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November 11, 1999 2:36 PM, EST

Should some trucking companies be exempted from filing financial reports with the federal government?

About a dozen carriers are asking the Bureau of Transportation Statistics for permission to keep financial and operating data private. They argue that the public release of data can cause competitive harm in a variety of ways.

“We do not believe the general public has any significant interest in the financial information of our relatively small, closely held company, but our competitors do,” said Gerald G. Barney, vice president of administration for Puget Sound Truck Lines, a regional less-than-truckload carrier in Seattle.

Among those joining Puget Sound in seeking exemptions are: Schneider National, the nation’s largest truckload carrier; North American Van Lines, one of the largest household goods movers; and smaller companies like Cleveland-based Kaplan Trucking Co. and D&A Truck Line of New Ulm, Minn.

For the full story, see the Nov. 8 print edition of Transport Topics. .