Equipment

NEW YORK — Fleet executives warned that the continuing, though modest, rise in freight volumes won’t trigger an immediate surge in equipment orders.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration last week said it will not require the next generation of electronic onboard recorders to use a different type of computer connection than current models, or to operate in temperature extremes beyond the capability of existing systems.

Nearly 100 technicians will compete for national honors in truck maintenance next week in Raleigh, N.C., while fleet maintenance directors examine the details of the new federal CSA program, diesel particulate filters and the economic forecast for freight hauling.

Garmin Ltd. recently recalled 796,000 Global Positioning System navigation units in the United States, but the company’s trucker-specific GPS navigation handheld was not affected, the company said.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is eyeing an even more expansive mandate for electronic onboard recorders than it indicated earlier this year, sources told Transport Topics.

The U.S. economy’s service sector expanded in August, though its pace of growth slowed, the Institute for Supply Management said Friday.

U.S. manufacturing activity increased in August, the Institute for Supply Management said Wednesday.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is eyeing a much broader mandate than originally thought as part of its upcoming expanded electronic onboard recorder proposal, according to several officials who spoke with Transport Topics.

Manufacturing activity in the Chicago region grew in August at the slowest pace since November, the Institute for Supply Chain Management-Chicago said Tuesday.

Never mind the deliveries you want to make on time — the deliveries you don’t want to make at all may be the best reasons to invest in a navigation system designed specifically for commercial truck operations.