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Outside of short-term survival, the biggest risk to a trucking company operating in a recession is how it is positioned when freight levels return.

The most onerous and misguided portions of the plan by the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to reshape the trucking industry there have been enjoined by a federal court, at least for now.

Weak Class 8 truck sales around the world led to plunging revenue and either losses or vastly diminished first-quarter profits for three of the four major heavy-duty truck manufacturers and both independent engine makers operating in North America.

The Obama administration is continuing to work on a plan to restart cross-border trucking between the United States and Mexico, even as the two countries battle the spread of “swine flu.”

The refrigerated sector of the trucking industry has been the only healthy activity for fleets in the current recession. Refrigerated truckload shipments grew slightly from last year, but dry vans, tankers and flatbeds all dropped substantially, industry executives and American Trucking Associations said.

Earnings at publicly traded less-than-truckload companies took a beating in the first quarter, as carriers competed fiercely to wrest freight from a dwindling market still mired in recession, a review of the companies’ financial reports shows.

MISSISSAUGA, Ontario — ArvinMeritor Inc. officially opened its new remanufacturing facility here for its Mascot Truck Parts division, the latest development in the company’s expanding presence in this niche of the truck equipment business.

A pair of congressmen introduced legislation late last month to provide tax credits for fleets purchasing four types of safety technology.

WASHINGTON — With the expiration of the current highway authorization just five months away, leaders in the House and Senate said they were preparing to draft its replacement with an eye on major structural changes.

Corporate-owned truck fleets are facing growing pressure to justify their in-house freight operations as manufacturers and retailers target transportation expenses in response to the sharp nationwide downturn in sales.