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New federal rules would limit long-haul truck drivers to 12 hours of driving and mandate the use of electronic data recorders, according to a well-placed Transportation Department source.

The California Trucking Association and other industry trade groups have filed a lawsuit to reverse California’s decision labeling diesel particulates a toxic air contaminant.

A blast of bitter cold throughout the Northeast is being blamed for a 6.7-cents-a-gallon leap in the retail price of diesel fuel in New England, to $1.441 on Jan. 17. But the average national price, as reported by the Energy Information Administration the same day, remained at $1.307 a gallon for the second week.

Federal Express changed the name of its parent company from FDX Corp. to FedEx Corp. and will rename three of its business units, package carrier RPS Inc., expedited carrier Roberts Express and Global Logistics, to feature the FedEx brand name.

Just how good is the federal commercial driver license program?

Cyprus Truck Lines of Jacksonville, Fla., has purchased Ploof Truck Lines and will operate the flatbed truckload carrier as a separate business.

Peoplenet Communications got a makeover last week, receiving $25 million in funding and naming a prominent figure in trucking technology as chief executive officer.

Bush Leasing, a truck leasing and sales company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Jan. 11, citing a failure to restructure its $310 million in secured debt.

A review of the tens of thousands of words that were spoken during Transport Topics’ annual Management Outlook Forum, and reported on in these pages last week, shows that the No. 1 topic on virtually everyone’s mind is the industry’s drivers.

Diesel fuel prices at Northeastern pumps continued to soar, prompting letters of protest from several trucking associations hit hard by the increase.