���ϳԹ���

For the Intermodal Association of North America, the coming year will be somewhat similar to the current one — at least in terms of the association’s agenda of issues to be watched.

Intermodal service is an important business for the nation’s railroads, but it continues to fall short of the industry’s oft-stated goal of diverting truck traffic to trains.

American Trucking Associations, industry groups and three states argued Nov. 7 before the U.S. Supreme Court that the Environmental Protection Agency exceeded its administrative authority in establishing new state standards to regulate ozone and airborne particulate matter in 1997.

The retail price of diesel fuel dropped by 1.9 cents to $1.61 per gallon last week, marking the third straight week of a downturn that now totals six cents and has fueled a kind of wary optimism about prices in the long term.

The ripples from the impact of plummeting sales of new trucks spread wider last week as ArvinMeritor Inc., a major manufacturer of axles for heavy vehicles, announced plans to cut another 1,500 jobs, or about 4% of its workforce, from its payroll.

The British government announced a raft of tax cuts and measures designed to appease truckers who brought the nation to a standstill in September with protest blockades.

Online load-matching firm NTE laid off 18% of its workforce because company projections at the beginning of the year that it would go public have not materialized.

Workplace shootings, driver hours of service, ergonomic regulations and sexual harassment are among the issues on the agenda as trucking’s top labor specialists gather this week for the 14th annual conference of the North American Trucking Industrial Relations Association Nov. 12-15 in St. Petersburg Beach, Fla.

A number of trucking companies are fighting back against what they say is the practice by some towing operators of charging excessively high fees and holding freight “hostage” until the bill is paid.