Eight trucks were sold in two Internet auctions earlier this month, a development that left the auctioneers confident about future profitability of their Internet commerce venture.

To stay comfortable and entertained, drivers often spend their nights in their cabs as the engines idle, but Freightliner thinks fuel cells are the answer to this diesel-guzzling problem.

Embattled truck parts exchange Fleetscape has unplugged its phone, removed its Web site from the Net and turned out the lights.

Government officials are putting truckloads of faith in technology to help reach the goal of 50% fewer truck-related fatalities by 2010, and manufacturers have responded by rolling out their first test vehicles under the Intelligent Vehicles Initiative.

American’s lust for new gadgets is driving drivers to distraction and, as a result, causing crashes, said experts at a recent meeting evaluating the impact of in-vehicle technology on safety.

Government officials are putting truckloads of faith in technology to help reach the goal of 50% fewer truck-related fatalities by 2010, and manufacturers have responded by rolling out their first test vehicles under the Intelligent Vehicles Initiative.

Schneider National, a $3 billion freight transportation company, plans to spin off its logistics business as a separate entity, making shares of it available to the public.

Would a federal requirement for “black boxes” — in-truck computers that function as electronic logbooks — sound the death knell for small trucking operations? Some think so.

Electronic Data Interchange will not be replaced by Xtensible Mark-up Language anytime soon, even if the Internet-spawned alternative is cheaper and less complex, according to comments at a meeting of freight transporters.

Online exchanges may have no role in transportation today, but their time will come — and soon — according to remarks at a workshop on electronic commerce.