Heavy-duty truck makers Kenworth Trucks and Volvo Trucks North America said they have called back some laid-off workers to handle production increases to met rising demand for new heavy-duty trucks.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating alleged safety defects in heavy-duty trucks made by Volvo trucks North America between 1998 and 2000.

Class 8 heavy-duty truck sales in February fell 20.7% from the same month in 2001 and were 54% lower than February 2000, the month before the market for new trucks began tumbling.

FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Trucking industry executives attending the Technology and Maintenance Council’s annual meeting here formed a task force to examine evidence of a link between the growing problem of truck corrosion and the use of de-icing and dust control chemicals on roads.

While many trucking companies have worked at improving security around their facilities and equipment since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, most of the new precautions aren’t really new at all.

The Environmental Protection Agency formally notified four manufacturers of over-the-road diesel engines that they can shut off or reduce the effect of emission-control systems during extreme temperatures or high altitudes, clearing the way for engine designs the manufacturers say are ready for EPA approval.

FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Caterpillar Inc. plans to submit a full line of modified heavy-duty truck engines for Environmental Protection Agency certification in April and sale in October, although they just partially comply with an EPA mandate.

FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The new name is old hat now, but the Technology and Maintenance Council and some of its newest members were still getting used to one another as the council opened its annual meeting March 4.

FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Larry Strawhorn, vice president of engineering for American Trucking Associations, was honored by the Technology and Maintenance Council March 6 at its annual meeting.

The Technology and Maintenance Council has begun to broaden its standards setting and training to take into account the increasingly complex role of maintenance managers in the trucking industry, according to the council’s next chairman, Duke Drinkard.