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SAN DIEGO — Leaders of American Trucking Associations meeting here said they have put themselves in the best position to successfully see long overdue highway funding and other legislation passed, while preventing what they view as an explosion of burdensome regulations.

We strive to interact directly with those who have the most influence on the trucking and freight transportation industry, so we thank Scott Darling III, acting chief of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, for speaking with Transport Topics last week.

August’s truck tonnage index jumped 4.5% from a year ago to a record 132.6 reading, American Trucking Associations said Sept. 23.

Shippers can expect to pay more to secure freight-hauling capacity as truck and rail carriers raise rates to cover rising costs and to fund investments in equipment and infrastructure, according to transportation and logistics executives.

Top executives and industry experts plan to explore ways business leaders and government officials can work to relieve congestion along the country’s aging transportation network during a panel discussion Oct. 4-7 at American Trucking Associations’ Management Conference & Exhibition in San Diego.

Officials of trucking-management software vendor TMW Systems Inc. last week outlined steps the company is taking to smooth internal operations and user experiences, and several of its associated plug-in partners announced new integrations with TMW products.

Class 8 truck sales leaped 28.4% in August from a year ago to 19,627, the biggest percentage gain in two years, WardsAuto.com reported.

Federal regulators have moved back by nearly a month their projected announcements of two proposed rules, one to raise the minimum insurance requirement for interstate motor carriers and the other requiring speed limiters on new heavy trucks, a new Department of Transportation report said.