Business

The ongoing shift of intermodal chassis ownership from ocean carriers to truckers and lessors could encounter a new jolt as the International Longshoremen’s Association promised to keep the repairing of chassis a key negotiating issue in contract talks that begin next week.

American Trucking Associations will challenge several provisions of the new federal hours-of-service rule, including its restart provision, a mandatory 30-minute break and a narrowing of certain exceptions for local delivery drivers.

The U.S. Senate last week passed a two-year, $109 billion transportation bill that contains an array of provisions important to the trucking industry, including creation of a national freight program and a mandate for electronic onboard recorders on trucks.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s last-minute decision to delay its highly anticipated review of how it assigns fault in truck-related crashes has seriously damaged the agency’s credibility with the trucking industry, according to some industry officials.

U.S. heavy-duty truck sales continued to surge in February, as fleets and owner-operators bought 15,418 Class 8s, a 58.8% jump over the 9,712 sold a year earlier, WardsAuto.com reported March 12.

Prime Inc. President Robert Low puts his commitment to improving truckers’ health on the line at lunchtime, playing full-court basketball with co-workers.

The federal government’s program allowing Mexican trucks into the country improperly exempts Mexican truckers from regulations concerning licenses, medical certification and drug testing, an advocacy group told a federal court last week.

Heavy-duty engine manufacturers blasted the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency last week for allowing Navistar Inc. to pay penalties to sell engines that do not comply with 2010 emissions standards, saying the agency did not follow the law in determining the penalties.

At least one major motor carrier said it had a truck fire related to a defect in Detroit Diesel engines that was the subject of a recent recall, but other fleets using the Detroit engines made by Daimler Trucks North America either didn’t comment or said they had not experienced problems.

Diesel prices continued to climb, as the national average price rose by 2.9 cents to $4.123 a gallon last week, according to the Department of Energy.