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Less than 24 hours into his 15th term in the House of Representatives, Bud Shuster shocked his colleagues, constituents and the transportation world by resigning from the body that had been his professional home for 28 years.

Several top trucking officials have been appointed to President-elect Bush’s transportation transition team and will help establish the direction the Department of Transportation takes under the new administration.

A little-known office in the Department of Transportation, hoping to reduce inefficiency in the freight network, plans to take a higher profile as problems with highway congestion and traffic jams at ports have become more prevalent.

The price of diesel fuel rose seven-tenths of a cent last week, following an upward trend in the price of crude oil and reversing four straight weeks of decline.

Gail E. Toth, an expert on cargo security issues and head of an American Trucking Associations council for five years, has returned to New Jersey to lead her home state’s association.

United Parcel Service cannot maintain a companywide policy against hiring truckers with monocular vision to drive trucks under 10,000 pounds, according to a Dec. 12 decision by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

The Federal Reserve’s surprise cut in short-term U.S. interest rates — with likely cuts to follow — should prove to be a major boost to a trucking industry that has been reeling from weak freight shipments. But since many manufacturers and retailers are still cutting back, it could be months before truckers see a significant upturn.

President-elect George Bush’s appointment of Norman Y. Mineta as his transportation secretary virtually insures that the Department of Transportation will be off and running quickly after the inauguration.

American men live an average of 76 years. Male truck drivers in America live an average of 61 years, according to Dr. Martin Moore-Ede, a Toronto researcher. If you do the math, you find that truck drivers lose out on 15 years of life. So for males, if you are an over-the-road driver, statistically you will not live nearly as long as your counterparts in other industries.

At a recent public hearing in South Gate, Calif., angry residents demanded a ban on diesel-powered trucks because they believed diesel exhaust to be a health hazard.