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Consumer confidence rose in January to the highest level in almost a year, according to the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index released Friday.

Arkansas Best Corp. said its fourth-quarter net income improved on stronger less-than-trucking unit performance.

Standing amid a fleet of trucks powered by liquefied natural gas, President Obama last week said he would propose tax credits for carriers who buy trucks powered by the fuel.

Five publicly traded truckload carriers have reported higher quarterly earnings, helped by higher rates and improved productivity.

LAS VEGAS — Manufacturers of truck components and parts meeting here bristled at the Obama administration’s regulatory policies, calling them onerous and difficult to comply with, while the president of American Trucking Associations said his industry probably will not get what it craves most this year, a new, comprehensive federal transportation plan.

LAS VEGAS — Domestic trucking should continue to benefit from a decent economy this year and into 2013, and truck makers are looking at steady global economies — with the crucial exception of Europe, economists and analysts said here at a heavy-duty industry meeting.

Manufacturers and sellers of heavy-duty trucks will take stock of industry and the economy at the annual American Truck Dealers Association meeting in Las Vegas, Feb. 3-6.

The 2010 technology power plants and the new emissions systems represented such a dramatic break from the past that only technicians certified by original equipment manufacturers have been able to work on them while they are still under warranty, truck dealers said.

President Obama last week directed the departments of State and °®¶¹´«Ã½land Security to develop a plan to protect against interruptions in the international supply chain.