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RALEIGH, N.C. — The federal stopping-distance rule announced in late July will generate lots of technical choices for truck buyers, but manufacturing executives told fleet managers here the engineering changes should be minimally disruptive.

Class 8 trucks rolled up 139.3 billion miles in 2006, up from 130.5 billion in 2005, according to American Trucking Associations’ American Trucking Trends 2008-2009 report, released this week.

Cummins Inc., the maker of more than one third of North America’s heavy-duty truck engines, plans to invest another $100 million in Brazil during the next four years to meet higher demand in that country, Bloomberg reported.

Freightliner Trucks, part of Daimler Trucks North America, said it will offer Meritor WABCO’s new automatic forward-collision warning and braking system on its models Cascadia and Century Class S/T tractors.

Growth in the nation’s fleet of Class 8 trucks ground to a halt during the second quarter, as U.S. registrations for vehicles in operation rose by just 0.75%, according to R.L. Polk & Co.

Trucking components maker ArvinMeritor Inc. Tuesday reported a $12 million, or 17 cents a share for its fiscal first quarter, compared with a profit of $7 million, or 10 cents a share, in the previous first quarter.

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.

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.

The commission charged with examining the future of the national transportation system is set to recommend a significant increase in federal fuel taxes to Congress, according to wire service reports and other sources.