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A federal appeals court has ordered the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to issue before Dec. 30 its proposal spelling out what documents trucking fleets need to retain to verify their drivers’ hours-of-service logbooks.

American Trucking Associations has filed court papers backing the state of Alabama in a U.S. Supreme Court case that could determine whether states can charge railroads sales tax on fuel purchases but exempt truckers.

ARLINGTON, Va. — Even with truck-related fatalities on the decline, the head of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration told a group of driver school executives the agency was still working on a series of rules that could be out before the end of the year.

United Auto Workers members continue to make trucks and engines for Navistar Inc. even though their old contract expired Oct. 1, both parties said, adding that they are still in active negotiations.

Most fleets are continuing to steer away from raising driver pay this year, but about 80% of carriers expect they will have to take that step when the pace of the U.S. economic recovery accelerates, according to a new survey.

Following recent rate increase announcements by three major less-than-truckload carriers, industry experts said the LTL sector has turned the corner toward profitability, with shipment volumes, tonnage and rates all improving, but not yet soaring.

Used-truck dealers, facing a dearth of late-model, low-mileage vehicles after large fleets drained the market earlier this year, shopped aggressively in August, pushing sales up 55% from year-ago levels, according to industry sources.

The average cost of U.S. retail diesel climbed 4.9 cents last week to $3 a gallon, the first time trucking’s main fuel has reached that level in more than four months, the Department of Energy reported.

Wholesale inventories rose 0.8% in August, the Commerce Department said Friday.

The September U.S. unemployment rate held at 9.6%, as total payrolls fell by 95,000 jobs and trucking payrolls held steady, the Labor Department said Friday.