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Spurred by the demands of newer diesel engines, changing emissions technology and escalating competition, truck-stop operators say they have begun placing more fuels and other products where drivers can find them fast and buy them with a single swipe of a credit card.

Managers of the nation’s largest shipper-owned truck fleets are taking steps to counter the rising cost of fuel and equipment by more closely monitoring drivers and using new data collection techniques to make better routing decisions and improve compliance with safety and environmental regulations.

Truck and engine manufacturer Navistar International Corp., pressed to find a way to offer engines that comply with federal emissions regulations, said last week that it has reached an agreement to use Cummins Inc. selective catalytic reduction technology for its 13-liter engines and offer Cummins 15-liter engines in some of its International brand trucks.

The California Air Resource Board will be conducting increased heavy duty diesel truck inspections throughout August at scales, truck stops and fleet facilities.

Heavy-duty truck manufacturers have improved the fuel efficiency of their tractors through a combination of new technologies, powertrain improvements, enhanced aerodynamics and efforts to reduce rolling resistance.

New engine technologies and improved aerodynamics have yielded significant fuel efficiency gains for carriers running post-2010 heavy-duty trucks, but some fleet executives said they are encountering some new maintenance issues.

The first three trucking companies to report second-quarter earnings last week said a combination of lower fuel costs, higher rates and cost controls produced double-digit profit improvements.

Satisfaction with model-year 2011 trucks suffered as a result of technology added to comply with 2010 federal emissions regulations, which resulted in customers’ reporting more problems with the trucks, a recent J.D. Power and Associates’ survey found.

UPS said it has completed testing of its “plastic truck,” a composite-bodied vehicle that’s lighter and uses 40% less fuel than its current package cars, and will soon add 150 of the new vehicles to its delivery fleet.