���ϳԹ���

I’m writing in response to the May 31 article “New U.S. Plan Leads to Surge in Hiring of Safety Specialists,” which discusses the push to hire safety professionals as carriers prepare for Comprehensive Safety Analysis 2010.

Stephen Neal, chief executive officer of K. Neal International Trucks Inc., said June 4 was “quite a day” for his Hyattsville, Md., dealership. After all, it’s not every day that the commander-in-chief drops in to walk the showroom and discuss the nation’s economic recovery.

Trucking and rail activity increased in April and May, with freight traffic and materials shipments improving in several regions, the Federal Reserve said Wednesday.

North Carolina’s secretary of transportation is supporting a plan by Virginia to put tolls on Interstate 95 near the border of the two states, the Associated Press reported.

Officials at the Port of Los Angeles are crediting their clean trucks program, which resulted in significant turn-over of older trucks to newer and cleaner trucks, for significantly lowering port-wide diesel emissions in 2009.

Florida Gov. Charlie Crist (R) signed a bill Friday allowing the state’s Department of Transportation to develop a permit process to allow trucks to carry up to 88,000 pounds on non-interstate highways.

Oil held near $71 a barrel early Monday, following a big drop Friday, on concerns that Europe’s debt crisis could keep demand low, Bloomberg reported.

President Obama’s recent announcement that he was kicking off a major effort to improve the fuel efficiency of commercial vehicles was welcome news to the trucking industry.