������ý

As truck stops become more consolidated into a few large national networks, tire manufacturers are finding that they can provide fleets with a full range of tire services — not simply emergency repairs and replacements — while trucks are on the road.

Johnson Refrigerated Truck Bodies said that it has developed an automatic defrost option for its fiberglass truck bodies that is “100% automatic, requires zero man-hours [and] no water.”

Heavy-duty diesel engine maker Cummins Inc. said it will add about 500 professional employees, many of them engineers, over the next two years.

Heavy-duty vehicle parts manufacturer Eaton Corp. said Tuesday its fourth-quarter net earnings rose 8%, and the company boosted its dividend too.

WASHINGTON — In a controversial report calling for huge new spending on the national transportation system, a congressional commission last week made several recommendations that would affect trucking, including new flexibility in the federal driver hours-of-service rule in congestion-prone areas.

Canadian Logistics software provider Descartes Systems Group said it has acquired Fluensee Inc.’s MobiTrac fleet management business.

Freightliner Trucks said Monday it had a new Class 6 hybrid truck available, made in conjunction with Eaton Corp.

I think everyone is becoming tired of the continued drama from the hours-of-service debacle. Does the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration really believe they can reissue the same rules the courts have thrown out twice and they will now be accepted?

Xata Corp.’s acquisition of fellow fleet technology provider GeoLogic Solutions gives the company its first real foothold for marketing information technology systems to for-hire trucking fleets, an executive with the Eden Prairie, Minn., firm said.