°®¶¹´«Ã½

A few stories in this edition of Transport Topics illustrate quite well the current state of the national economy.

After several years of anticipation throughout the trucking industry, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and National Highway Transportation Safety Administration finally in October released their joint proposed rule to regulate greenhouse gases for the commercial transportation sector.

Greatwide Logistics Services said Oct. 7 it has substantially increased the operations capacity and capabilities of its transportation operations center by implementing new software programs.

Please keep step-van drivers in the National Truck Driving Championships. I attended my first truck-driving rodeo two years ago because the step-van category was added, and I had a blast. Now, I’m hooked on NTDC.

Fortunately, some companies are slowly waking to the fact that untreated sleep apnea presents higher risks for their organization, and they are creating proactive programs to address the issue.

The second National Distracted Driving Summit will be held Sept. 21 in Washington, D.C., Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced.

Kansas City Southern said it earned $34.6 million, or 34 cents a share, in its second quarter, compared with $6.5 million, or 7 cents, the previous year.

June is National Safety Month, a particularly relevant observance this year as the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration makes final revisions to its operational model for the Comprehensive Safety Analysis 2010 program, with implementation expected as early as December.

Mexico’s president, Felipe Calderon, said last week that the United States and his nation would solve the countries’ ongoing trade dispute caused by the closure of the southern border to longhaul truck traffic.

The Obama administration was set last week to outline a path to national fuel-economy standards for large trucks, bringing industry and government officials to the White House to announce a plan that could aim at driving habits as well as equipment changes to reduce fuel use.