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Officials at the ports of Seattle and Tacoma, Wash., have until the end of September to avoid another strike by container haulers at the ports.

In an effort to avoid a Teamsters union strike of Overnite Transportation Co., the federal labor mediation board volunteered Sept. 17 to help the two sides reach an agreement. The Teamsters accepted the offer; Overnite declined it.

The owner of Ploof Truck Lines, a flatbed truckload carrier based in Jacksonville, Fla., is seeking to sell the company after filing for bankruptcy protection on Sept. 10.

For months, analysts have been predicting the imminent end of the run-up in fuel prices, certain that oil-exporting nations would end their manipulation of petroleum supplies after prices recovered from historic lows in the early part of the year. And they’ve been wrong

The Surface Transportation Board has rejected a request by the Association of American Railroads that it rethink its decision to ignore product and geographic competition in deciding rate reasonableness cases.

More small companies are gaining access to relatively high-tech information systems as the associated costs come down. For example, companies now can set up advanced communications on the Internet at about one-tenth the cost of five years ago.

For many smaller trucking companies, getting on the information highway is a slow process, but experts say these firms will need to develop a Web presence soon if they hope to survive.

The Maintenance Council of American Trucking Associations is working on a recommended practice intended to ensure that repaired impact guards look and perform as they’re designed.

GeoLogistics Americas said it will phase out its unprofitable domestic freight-forwarding operations as of Oct. 15 and concentrate on international freight forwarding and logistics.

The American Stock Exchange suspended trading of Dynamex Inc. stock after the Dallas-based courier announced Sept. 17 that it will restate earnings for fiscal years 1997, 1998 and the first three quarters of fiscal years 1998 and 1999 because of accounting irregularities.