Equipment

Class 8 orders in April were 33,500, ACT Research reported, and the volume underscored how far the industry has rebounded from a year earlier when orders were the lowest since 1995.

DETROIT — General Motors’ first-quarter net income surged to $2.98 billion as strong U.S. consumer demand and higher prices offset production cuts brought on by a global shortage of computer chips.

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo called for a major increase in U.S. production capacity for computer chips whose current shortages are causing global manufacturing bottlenecks, saying the push could create jobs and wean the nation off over-dependence on China and Taiwan.

Power management company Eaton Corp. reported higher net income and flat revenue in the first quarter as businesses continue to recover from the pandemic.

Meritor Inc. reported higher fiscal second-quarter revenue and lower net income reflecting, respectively, strong truck production and a previous distribution agreement termination.

Cummins Inc. reported first-quarter net income and revenue soared with recoveries in the North American truck and global construction markets.

Daimler Truck AG and Volvo appointed Matthias Jurytko as CEO of cellcentric, their new fuel cell development 50-50 joint venture. He is scheduled to assume the post June 1.

Mack Trucks is celebrating a century of operations in Canada, the company announced April 26.

The National Battle of the States: Virtual Truck Driving Championships will take the place of this year's National Truck Driving Championships and National Step Van Driving Championships, which were canceled because of COVID-19 concerns.

As the trucking industry explores zero-emission technologies such as battery-­electric and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, heavy-duty engine oil suppliers are applying less conspicuous methods of curbing airborne particulate matter and carbon emissions.