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A proposed federal rule that triples to $3,000 the annual registration fee for large motor carriers who haul hazardous materials but maintains a $300 fee for small carriers places an unfair burden on large carriers, American Trucking Associations said.

The rules are changing for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s “SafeStat” audits for trucking companies.

California’s South Coast Air Quality Management District is offering incentive funding of up to $50,000 for the purchase of a diesel truck or up to $100,000 for the purchase of a natural gas truck, in return for scrapping an older Class 8 diesel truck, the agency said.

Penske Truck Leasing Co. said that it has completed the acquisition of Bright Truck Leasing & Bright Distribution, a truck leasing, maintenance, rental and logistics company.

Pennsylvania Gov. Edward Rendell (D) has proposed that the state extend the sales tax to services including trucking and warehousing, a move industry leaders said imperils a business sector the state actively recruited and developed.

Truck component maker Accuride Corp. said it has successfully completed a reorganization plan and emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy after five months.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s new enforcement plan, Comprehensive Safety Analysis 2010, seems destined to be a major step forward in how the federal government oversees truck fleets and drivers.

Iowa’s trucking industry lost a dear friend and valued leader this past week. John Ruan was one of the three founders of the Iowa Motor Truck Association.

The lengthy and ongoing truck sales drought caused America’s Class 8 truck fleet to contract 2.1% during the fourth quarter, the first such decline since the third quarter of 2008, according to the year-end report on commercial vehicle registrations by R.L. Polk & Co.