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Accolades to you for the front-page feature article that was published in your Sept. 26 issue and headlined “Transportation Officials Urge National Effort to Attract Next Generation of Industry Talent.”

This will be a busy week for the leaders of the nation’s trucking industry who will be meeting at American Trucking Associations’ annual Management Conference & Exhibition.

The U.S. retail diesel and gasoline averages declined for the fifth straight week, even as crude oil prices continued to rise, the Department of Energy reported.

WASHINGTON — President Obama’s proposal for a $10 billion national infrastructure bank is “dead on arrival,” the chairman of the House transportation committee said last week, and other Republicans on the panel said the bank was unnecessary because its goals could be achieved through other means.

Strong pricing and lower fuel costs should help nearly all publicly traded fleets to report improved profits for an eighth-consecutive quarter, as third-quarter earnings reports roll in over the next several weeks.

The Teamsters union and highway safety advocates have asked President Obama to “expeditiously more forward” on the new hours of service rule proposed by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

Truckload carrier Celadon Group last week said it had purchased a 6.29% stake in truckload fleet USA Truck, but did not comment on its plans beyond saying it was “a potentially attractive investment.”

Agricultural lobbyist Jon Samson has been appointed executive director of American Trucking Associations’ Agricultural and Food Transporters Conference.

Truckers from Indiana brought seven truckloads of hay to Texas last week in an effort to help the state’s agriculture industry through one of the worst droughts in its history.