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Construction spending increased 0.1% in June following a drop in the month before, the Commerce Department said Monday.

New orders for commercial trailers, led by dry van orders, more than doubled in June, surging 103% over the same month last year, ACT Research Co. reported.

Tonnage hauled by U.S. trucking companies in June rose by 7.6% from year-ago levels, even as indications of a slowdown in economic growth appeared, according to American Trucking Associations.

The top Daimler Trucks executive in North America last week defended use of selective catalytic reduction to meet federal emissions requirements, rebutting claims by Navistar Inc. that SCR engines do not meet environmental standards because their emissions controls can be overridden by using plain water in place of a urea-water solution.

David Dwinell is right and, respectfully, Jeffrey Tucker is wrong: There no longer is such a thing as a contract carrier, so the FAQs [frequently asked questions] Tucker relies upon have been overtaken by events.

August is our favorite month. It’s usually a relaxed time of year, when most people take vacations and kick back a little before rushing back into the thick of things. The seasonal shipping crush usually begins to take shape in September, so August feels a bit like the lull before the storm.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration said it sent its hours-of-service proposal to the White House for review on July 26.

Federal transportation officials considering fuel-efficiency standards for heavy trucks should concentrate their early regulatory efforts on engines and tractors, not trailers, American Trucking Associations said.

The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration has proposed a rule that would eliminate requirements for special permits to haul some hazmats, ranging from liquefied petroleum gas to anhydrous ammonia fertilizers.

Senate Democrats introduced legislation last week that would provide truckers rebates of $64,000 for every natural-gas Class 8 truck put into service by 2013.