For-hire carriers are increasing purchases of electronic data recorders to better manage safety, driver retention and scheduling issues, and also because they expect a federal requirement, providers of the units said.

Technology firm Navman Wireless Business Solutions said it has developed a new truck tracking system that allows carriers to map vehicle and driver locations.

As fleets seek to reduce operating costs to offset surging fuel prices, improving tire maintenance is near the top of the list for both carriers and tire manufacturers.

The average length of haul dropped at many of the nation’s largest publicly traded carriers during the second quarter, because of a shortage of operators and revised federal hours-of-service regulations, the companies said.

Information technology firm Siricomm said it named Bill Graham chief executive officer to succeed Hank Hoffman.

Executives with several firms that provide electronic background checks of commercial driver license holders and their motor vehicle records said demand for their services is increasing, as carriers try to lessen exposure to legal action, improve security and reduce turnover.

The driver turnover rate for large truckload carriers was 116% during the first quarter, a 20-point drop from the previous quarter and the largest quarterly decrease since American Trucking Associations started tracking the statistic in 1995.

Motor carriers, intent on making their fleets more efficient and offsetting rising costs of fuel, insurance and labor, are focusing more on trailer durability be-cause they want to keep vans longer and extract as much value from them as possible, industry officials said.

An official with mapping company Rand McNally said the company has released a new module that allows truckload carriers to incorporate lane-rate data with route optimization software.

Several executives with small fleets said they’re expanding their use of onboard tracking systems to help minimize fuel costs and monitor tractor and trailer assets.