���ϳԹ���

Illinois trucking companies are going to be very surprised when they are audited by the Illinois Department of Employment Security under its new legal definition of independent contractor status for owner-operators (Section 212.1 of the Illinois Unemployment Insurance Act).

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration said last week that Landstar Ligon has paid a penalty of $43,510 for failing to comply with federal safety rules.

Enforcement of New York’s truck emissions testing was set to begin Feb. 1, but because so few testing centers currently exist, state officials decided to push back the deadline to June.

In many ways, White’s Truck Stop is more like a museum than a place where 18-wheelers pull in for food and fuel. But uniqe establishments like this are rapidly disappearing from the landscape.

Natso Inc., a national organization representing truck stop operators, meets this week in Nashville, Tenn. to set its legislative priorities and address issues confronting the $36 billion industry.

The atmosphere among Class 8 truck producers remains cautious, but no further major production cutbacks are planned aside from the two already announced.

This afternoon's headlines: Teamsters plan regular protests for port truckers; DaimlerChrysler commercial vehicle revenue rises 15% in 1999; and Calif. crash probe focuses on truck driver.

In the news this morning; Canadian truckers park rigs, demand higher rates; Illinois CDL scandal reaches Gov. Ryan's inner circle; and EPA moving toward universal low sulfur diesel.

Demand for freight transportation remained firm in the first few weeks of January, easing fears of an economic slump in the aftermath of a robust fourth quarter.

Freightliner Corp. President James L. Hebe warned that the entire trucking industry faces a “virtual crisis” of falling used truck prices, making some truck lines "practically bankrupt."