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Conga lines of idle trucks waiting to clear U.S. customs are daily a fact for trade traffic at America’s major border-crossing points, north and south.

Most Transport Topics readers have experienced the current downturn firsthand — dwindling freight demand, fluctuating fuel prices, clean-engine mandates and downward-spiraling leading indicators.

Here we go again — the safety freaks filing yet another challenge to the current hours of service, led unfortunately by my illustrious leader, James Hoffa. I think he needs to pull his head out of the sand on this one.

A new study linking obesity and obstructive sleep apnea found that truck drivers are so resistant to testing and treatment that the federal government should mandate screening because the disorder plays a larger role in accidents than officially reported.

The Transportation Security Administration said it will not delay the April 15 deadline for an estimated 1.2 million workers to obtain their Transportation Worker Identification Credentials, but the U.S. Coast Guard will allow entry at some ports through mid-May to workers who present proof they have passed a security screening but have not yet received their credential cards from TSA.

The U.S.-Mexico trucking dispute continued to grow as more legal action was taken on both sides of the border and a coalition of interest groups stepped up pressure on the Obama administration to find a resolution.

President Obama last week nominated Victor Mendez, former head of the Arizona Department of Transportation, to lead the Federal Highway Administration and Charles Hurley, a longtime safety advocate, to run the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Sterling Truck Corp. officially ended its 11-year life span last month when the last Class 8 rolled off the St. Thomas, Ontario, assembly line, part of a final order for ABF Freight System Inc.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration said an exemption to the federal hours-of-service rules granted to oil-field haulers will be applied based on what the truck is being used for.

The Massachusetts House of Representatives has joined the Senate in approving a reform plan for the state’s transportation system.