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The launch of the Nikola Two tractor just days ahead of Earth Day — April 22 — was a fitting and, perhaps, deliberate gesture by the company to spotlight the trucking industry’s progress in improving its level of environmental responsibility.

The Department of Transportation has taken an important first step in potential reform of the hours-of-service rules that regulate how much time truck drivers can spend behind the wheel, and we’re glad to see it.

The importance of mining repair data for information that can help improve the performance of motor carriers’ equipment was a continuous message during presentations at the annual meeting of the Technology & Maintenance Council of American Trucking Associations recently from companies across the spectrum of industry suppliers. They either introduced or updated products designed to wring more efficiencies out of freight operations.

In the nine years that the American Transportation Research Institute has been producing a list of the worst bottlenecks in the United States, three spots have had the inauspicious honor of landing at the top of the list. These same three are consistently awful, even if from year to year one is worse than the others.

A polar vortex can slow a lot of folks down. But you can count on the trucking industry.

A gangbusters year marked by soaring freight rates and frenzied order and sales activity for equipment ended on a soft note, as December saw reported declines in both truck tonnage and trailer orders. It had to happen eventually, but some may feel cheated that the industry didn’t get to close out this otherwise stellar year on a high note.

In the news business, if journalists believe a story has some long-term relevance, we say the story “has legs.” The term is meant to suggest that a topic could carry forward for a while, or that an article could be published at a later date, since the content has lesser risk of growing stale.

With the midterm elections settled, now is an excellent time to begin working on legislation to fund the nation’s crumbling infrastructure.

The themes of partnership, outreach and unity were present throughout speeches and presentations at this year’s American Trucking Associations Management Conference & Exhibition. Cooperation between ATA and the federal government was a central tenet.