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ARLINGTON, Va. — The emergence of natural gas as a viable fuel for trucking is dependent on progress in overcoming infrastructure hurdles such as a dependable fuel supply network, a new generation of engines and driver acceptance, industry experts said last week.

Orders for new freight trailers jumped 29.1% in October from the same month in 2011, the highest monthly total since January, as the end-of-year rush appeared to arrive early, ACT Research reported. Sales totaled 23,597.

The total number of U.S. heavy-duty vehicles in operation rose 0.9% during the third quarter, the highest level of growth since the third quarter in 2009, according to a report from R.L. Polk & Co.

ARLINGTON, Va. — Favorable economics stemming from the vast domestic supply of natural gas will accelerate the trucking industry’s use of the fuel, producers of that fuel said here last week.

Customs officials from the United States and Mexico said they will soon open a facility in Tijuana, Mexico, that will expand inspection capabilities for trucks entering the United States and combine export and import operations.

Four governors facing worsening transportation shortfalls are set to present funding plans to their state legislatures early next year, and at least two may call for higher fuel taxes.

A trio of California-based Penske drivers has asked a federal appeals court to overturn a lower federal court ruling that exempts motor carriers from complying with the state’s meal- and rest-break law.

The U.S. diesel average price rose 5.8 cents a gallon last week to $4.034, its first gain in six weeks, the U.S. Department of Energy reported.

With the dust settling from last month’s elections — and the voters returning to Washington a still-divided government — it is going to be incumbent upon our leaders to find areas of broad agreement to build upon if we are going to move forward as a nation.

We came. We watched and listened. And we learned. The amount of information that was flowing from the stage during the first day of American Trucking Associations’ Summit on Natural Gas in Trucking last week was prodigious.