ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø

ATLANTA — Over the course of 18 days, trucks participating in a demonstration by the North American Council for Freight Efficiency showed significant improvements in fuel efficiency through investments in technology and skilled drivers.

Manufacturing first embraced Lean and Six Sigma techniques — tools and strategies to improve business processes — in the 1980s, and the concepts are gaining ground in truck maintenance shops. Those in the trucking industry who have applied Lean or Six Sigma processes said they can cut waste and increase their shops’ efficiency.

The brave new world of electric Class 8 trucks dawned in North America with the delivery of two battery-­electric Freightliner ­eCascadia tractors to customers this past August. Penske Truck Leasing and NFI are placing the vehicles into revenue service. With electric-powered trucks, however, comes a fundamental shift in how tomorrow’s freight-hauling equipment will be specified.

Commercial trucking is an excellent barometer for the state of the economy and where it might be going.

The trucking industry’s premier players are set to land in Atlanta for the biennial North American Commercial Vehicle Show.

Building positive relationships with dealers and independent maintenance shops is one of the keys to successfully maintaining complex engine exhaust aftertreatment systems, according to several fleet representatives.

Daimler AG is quitting development of natural-gas powered trucks to pool resources for electric and hydrogen rigs that can advance its goal of offering a CO2-neutral fleet in its main markets by 2039.

Shipwell, an Austin, Texas-based startup focused on managing trucking and shipping logistics for businesses, has raised $35 million to continue its growth, the company said Oct. 24.

WASHINGTON — Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is proposing a $462 billion trade-in program to get millions of Americans out of climate-damaging gas vehicles and into electric or hybrid cars over the next decade.