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Poor demand from the economic downturn caused German truck maker MAN SE to lose 472 million euros ($645 million) in the fourth quarter, compared with a profit of 177 million euros ($242 million) a year earlier, Bloomberg reported.

Truck components maker ArvinMeritor Inc. said Wednesday that its fiscal first quarter earnings and revenues will be flat compared with the first quarter.

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.

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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.