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Politicians’ fixations on issues such as health care are deflecting attention from crucial restoration of the transportation infrastructure and impairing the ability of American businesses to cope with the recession and revive the freight industry, three industry leaders said during a recent roundtable discussion.

American Trucking Associations has requested a meeting with Department of Transportation officials to discuss the agency’s intention to revise federal driver work rules issued during the Bush administration.

Gainey Corp.’s future owner is expected to be decided this week, following a three-way contest for the bankrupt carrier, CEO Harvey Gainey said.

A House subcommittee was scheduled to hear testimony at a Nov. 16 field hearing in Baltimore on a controversial House bill that would prohibit the transportation of flammable liquids in unprotected product piping both on existing and on newly manufactured cargo tank trucks.

The Senate has unanimously confirmed Anne Ferro, the former head of the Maryland Motor Truck Association, to direct the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

North American Class 8 truck orders shot up sharply in October to about 22,000 vehicles, double the previous month’s total and more than twice the year-ago total, according to data from two research firms.

Intermodal traffic volume fell 16.4% in the third quarter, an improvement over the second quarter’s decline of 18.7%, the Intermodal Association of North American said Thursday.

American Trucking Associations and two state ATA affiliates, Maryland and Virginia, are taking issue with the District of Columbia’s new thrust on truck lengths and credential requirements.