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E-commerce, e-banking and e-fulfillment all arrived in 1999, but it was another “e”-word that struck terror into the hearts of trucking companies across the land.

As the year headed into its twilight, the Environmental Protection Agency shocked trucking with the announcement of plans to tighten restrictions on diesel pollution even more than engine makers had agreed to.

Sales of Class 8 tractors blazed a record-setting pace through 1999, and a series of foreign mergers and deals changed the landscape of the truck-making industry.

Efforts to increase trucking productivity took many forms in 1999 as some trucking groups pushed for allowing big rigs to carry heavier loads and railroads were prodded to allow greater access to their tracks..

To say that 1999 was dominated by concerns over the rollover into a new millennium would ignore dramatic progress made in trucking-related technologies.

A trend toward using the Internet to conduct supply chain transactions and establish trading marketplaces was spearheaded on a large scale by the automotive industry in 1999.

The waning days of 1999 brought on an announcement that some feared would set the stage for a sequel to that shippers’ horror flick, “Nightmare on the Conrail Lines.”

For years, some automobile and light truck drivers have enjoyed the luxury of automatic self-dimming rearview mirrors to reduce the blinding glare from headlights at night.

Schneider Logistics is expanding its role in business-to-business electronic marketplaces by distributing products ordered through Plasticsnet.com.