Business

Auctions are getting another look from truck buyers as good used equipment becomes scarce and prices are rising, according to dealers and industry watchers.

Orders for new Class 8 trucks in North America more than doubled in December from the same month in 2009 and totaled more than 25,000 units, two research organizations reported.

A federal court granted an extension to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration for its overdue regulation on documents truckers use to verify hours-of-service records. The regulation also will expand the mandate for the use of electronic onboard recorders.

More equipment options are unfolding for truckers as they take on additional responsibility for chassis formerly supplied by ocean carriers.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it will abide by trucking industry requests and formally consider a proposed rule to require manufacturers to install devices to limit heavy trucks to 68 miles per hour, possibly as soon as 2012.

The Obama administration last week took the first step toward reinstituting commercial truck traffic between the United States and Mexico, although it said details would not be released for several months.

The global economy and transportation funding challenges will be among the main focus areas during the Transportation Research Board’s 90th annual meeting, scheduled for Jan. 23-27 in Washington, D.C.

Every public trucking company is expected to post improved year-over-year earnings for the fourth quarter in a row, setting the stage for solid profits growth this year.

Settlement discussions will continue in an $18.5 million breach of contract dispute between Truck-Rite Distribution Systems Corp. and R+L Carriers Inc., an executive with Truck-Rite said.

The average price of U.S. retail diesel rose another 3.7 cents last week to $3.331 a gallon, the Department of Energy reported, or 26.4 cents higher than it was two months ago.