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ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A Government Accountability Office study that was critical of the way federal regulators identify crash-prone carriers is the result of a “philosophical disagreement” between regulators and GAO investigators, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration officials said.

Delaware Motor Transport Association announced that M. Lee Derrickson, a former trucker and driver-training instructor, has taken over as executive director.

Recent moves by President Obama and congressional leaders to expand job-training programs are raising hopes the government will do more to help individuals learn to be truck drivers, industry officials said.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration last week published a proposal that would establish a national clearinghouse of drug and alcohol test results for truck drivers.

A bill recently introduced in the Missouri Legislature would put a referendum on the November ballot to raise the state’s 4.225-cent-per-dollar sales tax by a penny to pay for transportation projects.

By Eric Miller, Staff Reporter

Three publicly traded less-than-truckload operators reported improved fourth-quarter earnings despite challenges such as severe weather, but profit slipped at a fourth fleet on higher insurance costs.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued a proposed rule that will toughen the requirements for truckers carrying food, as well as shippers and receivers.

A pair of leading dry-freight trailer manufacturers told Transport Topics they are prepared to supply 53-foot household goods vans — a market dominated by another manufacturer — to carriers anticipating a moving season that could become the best in years.