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Combined Transport, Central Point, Ore., has purchased flatbed truckload carrier Sunrise Express of Vancouver, Wash., in a move that is expected to increase revenue by 20% and improve its service offerings.

The national average price of diesel fuel dipped to $1.307 on Jan. 10, the first drop in three weeks, tracking a drop in crude oil prices to $24.23 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

When a task force of trucking executives developed a strategic plan for American Trucking Associations in the spring of 1998, they envisioned a national trade organization representing carriers before Congress and federal agencies, in the courts and in the media.

Building a winning trucking association is tough. You need a good game plan, a hard-working team, and you have to go out and get the best players to take you to the top. That’s exactly what American Trucking Associations has done, and we’ll be a stronger association because of our efforts.

Continuing economic growth and mounting trucking costs, especially for driver pay, will set the stage for higher freight rates in 2000, Management Outlook Forum panelists agreed.

Logistics and distribution trends spearheaded by a changing economy and electronic retailing have begun to drastically alter the face of trucking.

Truck drivers hold the key to success for much of the industry in 2000, but a carrier executive and the leader of an owner-operator group disagree on the best approach to keep the ranks filled.

When it comes to relying on high-tech devices such as on-board data recorders in an effort to improve safety, many truckers need convincing.

Hours-of-service reform is so highly politicized that even Washington insiders don’t know what the final rule will look like once all the dust clears. And as for across-the-board increases in size and weight limits for commercial trucks this year, trucking companies should not hold their breath.

A steep decline in orders for new Class 8 big rigs in 2000 may be a result of a fundamental change in trucking, a transportation research analyst thinks.