ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø

Federal officials are starting to worry about the ability of diesel engine manufacturers to live up to the stipulations in a 1998 consent decree that sets stricter pollution standards for model year 2003 engines.

The national average price of diesel fuel dropped this week for the first time in seven weeks, to $1.479 cents a gallon, on expectations that oil-producing countries will agree to produce more petroleum.

Something about government programs gets some people spitting mad, and in trucking, probably nothing draws a bigger shower of brickbats than the inspection stops that go on in each state.

Debate over the federal government’s proposal to impose ergonomics regulations on industry grew warmer, as the Occupational Safety and Health Administration held the second round of public hearings last week.

Overnite Transportation and the Teamsters met again March 23-24, this time in Kansas City, Mo., even as the union announced plans to step up its strike campaign and the company boasted of improved services and profits.

The Teamsters gathered port truckers from across the country for a rally in the Capitol to protest high fuel prices and poor working conditions.

Schneider National Inc. is putting Christopher B. Lofgren, its chief technology and logistics officer, in charge of its North American trucking operations.

Federal regulators and industry lobbyists could soon be clashing over mandatory driver training, but for now trucking’s leaders worry while government officials remain mum.

A proposal to allow drivers under age 21 to operate trucks in interstate commerce — if well-trained — appears to be losing momentum.

Freight brokers — the people who arrange for air, rail, ocean and truck transportation — have always walked a tightrope in their efforts to serve the needs of shippers and carriers.