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Click here to write a Letter to the Editor. he trucking industry just might be too busy. The Department of Transportation’s freight index has reached a 14-year high. TransCore/DAT’s index of spot market traffic hit an all-time high in March at 1,156, compared with an August 1996 base of 100. As a result, freight rates increased more than 5% in the first half of 2004.

Two days after it asked a court to stay an order vacating new hours-of-service rules for truck drivers, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration on Wednesday gave advanced notice of a proposed rule focusing on using electronic onboard recorders to improve HOS compliance.

The Institute for Supply Management said Wednesday its factory index fell to 59 in August from 62 in July. Analysts told Bloomberg News the decline was likely caused by rising costs for energy and raw materials.

Construction spending rose 0.4% in July to a record annual rate of $997.2 billion, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has delayed implementing a rule that would restrict states from issuing permits to carry hazardous materials until drivers have been cleared by the Transportation Security Administration.

NTSB Urges Steps to Reduce Barge-Bridge Accidents • Experts: Dirty Bomb in L.A. Could Cost $34 Billion • Report Faults Hiring of Some Air Marshals

Consumer confidence in the economy fell to 98.2 in August from a revised two-year high of 105.7 the month before, the Conference Board said Tuesday.

Tropical Storm Causes Flooding in Central Virginia • Business Activity in Chicago Area Expands at Slower Pace • Court: Company, Not Driver, Responsible for Overweight Truck Fines • RailRunner, Trailer Bridge Start Short-Haul • And more...

The Department of Justice on Monday filed a motion asking a federal court to stay for at least six more months its earlier reversal of the new hours-of-service rules for truck drivers that took effect in January, according to court documents.