���ϳԹ���

In the news this morning: Smithway Motor Xpress issues profit warning; Canadian Pacific rolls out Expressway intermodal service; and tractor-trailer hits bridge in Lexington, Ky., closing I-85 Business lanes.

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters regards political contributions as a business. The union is looking for a presidential candidate that does it the most good, but for now it is resisting endorsing the two major parties’ contenders.

A Volvo truck dealership and a vehicle recycling company in Toronto are building the first of several plants designed to fully recycle worn-out and wrecked trucks.

As recently as 20 years ago, the average man or woman on the street would hear the words “truck driver,” and chances are the next word to come to mind would be “Teamsters.” The profession and the union were that closely tied. But times have changed.

Although Teamsters’ organizing activity has fallen off in the past year, it remains far and away the most active of all labor unions, according to data compiled by the Labor Relations Institute.

In the news this morning: Family-owned trucking company feels the pinch of federal estate taxes; higher fuel prices driving up consumer prices in Wisconsin; and equipment supplier Hayes Lemmerz blames flat earnings on weakened truck market.

This afternoon's headlines: Battle over Simon Transportation heats up as Moyes makes formal bid; drowsy truckers use mandatory W. Va. brake stop to sleep; and Colorado slashes sales tax on trucks, parts.

Critics far outweighed supporters at the first official sound-off over the Department of Transportation’s proposed hours-of-service rules for truck drivers last week in Washington.

When James P. Hoffa took office as general president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters in May 1999, following a tortuous and drawn-out election battle, the trucking community waited with bated breath.