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A Chicago-based towing company is being accused of price-gouging and bad faith for refusing to release freight taken from trailers that had become stuck under low bridges or otherwise involved in traffic accidents.

A study done by the Oregon Department of Transportation shows that truckers in the state hauling certain natural products paid a flat fee instead of the state’s weight-distance tax – resulting in a collective tax break that totaled $3.575 million in 1999.

Trucking’s fight to simplify the medical examination form and rid the health history section of such terms as “fits, syphilis and gonorrhea and nervous stomach” has scored a victory.

Trucking won its biggest legislative victory of the year Oct. 3 when a key congressional panel officially prohibited the Department of Transportation from altering the industry’s work rules for at least 12 months.

Two and a half years ago, the board of directors of American Trucking Associations approved a plan to remake the 67-year-old federation with the goal of becoming “best-in-class” at the business of advocacy.

The average price of diesel fuel in the United States fell for the first time in nine weeks, as the nation’s crude oil inventory rose and the government prepared to release oil from its strategic reserve.

A creaky third quarter for trucking could be followed by a rocky year’s end if recent warnings of falling profit margins from the industry’s major companies are an accurate indicator.

The top three fleets that won this year’s American Trucking Associations President’s Trophies showed that by paying meticulous attention to safety details — not only to the mechanical aspects, but also to the human factors — they have developed championship environments.

American Trucking Associations’ Safety and Loss Prevention Management Council officially came into existence last week as the lobbying group continued its reorganization during the Safety Management Council meeting that was held Oct. 1-4 in St. Louis.