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Volvo Trucks North America and Mack Trucks said last week they anticipate being able to meet Environmental Protection Agency emissions standards set to take effect in 2007 by modifying their current cooled exhaust gas recirculation systems and adding diesel particulate filters.

The General Accounting Office said it now wants to release by Feb. 9 its widely anticipated report on the federal government’s 2002 diesel emissions standard and its effect on the trucking industry, the agency said last week.

WASHINGTON — Higher regulatory and operating costs and demands for cost reduction from shippers are the main challenges transportation companies will face this year, executives at a Transportation Research Board panel said here Jan. 13.

WASHINGTON — Using electrification to reduce truck idling times has shown good potential to cut diesel engine emissions, according to the findings of two studies presented at the Transportation Research Board meeting here Jan. 14.

American Trucking Associations is preparing to offer a “middleman” service for truck drivers with hazardous materials licenses who will need criminal-background clearances to comply with new federal anti-terrorism laws.

As the Environmental Protection Agency continues to tighten its pollution standards for diesel truck engines, manufacturers are similarly increasing the demands they place on oil companies for lubricants that can protect sophisticated vehicle power plants that run at higher temperatures.

In addition to adjusting to new driver work rules next year, truckers also face a new set of federal regulations on cargo securement set to take effect Jan. 1.

Backed by two major engine suppliers, International Truck & Engine Corp. said Dec. 15 it would meet tougher 2007 federal emissions standards without using either the selective catalytic reduction technology that requires a urea additive or developing nitrogen oxides adsorbers.

New Food and Drug Administration border rules for food importers set to take effect Dec. 12 will require registration of terminals, but in a partial victory for the trucking industry, not registration of trucks.

PALM COAST, Fla. — Premium low-mileage, late-model used trucks “are drying up at a rapid pace,” sending prices skyward, according to the chairman of the Used Truck Association.