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WASHINGTON — Intermodal freight hauls should replace coal as the top revenue generator for the nation's largest railroads by the first quarter of 2004, said a top rail industry executive.

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The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Thursday that before Mexican trucks can operate in the United States, the federal government must conduct further environmental review.

The responsibility for leading American Trucking Associations passed this week from William J. Canary to Bill Graves. ATA transferred from one professional and competent set of hands to another.

Although the next round of tougher diesel emissions standards will not take effect until 2007, the engine making industry is actually facing a tight schedule if it wants to design and build new engines in time to avoid a repeat of last year’s buy-ahead-and-bust cycle, trucking experts said.

Despite sensationalistic reports to the contrary, Mexican truckers will not deprive Americans of safe highways or clean air. Rather, they will improve cross-border freight flows while relieving the U.S. driver shortage.

In a Jan. 13 letter to the White House, the American Trucking Associations urged President Bush to take steps, including possibly tapping the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, to help stem the tide of rising fuel costs.

The prices U.S. producers received for their goods remained unchanged in December, but did decline if volatile food and energy prices are removed from consideration, the Labor Department reported Wednesday.

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Bill Graves, who on Monday stepped down after two terms as governor of Kansas, officially took office Wednesday as chief executive officer of American Trucking Associations, replacing William J. Canary.