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U.S. retail sales of medium-duty trucks in April neared 19,000, rising slightly higher than a year earlier, WardsAuto.com reported.

UPS Inc. plans to deploy a small fleet of futuristic, boxy-looking all-electric delivery trucks as part of a pilot program in London and Paris by the end of this year.

Stemco Products Inc. announced that PepsiCo Inc. will update 1,600 of its trailers with the company’s TrailerTail and EcoSkirt products to support its corporate sustainability targets.

XPO Logistics Inc. reported on May 2 that its first-quarter results vaulted more than 100%, stemming from the heightened demand from domestic freight and last-mile delivery.

LONG BEACH, Calif. — Expanding options for battery-electric technology and hybrid-electric and natural-gas engines are converging alongside efforts to protect forthcoming clear-air regulations, and longtime industry players must be ready to react to this evolving landscape, panelists said here at the Advanced Clean Transportation Expo, held April 30-May 3.

XPO Logistics announced beginning in May customers will be able to track deliveries using Amazon’s Alexa and Google Assistant personal assistant technologies.

Cybersecurity threats are growing in both number and sophis­tication, forcing transportation companies to take additional steps to prevent these attacks from crippling their information technology systems, compromising proprietary data or potentially even disrupting trucks’ electronic controls.

Venture capital firm 8VC and diversified truckload carrier Schneider announced a partnership to leverage technology on trucks to create a pathway to a fully digital supply chain.

A pair of recent events helped underscore the key role video is playing in fleet operations: Lytx, a video telematics provider, received a $700 million capital infusion from private equity firms; and Penske Logistics launched a video-based safety program in 2,800 of its heavy-duty trucks in its North America operations using equipment from SmartDrive Systems.

How will technology and innovation change the way freight is transported? Tell us what you think the future will be like and we could feature your ideas in an upcoming edition of Transport Topics.