Freight Truck maker International has become the first company to enter line production of Hybrid commercial Trucks, according to a report in US-based trade newspaper Truck News.

The report says the company is now producing the International DuraStar Hybrid, a diesel hybrid electric medium-duty truck designed to provide customers with improved fuel efficiency and reduced engine emissions.

“We believe that hybrid technology is an important development for the commercial transportation sector,” said Daniel C. Ustian, president and CEO of Navistar, parent company to International.

“Increasing fuel efficiency and reducing emissions for the nation’s commercial trucks results in significant benefits for all of us. We strive to be the leader in developing energy efficient transportation solutions in the commercial truck, commercial bus and school bus industries.”

Officials say the DuraStar has been proven to provide dramatic fuel savings of about 30-40% on a standard in-city pickup and delivery application, and 60% in utility-type applications when the engine can be shut off, but electric power still operates the vehicle. Diesel emissions are completely eliminated when the hybrid truck operates equipment (like overhead utility booms) solely on the truck’s battery power, instead of allowing the engine to idle, the company says.

In 2006, International built and delivered 24 developmental hybrid units to 14 major utility companies across North America. “These units are now successfully operating giving us confidence in the quality and reliability of our new hybrid electric product,” said Jim Williams, director of sales and distribution, new products.

A rebound in US freight truck sales is unlikely to begin until the second quarter of next year, but global truck sales are set to rise in 2008, the head of Daimler AG’s trucks business has said.

US Truck sales have been hit by new emission standards that pulled forward demand, and a recovery there is expected “not before the second quarter”, Andreas Renschler told reporters.

But Reuters reported that he said global sales in 2008 look in good shape, with the US market turning up primarily in the second half of the year, European sales expected to keep rising thanks to brisk demand in eastern Europe, and China and India adding to demand, he said.

The Japanese market was set to remain flat, he added.

At a conference call last month following Daimler’s third-quarter results, Renschler had said he thought the US truck market would pick up in the first quarter of 2008 at the earliest, Reuters added.

Unions at Jaguar and Land Rover are backing Tata Motors’ offer for the brands, which are being sold by Ford Motor, according to published reports.

The Financial Times and Wall Street Journal reported that workers at both brands have decided to support Tata’s bid over rival offers from Indian group Mahindra & Mahindra and private equity firm One Equity Partners.

The unions prefer to remain part of Ford, but believe Tata would be best suited to manage the luxury brands should a sale go through, the reports said.

Union support could give Tata a boost in winning the politically sensitive deal, the newspapers said.

Vehicle apparently swerved to avoid school bus, overturned on Northern Parkway

Two Baltimore Department of Public Works employees were injured yesterday when a Trash Truck overturned at Northern Parkway and Falls Road, knocked down a tree and hit four cars, city officials said. The intersection was closed to traffic for hours.

The workers, including the driver, were taken to Maryland Shock Trauma Center. Police said their injuries were not considered life threatening.

Details of how the accident occurred were not immediately available. It happened shortly after noon and may have been triggered when the Truck driver swerved to avoid hitting a school bus,” said Kurt L. Kocher, a spokesman for the Department of Public Works.

Two lanes of westbound Northern Parkway were closed through 6 p.m., causing significant backups during the evening rush hour.

A man is dead after an accident involving a tree and a Garbage truck in Bushnell Township. Montcalm County sheriffs say it happened at 10 Wednesday morning on Sessions Road, just east of Staines Road. They say 27-year-old Brandon Austin of Sheridan was driving a garbage truck west on Session when it crossed the center of the road and struck a tree. The tree pinned the driver in the truck. Austin died at the scene.

Waste Management, the nation’s largest trash hauler, has settled with the California Air Resources Board for more than $1 million for failing to properly inspect its diesel truck fleet to assure state emission standards were met.

The waste company settled for air quality violations that occurred in 2004 and 2005 throughout the state.

“Trash pick-up is a critical service, but emissions spewed from uninspected Trucks are not something Californians should pay for with their health,” said ARB Chairman Mary Nichols. “Our enforcement teams will continue to ensure clean air laws are taken seriously.”

California’s Periodic Smoke Inspection Program, which requires annual smoke opacity tests of vehicle fleets based in California, in conjunction with a roadside smoke inspection program, is used to ensure that all of California’s Heavy-duty vehicles are properly maintained, tamper-free and free from excessive smoke emissions.

In addition to the settlement monies, Waste Management has agreed to comply with the smoke inspection program. The company and will require all fleet staff responsible for compliance with the ARB’s regulations to attend classes conducted by the California Council on Diesel Education and Technology. Waste Management must also supply to the Air Resources Board all smoke inspection records for 2007 and the subsequent four years.

All monies are being paid to the California Air Pollution Control Fund, which was established to mitigate various sources of pollution through education and the advancement and use of cleaner technology.

This fund, upon appropriation by the Legislature, uses compliance settlement fees to support various pollution research projects and related programs.

The state has more than 12,000 diesel-fueled commercial and residential solid waste and recycling collection vehicles. Waste collection is a weekly event in most areas, and in some cases, neighborhoods are served by three collection vehicles each week.

Unchecked, emissions from these trucks contribute to toxic diesel particulate matter levels that are a danger to public health, says the ARB, adding diesel emissions contribute to poor air quality throughout the state.

Waste Management is a nationwide, Fortune 200 company.

As part of a new company initiative, announced in October, Waste Management will direct its capital spending of up to $500 million per year over a 10-year period to increase the fuel efficiency of its fleet by 15 percent and reduce fleet emissions by 15 percent by 2020.