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RENTON, Wash. — In the struggle to squeeze a few more miles out of each tank of fuel, truck makers are designing tractors with the aid of computer models and wind tunnels more generally used to tweak race cars or airplanes.

The Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association and Original Equipment Suppliers Associations are discussing the plight of the automobile industry with President Obama’s administration, the Treasury Department and members of Congress as the federal government advances plans to disburse funds from emergency financial relief legislation approved last year.

U.S. consumer confidence declined this month, according to the Reuters/University of Michigan’s final monthly consumer sentiment index released Thursday.

Last January, our company launched an “instructor-of-the month” program. We began by inviting directors of truck-driver training programs to nominate individuals, and then we interviewed the winning instructors.

Transport Topics Online will be closed Monday for the Presidents’ Day holiday. Please check back on Tuesday, Feb. 17, for the latest trucking and freight transportation news.

UPS Inc. and the U.S. Postal Service have agreed to work together to make it easier for consumers to return goods purchased online, a move that more closely aligns the nation’s mail delivery system with the largest commercial package carrier.

ORLANDO, Fla. — Kevin Knight, chief executive officer of Knight Transportation, touted trucking’s efforts in recent years to become more environmentally friendly, and said the industry should work to improve its green message to the public.

Less-than-truckload pricing dwindled during the fourth quarter, contributing to an increase in operating ratios toward the break-even point, according to a survey of results from publicly traded companies.

ORLANDO, Fla. — Fleet executives complained bluntly about what they said were padded bills for repair services, unreliable estimates and failures by service operators to offer realistic completion times.

ARLINGTON, Va. — A top Navistar Inc. official said the company is pursuing its own solution to meet the 2010 U.S. emission standards, because it doesn’t believe the fuel savings claimed by competitors will justify the higher costs and more complicated systems associated with the new engines.