WASHINGTON — Debbie Hersman, the new chairwoman of the National Transportation Safety Board, said that fatigue was an “insidious” factor in all types transportation accidents and recommended that as the Department of Transportation reviews its hours-of-service rule for truckers it mandate the use of electronic onboard recorders and use all available fatigue research to craft a new rule.

The United States and Canada should work more closely together on policies and regulations to improve competition and economic competitiveness, as well as to make highways safer and trucking’s environmental footprint smaller,  said David Bradley, chief executive officer of the Canadian Trucking Alliance.

The Volvo Group and Chinese firms Sinotruk Ltd. and China National Heavy Duty Truck Group Corp. have signed an agreement under which Sinotruk will purchase all of Volvo’s equity interest in Jinan Huawo Truck Corp., Bloomberg reported.

Canadian transporter Mullen Group offered to buy Ontario-based logistics firm Livingston International Income Fund in an all-stock deal that tops a previous buyout offer from a consortium of other investors.

UPS Inc. will provide logistics services for used vehicle auctioneer Manheim, the company announced.

Officials in Vermont and New York have decided the Crown Point Bridge connecting the two states at the southern tip of Lake Champlain is too badly deteriorated to repair.

Logistics service providers are adjusting as the global economic downturn has caused many companies to curtail production and reduce inventories, stalling the longtime trend of expanding international trade, thereby reducing demand for transportation services in North America.