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A measure to speed the return of the 80% tax deduction for truckers’ meals cleared a hurdle last week as the Senate Finance Committee approved a $792 billion tax-cut bill.

The staff of the powerful House Transportation Committee is circulating a rough draft of a proposal to create a separate motor carrier administration within the Department of Transportation.

Eddie R. Brown, who was brought in as president of Landair Corp. last year, resigned July 19 as the Tennessee-based truckload carrier announced it would incur significant losses in the second quarter.

As state workers posted signs last week banning in-transit truckers from many New Jersey roads, some industry officials complained about the sweep of Gov. Christie Whitman’s emergency order that sought to calm citizens’ ire about truck traffic, especially in rural areas.

As trucking companies continue to buy new Class 8 tractors at a record pace in order to meet the heavy demand for freight transportation, companies that sell components to truck makers have seen their sales and earnings lifted to new heights.

Louisiana forbids the owner of a vehicle to offer a chassis or container in intermodal exchange that does not meet federal safety regulations, under a new state law. Truckers would have the right to inspect the equipment and demand that repairs be made if necessary.

A federal grand jury in Richmond, Va., indicted a mother and two of her sons on charges of running a violent hijacking ring that appeared to target older, independent big rig drivers at truck and rest stops along Interstate 95 in Virginia.

The Oregon Senate approved the elimination of the state’s weight-distance tax, but the drive to abolish the oldest such tax in the country faces a tough sell before the House and the governor.

Truckers using fuel or credit cards will be able to whiz through check-out lines at truck stops, according to marketers of a satellite point-of-sale technology.