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Trucking’s earnings have returned to more normal levels this quarter after the approach of Y2K and fears of an electronic shutdown last fall led to panic-buying of trucking capacity by shippers worried about hoarding consumers and to spikes in carrier revenue.

We live in a society of instant gratification. With drive-through windows for fast food, automated banking machines and even fast-drying nail polish, we are all looking for ways to speed up the processes that make up our daily life.

Truck drivers who voted in the Nov. 7 general election appeared to be as frustrated as any other group of Americans that three weeks after the balloting no one knew who had won the presidential race.

The president of the company has no previous experience in the transportation industry. The company’s operations are limited to the state of Washington. And by it own admission, its prices tend to run a little high. Nevertheless, Postal Express appears to have carved out a viable niche for itself within the trucking industry.

The medium-duty truck market in the United States may not rack up sales numbers as large as the heavy-duty, Class 8 category, but it has the attention of Japanese truck makers.

Automation does not necessarily mean fewer jobs, said the head of a company selling software designed to shortcut scores of steps in the way third-party logistical companies do business.

A continuing slump in the shipments of van trailers pulled overall trailer shipments down 8.1% in the first nine months of this year compared with the same period in 1999, according to the latest figures.

While Deutsche Post, the German postal service, made a splash with a $5.6 billion initial public offering last week, some observers say American carriers do not have much to fear from the competition.

A continuing slump in the shipments of van trailers pulled overall trailer shipments down 8.1% in the first nine months of this year compared with the same period in 1999, according to the latest figures.