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Louisiana transportation officials blame heavy cross-border truck traffic for the state’s No. 2 ranking for having the country’s worst roads in an owner-operator magazine.

After nearly two decades of work, the framers of the Multi-State Highway Transportation Agreement are still battling to give western states the right to standardize truck size and weight limits.

Members of the Western Highway Institute will set the group’s research agenda at its annual meeting in San Francisco from Dec. 5 to 7.

Oregon plans a giveaway to encourage truckers to use a device that will allow them to drive past weigh stations without waiting in line.

Ryder System said it will combine its two primary businesses — Ryder Transportation Services and Ryder Integrated Logistics — and create a separate captive finance subsidiary in an effort to improve client service and enhance the company’s long-term growth.

As if rising diesel fuel prices haven’t put enough of a dent in trucking’s pocketbooks in recent months, the industry can now look forward to potentially skyrocketing costs for insurance needed to maintain operations as the new year begins.

Congress has vacated Washington for the year, leaving behind a slew of legislation for President Clinton to review and sign after his return from the World Trade Organization meeting in Seattle. If trucking has its way, tops on the president’s to-do list would be signing legislation creating the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

At a time when transportation trade groups are struggling to retain membership, the Transportation Intermediaries Association is undergoing a growth spurt.

The Environmental Protection Agency is creating a Web site on testing programs related to emissions from mobile sources.