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The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has moved a step closer to publishing two key trucking regulations — a final rule mandating that some fleets use electronic onboard recorders and a proposal aimed at limiting texting and other distracting activities by drivers.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration said Friday that 74% of commercial truck and bus drivers are now using their safety belts, up from 65% in 2007.

Congratulations to the governing board that oversees the Unified Carrier Registration program for casting a vote for fairness and good sense by blocking a plan for states to begin collecting fees before the pricing structure for 2010 is set.

DHL said that it has partnered with American Airlines Cargo to help pharmaceutical industry shippers prepare for new Transportation Security Administration screening guidelines set for Aug. 1.

I recently started receiving Transport Topics and was especially interested in what you had to say the Feb. 22 p. 1 story, “Transportation Firms Must Improve Recruiting to Satisfy Customers’ Desires, Leaders Say.”

A new diesel-emissions-reduction program at the Port of New York and New Jersey that will ban pre-1994 trucks beginning in 2011 will be costly and burdensome for motor carriers and comes at a time when fleets are reeling from the recession, state trucking officials said.

The owners of more than two-thirds of the 2,200 new Class 8 trucks bought with the assistance of $20,000 each in Port of Los Angeles grants face financial penalties because their trucks will not make the required 300 gate moves during their first year of operation, port officials said.

FedEx Corp. posted a 146% increase in quarterly net income driven by explosive growth in returns at its air express division and a nearly one-third increase in ground parcel delivery profits, the second-largest company in North American freight transportation said March 18.