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RALEIGH, N.C. — After four years of learning, technician Christopher Tate, 37, overcame the challenges of 81 competitors, 14 skills station hurdles and a four-hour written test to lay claim to the title of grand national champion of SuperTech 2009.

Logistics and delivery firm Dynamex Inc.’s fiscal fourth-quarter profit fell to $1.8 million, or 18 cents a share, from $4.6 million, or 45 cents, a year ago.

Truckload carrier Schneider National will close fuel and maintenance centers in Wisconsin and Ohio, eliminating some jobs and relocating some employees, the Green Bay (Wis.) Press-Gazette reported.

Shipping, trucking and logistics firm Horizon Lines said that it will add regularly scheduled vessel container service between Tampa, Fla., and Puerto Rico, the Associated Press reported.

The National Transportation Safety Board has instituted a policy banning texting and talking on cell phones by its employees while they are working, the Associated Press reported.

Union Pacific Corp. said its new Joliet (Ill.) Intermodal Terminal will support customer growth by boosting international and domestic container capacity and improving rail traffic efficiencies in the Chicago area, the nation’s largest rail center.

Are third-party logistics providers a necessary division in the trucking industry? My opinion is “yes.” We are a group of people who work hard to keep customers and drivers happy, at an agreeable rate.

Eighty-two maintenance technicians will compete for national industry honors, while fleet managers grapple with clean-vehicle technology options and universal equipment warranties at SuperTech and the fall meeting of the Technology & Maintenance Council.