Signaling a windfall in the tank industry, Wabash National Corp.’s Brenner Tank, a manufacturer of chemical tank trailers, is expanding production to Lafayette, Indiana.

Engineers at Battelle Memorial Institute are building an online database that will inform fleet managers about the corrosiveness of liquid chemicals on stainless steel tank trailers.

The past few years’ boom in the oil and natural-gas recovery technique known as hydraulic fracturing has led to a corresponding boom in the tank and bulk trailer business, both for haulers and for manufacturers of the equipment.

AUSTIN, Texas — National Tank Truck Carriers said it will begin a driver-of-the-year award, starting at its 2014 annual conference.

American Trucking Associations has petitioned the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to narrow its definition of tank trucks to eliminate the need for many truck drivers to receive costly and unnecessary training and tank vehicle endorsements.

BALTIMORE — Nearly all tank  truck carriers can expect a strong 2011 because of solid manufacturing sector growth, though tight capacity and rising costs will make the road to prosperity more challenging, industry experts said.

A proposal to outsource regulatory requirements for the manufacture and maintenance of cargo tanks to a pair of professional organizations would impose a costly financial burden on the cargo tank industry, several industry commenters told federal regulators.