2009 compared with a year ago, all pieces of the supply chain are feeling the pain of the recession.

The battle over how to best accomplish clean-truck programs for drayage fleets has moved from California ports and courtrooms to the halls of Congress.

Manufacturing levels in the Philadelphia expanded in August for the first time in almost a year, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said Thursday.

An index of leading economic indicators rose 0.6% in July, the fourth consecutive increase, the New York-based Conference Board said Thursday.

Transportation and third-party logistics firm Pacer International said Thursday it has completed the sale of its specialized heavy-haul trucking operation to subsidiaries of Universal Truckload Services.