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While much of the heavy-duty truck sales hoopla during 2006 focused on truck makers as they set new monthly and yearly sales records, trailer makers were quietly posting their third-best sales year ever, according to new data from ACT Research.

LAS VEGAS — Leaders of the Truckload Carriers Association said they will take a more active role in shaping trucking’s policy in the coming year and emphasize the need to provide drivers a safer work environment and wage stability.

A funny thing happened just as some fleets were discussing reducing their fuel surcharges: Prices went flying again. Since Jan. 26, after five straight weekly increases, the average retail price of diesel is $2.626 a gallon, and climbing.

Rail intermodal traffic rose 8.9% last week but carload traffic fell 0.9% as overall volume reached its highest level this year, the Association of American Railroads said Thursday.

The U.S. Transportation Department’s transportation services index fell 0.6% in January following a one-month increase in December, DOT said Wednesday.

Surface trade among the United States, Canada and Mexico jumped 8.9% last year over 2005 levels, the Department of Transportation said Tuesday.

Click here to write a Letter to the Editor. There is a lot more traffic and a lot more going on behind the wheel other than turning it, with cellphones, Global Positioning System and onboard computers.

FMCSA Names Safety Committees • Highway Watch Debuts Online Training • Insurance Co. Not Liable in Conn. Crash

WASHINGTON — Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), author of the rules Congress set for opening the U.S. border to Mexican trucks, told Transportation Secretary Mary Peters she suspected the agency may be stacking the deck in its recently announced pilot program.