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An hours-of-service waiting time exemption for drivers of “specially constructed” oil-field operations trucks should be extended to include such other oil and gas operations trucks such as those that deliver sand and water, several motor carriers and trade association officials told federal regulators.

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.

WebTech Wireless, a supplier of GPS location-based and fleet telematics services, reported a loss of C$3.55 million for the fiscal quarter ended Dec. 31, compared with a loss of C$7.26 million a year earlier.

Telematics provider inthinc Technology Solutions Inc. said it launched a Web-based portal for its driver performance-rating product.

Today’s new diesel-power trucks are, by law, equipped with particulate filters, and in many models the DPF will soon will be joined by another aftertreatment device — selective catalytic reduction, or SCR, in a canister.

Donaldson Co., a manufacturer of filtration systems, said Monday it is spending $5 million to enable one of its plants to manufacture parts that comply with the Environmental Protection Agency’s 2010 diesel emission standards.

Navistar Inc., which said it has spent $600 million to develop its 2010 exhaust gas recirculation engine, said the company is losing sales of next year’s model because federal regulators “helped create the false impression” among customers that only urea-based after-treatment systems would meet 2010 federal emissions standards.

Kenan Advantage Group will acquire the assets of Reinhard Transportation, a Federal Way, Wash., fuel hauler that runs 64 trucks.