Business

Of course, concerns persist about electronic onboard recorders (“FMCSA Drops Its 2012 Electronic Log Rule Aimed at Carriers With Major HOS Offenses,” 11-21, p. 3). EOBRs are unconstitutional and should be outlawed.

Several heavy-duty truck manufacturers have succeeded in their drive to make 13-liter engines their new main on-highway power plant, according to R.L. Polk & Co. data, although some engine makers and fleets said 15-liter models will hold their own.

Yes, there has been some new movement on Capitol Hill in the drive to get a highway funding bill through and into law. But don’t pop the champagne just yet: the “movement” is simply Congress kicking the can down the road once again.

TOKYO — Daimler AG will not have to give away advanced engine and vehicle technologies as part of its new joint venture with a Chinese truck maker because China’s emissions standards are behind Europe’s, and the market is not ready for the more advanced products, the head of Daimler Trucks said last week.

Registrations of used trucks barely increased in the first nine months of this year, while tight supplies of them forced buyers to pay 19% more than they did last year for trucks with higher mileage, according to market researchers.

A lack of information-sharing between two Department of Transportation agencies with safety responsibilities is jeopardizing the safety of hazardous materials shipments, the head of the freight brokers’ trade association said.

Truck drivers will face fines of up to $2,750 for using handheld phones while driving and suspension or revocation of their commercial driver licenses for repeat offenses, under a regulation announced last month.

The life expectancy of heavy-duty truck wheels depends primarily on where a truck runs, with regions where roads are subjected to chemicals that are used to reduce ice and snow creating the biggest problems, according to experts.

House Transportation Committee Chairman John Mica (R-Fla.) said last week that he would not introduce a transportation reauthorization bill until next year, dashing hopes of proponents to get a bill through to replace the funding that expired in 2009.

WASHINGTON — A federal move to cut truck drivers’ working hours would be very costly and exacerbate a shortage of drivers, while putting more trucks on the road, a panel of industry executives told Congress last week.