Autonomous

TAMPA, Fla. — Jerry Thrift of Ryder System, Miami, was installed as chairman of the Technology & Maintenance Council of American Trucking Associations during the group’s meeting here Feb. 11.

Diesel exhaust fluid, the additive that most 2010 trucks will need to run, will be available at about 2,800 locations in the United States and Canada by January, ramping up to more than 5,000 by the end of the year, a spokeswoman for the North American SCR Stakeholders Group said.

Transport Topics Online will be closed Friday and Monday for the Christmas holiday. Please check back on Tuesday, Dec. 28, for the latest trucking and freight transportation news.

LAS VEGAS — Daimler Trucks North America moved to publicly strengthen its commitment to its small Western Star brand, hosting gatherings of dealers and industry media here last week.

The freight recovery paused in September as American Trucking Associations’ tonnage index dipped 0.3% from the month be-fore after recording larger gains in July and August.

After a year in which the trucking industry has been battered by a recession and buffeted by political change, members of American Trucking Associations will gather next month in Las Vegas to celebrate surviving the storm and to rally one another in preparation for the coming rebound.

The Obama administration last week issued its proposed new fuel efficiency and first-ever national greenhouse gases reduction standards for passenger cars and light trucks.

As trucking groups continue to express opposition toward the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s proposal to more than double registration fees starting in 2010, the agency said it was extending the public comment period by 10 days.

RALEIGH, N.C. — After four years of learning, technician Christopher Tate, 37, overcame the challenges of 81 competitors, 14 skills station hurdles and a four-hour written test to lay claim to the title of grand national champion of SuperTech 2009.