U.S. ports are bracing for additional loads if a lockout at the Port of Vancouver is not resolved soon, but so far U.S. port truckers are not seeing much extra traffic come their way.

Led by a 4-cent increase in California, the national average price of diesel fuel climbed a half-cent last week to match the high of 1999.

With two months left in 1999, sales of Class 8 trucks have already topped last year’s record total by about 7,000 – but a dip in orders means a third record-setting year is unlikely.

ZF Meritor, a joint venture between Michigan-based Meritor Automotive and the German firm ZF Friedrichshafen, will roll out an automated truck transmission that does not require a clutch pedal.

ZF Meritor, a joint venture between Michigan-based Meritor Automotive and the German firm ZF Friedrichshafen, will roll out an automated truck transmission that does not require a clutch pedal.

With two months left in 1999, sales of Class 8 trucks have already topped last year’s record total by about 7,000 – but a dip in orders means a third record-setting year is unlikely.

U.S. ports are bracing for additional loads if a lockout at the Port of Vancouver is not resolved soon, but so far U.S. port truckers are not seeing much extra traffic come their way.

Led by a 4-cent increase in California, the national average price of diesel fuel climbed a half-cent last week to match the high of 1999.

New orders for heavy-duty trucks hit a three-year low in October, sending shivers down the vehicle manufacturing industry’s spine and sparking a drop in its stock prices.

High agricultural demand and refinery troubles led to a 4-cents-per-gallon leap in the price of diesel fuel in California, which in turn bumped the national average up 0.3 cent.