Autonomous

U.S. truckers closed out the year with a surge of heavy-duty truck buying that led to the highest-volume month and highest-volume year since 2006, according to data from WardsAuto.com. Sales boomed 78.3% in December and 59.9% for the year, compared with 2010.

Canadian carrier Contrans Group said Thursday it has acquired Wilburn Archer Trucking, a dry-bulk trucking business based in Norwood, Ontario.

Trucking executives said the industry could see some benefits of the recently announced U.S.-Canadian trade agreement as early as this year.

Maryland’s Department of Transportation, working with the Maryland Motor Truck Association, said it has created a pilot program for truckers to use commuter park-and-ride lots to park when snowfalls exceed 6 inches.

I have attended several meetings of American Trucking Associations’ Technology & Maintenance Council where participants have stated they simply want to know how many years a component will last.

DOT released its long-awaited final hours-of-service rule Thursday, leaving in place an 11-hour daily driving limit while cutting drivers' weekly hours. The rule was not well-received by trucking and shippers' groups.

Three new projects, featuring transloading between trucks and trains, are being developed to tap the growing demand to transport crude oil generated by recent energy development efforts, according to separate announcements.

There is every reason to believe that 2012 will be a good year for the trucking industry, based on what’s happened so far this year and on reasonably strong U.S. economic growth projections.

The truck driver shortage and related fleet capacity constraints are driving strong growth in domestic intermodal hauling as carriers and shippers try to ensure they have freight-moving options in the months ahead, industry experts said.