ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø

The U.S. Supreme Court said Tuesday that it would consider a case that could add as much as $150 million to the registration fees paid to states by trucking companies, news services reported.

The justices said that they will look at an appeal from less-than-truckload firm Yellow Freight System, which has protested a $10 fee the state requires the company to pay for registering all its vehicles. Yellow Corp., the parent of Yellow Freight, is based in Overland Park, Kan.

If Yellow wins, Michigan would have to repay $425,000 to Yellow and stop charging the fees for Yellow trucks.

However, if the fees are upheld by the high court, other states may begin charging similar fees, which the AP estimated could cost trucking companies about $150 million more a year to register their rigs.

Yellow is challenging the fees based on the interpretation of a federal law that froze registration fees at 1991 levels, Bloomberg said.

In 1992, Michigan changed its method of collecting fees, forcing Yellow to register its trucks that operated in the state.

The company won its appeals in lower courts, but the Michigan Supreme Court upheld the fees, the AP said.

Yellow is ranked No. 5 on the 2000-2001 Transport Topics 100 list.

8407