Medium- and heavy-duty trucks and other commercial vehicles classes 5-8 orders were at healthy levels again in September. Total net orders for Class 8 were 24,842 units, up 31 percent year over year. Classes 5-7 net orders, at 19,486, rose to their third-strongest level since early 2008. These results were published in the latest State of the Industry report, recently released by ACT Research Co. (ACT). The report covers Classes 5 through 8 vehicles for the North American market.

SmartDrive Systems, a provider of tools for improving driving performance, reducing accidents and saving fuel, has released the SmartDrive Assurance product line.

Quality Carriers Inc., a North American-based bulk chemical carrier, has expanded into the Charleston, S.C. market through a partnership with sister company Boasso America Corp.

The pace of China's economy rose slightly in Q2'14, with growth of 7.5 percent on a year-over-year basis, mirroring the rate witnessed in the same period last year, according to the most recent China Commercial Vehicle Outlook, jointly published quarterly by ACT and SIC, China’s State Information Center. It includes an overview of the China economy and a review and forecast of China's heavy and medium-duty truck and bus markets, as well as analysis of OEM market shares within China.

Global driver-less vehicle shipments will increase from 1.1 million in 2024 to more than 42 million in 2035, with an installed driver-less vehicle base reaching 176 million.

Central Freight Lines Inc., a privately held provider of less-than-truckload (LTL) transportation based in Waco, Tex., has purchased the LTL assets of DTI of Atlanta, Ga.

Demand for commercial vehicles remained healthy in August as 43,100 total NA Classes 5-8 orders were booked. Over the course of the past 12 months, NA Classes 5-8 net orders have totaled 531,500 units, an improvement of 20 percent/90,000 units compared to the preceding 12-month period.

Firm capacity and demand on the spot truckload freight market made for stable rates during the week ending August 23, according to DAT Solutions, which operates the DAT network of load boards. The total number of posted van, refrigerated, and flatbed loads decreased 1.4 percent while the available capacity dipped 0.1 percent compared to the previous week.