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In the original Star Trek television show, no matter where in the universe Capt. James T. Kirk went, the intelligent alien species always understood what he was saying, and he understood them.

The Internet is sparking the development of new businesses and new ways of doing business throughout the shipping and trucking cycle, and brokers and freight-forwarders are no exception.

Revisions by the Bureau of the Census have wiped out an apparent record set for trailer shipments in 1998, while new reports showed January 2000 shipments trailing those in the same month a year earlier.

The recently announced purchase of part of Mitsubishi Motors Corp. by DaimlerChrysler AG further complicates the international family of truck makers, but it is not expected to affect the U.S. medium-duty truck market in the near future.

E-Paccar, a subsidiary of Paccar Corp., has joined the list of firms establishing a business-to-business exchange for buying and selling goods on the Internet.

Teamsters and Overnite Transportation officials made no progress after three more days of negotiations last week, but the union was involved in job actions all over the country.

Canadian truckers may get some relief this summer from spiking fuel costs in the form of a tax break.

The Good News: Diesel fuel prices are expected to fall to an average of $1.38 a gallon this summer and drop another four cents by year’s end should domestic refiners meet high production expectations, and imported oil shipments continue to flow.

The good news on diesel is that prices are expected to drop to an average of $1.38 a gallon this summer, but the bad news is that a new sulfur standard for diesel due out soon could force up diesel pump prices between 2 and 25 cents a gallon.