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The Department of Defense has extended its deadline for carriers to install new trailer-tracking hardware and software when hauling the military’s high-security and sensitive commodities, including arms, ammunition and explosives.

Truck component maker Eaton Corp. said that it would provide the electric power systems for 378 Class 5 electric hybrid plug-in vehicles under a federal grant, which it called the “largest commercial hybrid deployment” ever.

Future U.S. economic vitality depends on an adequately funded rural road system that can accommodate heavier trucks, a South Dakota trucking company president told a Senate committee last week.

WASHINGTON — Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood an-nounced last week he will take steps to try to further curb distracting driving activities such as text messaging or using a cell phone or a Global Positioning System device.

Finance and leasing industry officials said a proposal to reclassify equipment leases as a form of debt or asset, rather than an expense, would be difficult and costly for most companies to comply with.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s decision to cut the maximum allowed stopping distance for large trucks by 30% will increase truck buyers’ costs somewhat, but will not force a widespread shift to new technology such as air disc brakes, industry groups and manufacturers said.

Iteris Inc., which makes lane-departure warning systems for the trucking industry, said Thursday its fiscal first-quarter profit decreased from a year ago.

Harbor commissioners at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, Calif., are expected to approve a plan next month to spend $46.5 million in new grant funding from the state to fast-track the purchase of up to 500 new liquefied natural gas trucks, officials with both ports said.