Safety

An index of U.S. manufacturing activity expanded in January for the sixth straight month to the highest level in five and a half years, the Institute for Supply Management said Monday.

A small airplane reporting on traffic made an emergency landing on the New Jersey Turnpike Monday morning, the Associated Press reported. No one was injured.

In questions of safety, heavier trucks are not the answer.

At long last, we report this week that American Trucking Associations’ freight index actually rose, as tonnage carried by fleets in December was 6.6% greater than what was moved in the same month of 2008.

DALLAS — Carrier officials and drivers told federal regulators that the hours-of-service rules work well, but could be improved by allowing more flexibility in the use of truck sleeper berths.

WASHINGTON — Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood last week issued an order immediately forbidding commercial drivers from texting on handheld mobile devices and instituting steep fines for violators.

FRAMINGHAM, Mass. — Bose Corp., the acoustics company best known for its high-end audio equipment and noise-canceling headphones, last week unveiled a sophisticated heavy-duty truck seat designed to ease the wear and tear on drivers.

I.D. Systems Inc., Hackensack, N.J., paid $15 million in cash to purchase General Electric Co.’s trailer-tracking business, Asset Intelligence LLC, the companies announced.

Within hours of the devastating Haitian earthquake, the president of TEC Equipment Inc., a chain of West Coast truck dealerships, received an e-mail from an employee asking, “What are we doing about Haiti?”