Air has always been an important factor in maintaining a heavy-duty, over-the-road truck.

If Charles Dickens were writing about U.S. Class 8 truck sales in 2000, he might have said: “It was almost the best of years; it was the worst of years.”

Consorcio Grupo Dina will defer payment of some $6.5 million interest due on an 8% convertible debenture, making use of a 30-day grace period, spokesmen in Mexico City said.

Tires have always been an important piece of a heavy-duty, over-the-road truck. And trucking fleets are finding ways to cut costs by making those tires last longer..

Sales of Class 8 trucks totaled 211,417 last year, making 2000 the second-largest sales year in history. But the real story is the severe plunge in sales over the last four months, which led to job cuts for many truck and engine makers.

Despite the Federal Reserve’s recent interest-rate cut and increasingly aggressive sales promotions, manufacturers and dealers aren't likely to see any relief from a slumping truck market anytime soon.

The retail price of diesel fuel edged downward last week amid a barrage of mixed signals that left analysts looking to the weather as the most reliable price determinant.

The Federal Reserve’s Jan. 3 cut in short-term interest rates is not likely to have an immediate impact on the sale of new and used trucks, despite increasingly aggressive sales promotions manufacturers and dealers are taking.

The price of diesel fuel rose seven-tenths of a cent last week, following an upward trend in the price of crude oil and reversing four straight weeks of decline.

AB Volvo transferred some 41 million shares of its stock to Renault SA Jan. 2 as payment for 100% of the shares in the French company’s truck business.