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Deaton Inc., a flatbed and dry van truckload carrier based in Birmingham, Ala., has boosted mileage pay for drivers by an average of 12%, with pay rates for the most experienced drivers rising more than 21%. President Jerry Crews said the company is hopeful that the extra pay will attract better quality drivers and improve service to customers.

On June 17, a load of steel moved from Maryland to Pennsylvania and ushered in a new Web site — eflatbed.com — for truckers serving the metals industry. Launched by Pittsburgh Logistics Systems, the site allows flatbed carriers to view available freight lanes across the United States and parts of Canada.

An industry-wide shortage of truck drivers has prompted one St. Louis-based company to search for workers in the Caribbean island nation of Barbados. Hogan Transports Inc. is hiring 75 to 100 Barbadians from the former British colony to drive its big rigs. Company president David Hogan expects the drivers to arrive within 90 days.

Six people returning from a church service died after an 18-wheel mail truck slammed into the back of their car Sunday, pushing them into a culvert along Georgia 400. The driver, apparently an independent driver for the U.S. Postal Service, suffered only minor injuries.

Spokesmen for two of the nation’s major railroads — Norfolk Southern and CSX — conceded that their service has “just not been good enough” in the wake of their split-up of Conrail. However, both companies insist things were improving. But some intermodal trucking companies suffered along with the two railroads, as shippers turned to over-the-road truckers.

Some union members were stunned that top Teamsters leadership presented a tentative labor contract with Anheuser-Busch Inc. in such glowing terms. Critics of the contract — which covers bottlers, distillers, truck drivers and mechanics at Anheuser-Busch's 12 U.S. breweries — say it differed little from two other versions that the members rejected last year.

Citing the increased use of information technology within the industry, American Trucking Associations has created a new policy committee devoted to the issue. ATA’s board of directors voted June 18 to create a new Technology & Engineering Committee that incorporates the current Technology Advisory Committee and the engineering component of the Safety & Engineering Committee.

More than 250 members of Congress want the Clinton administration again to delay allowing Mexican truckers the unfettered access inside the United States. Lawmakers and labor leaders said Thursday many Mexican trucks remain unsafe and there are not enough inspectors along the U.S.-Mexico border to check all the vehicles carrying goods for the American market.

In a continuation of the yo-yo-like gyrations that many analysts said were over, the national average price of diesel fuel has risen 2.3 cents a gallon over the past two weeks, after dropping 2.4 cents over the previous four weeks.

Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater declared his commitment to working with American Trucking Associations to reduce truck-related fatalities, despite criticism from safety groups. "While some have criticized the department for working in partnership with ATA, I do not apologize for that," Slater said in a June 17 speech to the group’s board of directors.