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Stockpiling inventory in anticipation of any Y2K snag may not be on the scale originally predicted, according to carriers and shippers.

Trucking will get one of its long-awaited wishes fulfilled Jan. 1, when the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration becomes a separate agency within the Department of Transportation.

The 13-year-old commercial driver license program is about to get a fine-tuning. Motor carrier safety legislation awaiting President Clinton’s signature will make it harder for truck or bus operators with bad driving records — either on-duty or off-duty — to keep their CDL.

The Clinton administration got to the finish line first in the race to see if it could issue an ergonomics proposal before congressional Republicans passed a bill blocking it.

The house of cards came tumbling down for Hogan Transports soon after the Department of Labor dealt the truckload carrier the ace it wanted: approval to hire foreign drivers on work visas. But Labor quickly turned around and said no dice.

Top transportation officers of the military, in a groundbreaking meeting with American Trucking Associations, agreed to work with the industry on legislative and regulatory issues and to try to resolve long-festering problems.

Safety technologies will be tested on the road in the next three years, with the federal government kicking in $12.7 million to go along with $7.7 million in private money to fund four truck safety pilot projects.

Shippers attending the 92nd annual meeting of the National Industrial Transportation League got a sobering message about how they do business from truckers, drivers and peers: If they don’t shape up, their freight won’t get shipped out.

As reports of fluctuations in the price of oil swirl throughout the news media, one thing remains certain: It is costing a lot more to fill up with diesel fuel this year — and it is likely to cost even more in the near future.

A lawyer representing customers of United Parcel Service has sued the package carrier, accusing it of insurance fraud.