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The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is eyeing a much broader mandate than originally thought as part of its upcoming expanded electronic onboard recorder proposal, according to several officials who spoke with Transport Topics.

Truck manufacturers delivered vehicles with 66,494 Class 8 engines during the first half of the year, WardsAuto.com reported last week, but most of the power plants do not meet 2010 federal emissions regulations, manufacturers and analysts said.

Paccar Inc. has hired 90 workers for a truck engine plant in Mississippi, and the company expects to begin producing engines in December, the Associated Press reported.

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.

Bose Corp. said that its sophisticated new heavy-duty truck seat is now available to small fleets and owner-operators at five installation sites.

U.S. retail sales of medium-duty trucks — Classes 3-7 — jumped 54.5% in July from the corresponding month a year ago, the largest year-over-year gain since mid-2005 and the biggest sales month this year, WardsAuto.com reported.

U.S. registrations of new Class 8 trucks increased 7.8% in the second quarter compared with the same 2009 period, but failed to keep up with equipment retirements, as the total of heavy-duty trucks registered in June declined slightly from last year, according to R.L. Polk & Co.

Manufacturing levels in the Philadelphia region showed contraction for the first time in a year, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said Thursday.

Federal legislation that would ban the use of double-decker trailers to transport horses has drawn the ire of trucking and other interest groups because they say there has not been adequate debate.