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DULLES, Va. — For Dennis Halsey, it was a return trip nearly a decade in the making.

The U.S. Department of Transportation has published a proposed rule that would toughen its workplace drug-testing program for truck drivers and other transportation workers, including testing for the drugs “ecstasy” and heroin.

Trucking and intermodal leaders are pressing the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to change two key safety reporting steps before the agency’s delayed chassis safety rule finally takes effect on June 30.

Hopes for an economic recovery and the looming threat of government regulations will be main themes as the Truckload Carriers Association and Natso, the national association representing truck stops and travel plazas, hold their annual conferences from Feb. 27 to March 3 at separate locations in Las Vegas.

The long-depressed less-than-truckload market has stabilized and is showing initial signs of modest growth, LTL carriers said in fourth-quarter earnings statements.

YRC Worldwide Inc.’s loss from operations narrowed in the fourth quarter to $95 million from $135 million a year earlier as Chief Executive Officer William Zollars said the less-than-truckload company would continue the improving trend this year.

TAMPA, Fla. — A major truck-making executive and the chairman of American Trucking Associations offered differing views on the future of trucking, but both agreed that federal regulation of business is generating unwelcome distortions of how firms can operate.

Diesel prices largely held steady last week, with the national average price per gallon at $2.835, falling just 1.7 cents from the previous week, according to AAA’s daily price report for Feb. 11.

UPS Inc. said it plans to furlough at least 300 of its pilots if talks with the union fail to produce steps that will lower costs.