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September 26, 2000 9:40 AM, EDT

The proliferation of online exchanges over the past two years among trucking-related companies — from freight haulers to parts dealers — have many casting a watchful eye toward the federal government to see how it may react to such business practices.

Although the Federal Trade Commission recently reviewed the antitrust implications of Covisint, an online supplier network being planned by the nation’s Big Three automakers, it’s unlikely that similar consortia among trucking companies will draw the same level of scrutiny, according to some in the legal and trucking communities.

Business attorneys, logistics professionals and technology leaders interviewed by Transport Topics say efficiency gains from electronic marketplaces will result in lower costs and more competition, and so are unlikely to draw the ire of trust busters.

“Regulators are not there to stifle innovation and competition,” says T. Richard Handler with the law firm of Jenkens & Gilcrist in Dallas.

For the full story, see the Sept. 25 print edition of Transport Topics. .