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About the only silver lining that seems to be coming from the obvious slowdown of the U.S. economy is that it’s taking pressure off domestic fuel prices, in part by encouraging commodities speculators to find other places to ply their trade.

Orders for new trailers rose 74% in July over July 2009, pushing year-to-date levels ahead by the same percentage, ACT Research Co. reported.

The U.S. gross domestic product rose at a revised 1.6% annual rate in the second quarter, down from an originally estimated 2.4%, the Commerce Department said Friday.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Aug. 13 sent their proposed standards for heavy- and medium-duty trucks to the White House for review by the Office of Management and Budget.

The California Air Resources Board staff is recommending an extension of the compliance deadlines for the state’s emission-reduction rule for 2003 transport refrigeration units.

If your fleet uses electronic driver logs and plans to buy trucks after June 4, 2012, be sure to tell your company’s chief technology officer ahead of time.

The U.S. Department of Transportation said it is adding new tests for transportation workers to detect the designer drug “ecstasy,” while also lowering the positive threshold amounts of amphetamines and cocaine and adding a new marker to identify heroin use.

A pilot program in which trucks made off-hour runs into New York City decreased the average delivery time from the depot to the first receiver by 75%, according to an analysis of the program.

Truckers, chemical manufacturers, and other trade groups are questioning a new federal requirement that motor carriers and exporters stipulate on electronic manifests the amount of residual chemicals left inside cargo tank containers when returning from deliveries in Canada and Mexico.