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TMW Systems has acquired fellow trucking software provider Innovative Computing Corp., the companies announced Tuesday.

Westport Innovations said it will supply Swedish truck maker Volvo Group with components for heavy-duty natural gas engines.

Representatives of several high-tech firms said they already are marketing, or soon will offer, systems designed to prevent motorists from texting and talking on cell phones while driving their vehicles.

The heavy-duty U.S. truck fleet contracted slightly in the third quarter, shrinking back to its size in the first quarter of 2009, but used-truck sales volumes strengthened in the quarter, according to a Nov. 17 report by R.L. Polk.

Navistar Inc., which said it has spent $600 million to develop its 2010 exhaust gas recirculation engine, said the company is losing sales of next year’s model because federal regulators “helped create the false impression” among customers that only urea-based after-treatment systems would meet 2010 federal emissions standards.

A Chrysler LLC executive said the company is establishing the Ram name as a separate brand apart from Dodge and may add a Class 8 truck to its portfolio.

U.S. Class 8 truck sales in October were 29.6% lower than year-ago levels, marking the 10th straight month this year that sales have trailed 2008’s results, according to data from WardsAuto.com.

North American Class 8 truck orders shot up sharply in October to about 22,000 vehicles, double the previous month’s total and more than twice the year-ago total, according to data from two research firms.

For more than a decade, the trucking industry has called for an overhaul of the Department of Transportation’s safety fitness measurement and rating systems. Fortunately, DOT heard these calls and soon will implement its new system — Comprehensive Safety Analysis 2010. CSA 2010’s measurement component will be rolled out in July 2010; the rating component will be implemented after a future rulemaking process is completed.