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The total U.S. Class 8 fleet dropped 2.1% in the 4th quarter of 2011 compared with the last quarter of 2010, as fleets continued to squeeze out their oldest trucks to bring freight capacity more into alignment with available loads, according to R.L. Polk & Co.

Class 8 tractors have long been the standard for U.S. for-hire carriers, yet for certain service lines, even the most venerable of heavy-duty fleets are now buying Class 6 and 7 trucks and sometimes even smaller cargo vans.

Officials of brake manufacturer Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems said they are wrestling with the challenge of manufacturing and distributing replacement parts for a defective valve that could cause braking problems, which prompted federal and heavy-duty truck manufacturer recalls.

I have attended several meetings of American Trucking Associations’ Technology & Maintenance Council where participants have stated they simply want to know how many years a component will last.

Truck component supplier Meritor Inc. rearranged its executive positions in the wake of the departure of Chief Operating Officer Carsten Reinhardt, who left the Troy, Mich., manufacturer last week.

Truckers crossing the northern Delaware River between New Jersey and Pennsylvania on any of seven tolled bridges could pay as much as 75 cents more per axle as of July 1.

The country’s recent economic climate certainly illustrates how essential and strong the transportation component is to our way of life, but trucking has needed to navigate regulatory challenges as well.

January orders for new Class 8 trucks skyrocketed 320% to 27,000 from the year-ago level, a clear sign that the industry will enjoy a stronger 2011, two research organizations said last week.

Garmin Ltd. recently recalled 796,000 Global Positioning System navigation units in the United States, but the company’s trucker-specific GPS navigation handheld was not affected, the company said.

Never mind the deliveries you want to make on time — the deliveries you don’t want to make at all may be the best reasons to invest in a navigation system designed specifically for commercial truck operations.