Business

Usually in Washington, as elsewhere, something has to be broken, or at least underperforming, before some branch of the government moves to repair or replace it. That being the case, you might ask why the Department of Transportation is looking to tinker around with its hours-of-service rule.

When passive radio frequency identification began its rise almost a decade ago, hopes ran high that the new technology, which offers hands-free operation and doesn’t require a direct line of sight, would help to free the shipping industry from labor-intensive bar-code tracking, which often requires handheld devices to read labels and is consequently much prone to human error.

U.S. heavy-duty truck sales in December topped 10,000 units for the only month in 2009, but the grand total for the year of 94,798 units was the lowest since 1983 and 29% below the 2008 level, WardsAuto.com reported.

As the first 2010 trucks requiring diesel exhaust fluid begin to roll off production lines, executives with the nation’s truck stops said they are prepared to meet the demand.

Stronger freight demand in the waning days of 2009 is fueling expectations that publicly traded carriers will report better performance when they begin disclosing fourth-quarter results this week, industry analysts said.

American Trucking Associations said last week it filed a lawsuit against the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to force the agency to issue an overdue regulation covering the documents and other materials fleets need to maintain to verify drivers’ logbooks.

Trucking industry officials have filed comments opposing the California Air Resources Board’s plan to initiate a statewide cap-and-trade program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

ARLINGTON, Va. — Backers of the current driver hours-of-service rule far outnumbered opponents in the first of four scheduled public hearings held by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration as it reviews the much-contested regulation.

The rate of fatalities in accidents involving trucks fell 12.3% in 2008 from the previous year — the largest year-to-year drop on record — to its lowest level on record, according to an American Trucking Associations analysis of Department of Transportation data.

YRC Worldwide Inc. set Feb. 17 as the date for a special shareholder meeting to vote on a reverse stock split that follows the debt-for-equity exchange offer that was completed earlier this month.