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Manufacturers and their dealers sold 19.1% more big trucks in February than they did a year earlier, marking the second consecutive month in which Class 8 sales beat their year-ago totals, according to WardsAuto.com.

As the use of mapping and routing software becomes more prevalent across the trucking industry, service providers and state transportation officials said fleets must be wary of the risks posed from using applications not specifically designed for trucks.

Bose Corp. officials have set the retail price for a sophisticated new heavy-duty truck seat, which is now available for purchase, at $5,995.

California’s South Coast Air Quality Management District is offering incentive funding of up to $50,000 for the purchase of a diesel truck or up to $100,000 for the purchase of a natural gas truck, in return for scrapping an older Class 8 diesel truck, the agency said.

WASHINGTON — Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administrator Anne Ferro said she is committed to launching the agency’s new truck safety rating system in July, although she expects there will be problems at the start.

Truck component maker Accuride Corp. said it has successfully completed a reorganization plan and emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy after five months.

The lengthy and ongoing truck sales drought caused America’s Class 8 truck fleet to contract 2.1% during the fourth quarter, the first such decline since the third quarter of 2008, according to the year-end report on commercial vehicle registrations by R.L. Polk & Co.

WASHINGTON — Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administrator Anne Ferro said she is committed to launching the agency’s new truck safety rating system in July, although she expects there will be problems at the start.

U.S. Class 8 retail truck sales eked out their first year-over-year gain in 13 months in January, inching up 0.2% compared with January 2009, WardsAuto.com reported.