Equipment

Truck component maker Accuride Corp. said Wednesday it lost $140.1 million, or $3.59 per share, in 2009, compared with a loss of $328.3 million, or $9.24, in 2008.

ABF Freight System and the Teamsters union appear to be heading toward talks that could result in wage, health or pension concessions for the nation’s fifth-largest less-than-truckload carrier, officials from both sides have said.

Manufacturers and their dealers sold 19.1% more big trucks in February than they did a year earlier, marking the second consecutive month in which Class 8 sales beat their year-ago totals, according to WardsAuto.com.

The owners of more than two-thirds of the 2,200 new Class 8 trucks bought with the assistance of $20,000 each in Port of Los Angeles grants face financial penalties because their trucks will not make the required 300 gate moves during their first year of operation, port officials said.

Electronic onboard recorders should be mandatory for all truckers operating in North America, the president of the Canadian Trucking Alliance said.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has moved a step closer to publishing two key trucking regulations — a final rule mandating that some fleets use electronic onboard recorders and a proposal aimed at limiting texting and other distracting activities by drivers.

Congress should include comprehensive funding policies in the upcoming transportation reauthorization bill both to modernize freight transportation and reduce diesel emissions, an environmental group said in a new report.

As the use of mapping and routing software becomes more prevalent across the trucking industry, service providers and state transportation officials said fleets must be wary of the risks posed from using applications not specifically designed for trucks.

February orders for new Class 8s gained 12% from a year earlier and were 20% above an eight-year low in January, research firm FTR Associates reported last week.