Autonomous

Truck and engine manufacturer Navistar International Corp., pressed to find a way to offer engines that comply with federal emissions regulations, said last week that it has reached an agreement to use Cummins Inc. selective catalytic reduction technology for its 13-liter engines and offer Cummins 15-liter engines in some of its International brand trucks.

The California Air Resource Board will be conducting increased heavy duty diesel truck inspections throughout August at scales, truck stops and fleet facilities.

Heavy-duty truck manufacturers have improved the fuel efficiency of their tractors through a combination of new technologies, powertrain improvements, enhanced aerodynamics and efforts to reduce rolling resistance.

New engine technologies and improved aerodynamics have yielded significant fuel efficiency gains for carriers running post-2010 heavy-duty trucks, but some fleet executives said they are encountering some new maintenance issues.

For carriers, the effort to find the best nonidling cooling option for the truck cab has not been without starts and stops.

The first three trucking companies to report second-quarter earnings last week said a combination of lower fuel costs, higher rates and cost controls produced double-digit profit improvements.

Satisfaction with model-year 2011 trucks suffered as a result of technology added to comply with 2010 federal emissions regulations, which resulted in customers’ reporting more problems with the trucks, a recent J.D. Power and Associates’ survey found.

UPS said it has completed testing of its “plastic truck,” a composite-bodied vehicle that’s lighter and uses 40% less fuel than its current package cars, and will soon add 150 of the new vehicles to its delivery fleet.

A year after U.S. officials agreed to allow Mexican trucks into the country, only four Mexican carriers are participating, far below the number the United States has said would be needed to judge the safety of Mexican trucks.