Safety

If you wanted to shore up a beleaguered industry, would you do it by creating a new threat? Of course not, but that’s exactly what some U.S. policymakers seem ready to do to the already devastated U.S. trucking industry.

The Environmental Protection Agency, as proposed, has formally required new heavy trucks to have warning lights that indicate when engine emission controls are malfunctioning or deteriorating, starting in 2010.

Swift Corp. said that Richard Stocking has been promoted to president and chief operating officer of its truckload carrier Swift Transportation Co., effective immediately.

For all the hopeful talk about how President-elect Obama’s stimulus program is going to provide a much-needed boost to the nation’s deteriorating infrastructure, there are growing concerns in transportation circles that the pot of gold may be a lot smaller than originally thought.

Bankrupt trucking company Gainey Corp. won a battle to reorganize under bankruptcy law when a federal judge ruled it could use its cash to continue to fund its operations, the Grand Rapids (Mich.) Press reported.

A national safety group is advocating for laws completely banning cell phone use while driving, the Associated Press reported.

WASHINGTON — A national commission studying transportation infrastructure funding is set to recommend that Congress raise fuel taxes now but eventually replace them with levies based on miles traveled.

The Environmental Protection Agency said it is concerned that emissions systems using a copper compound that engine maker Cummins Inc. will use in 2010 models could generate “likely human carcinogen” dioxins, in which case it would “likely not certify” the systems.

The Teamsters union said employees at YRC Worldwide Inc. have approved a landmark 10% wage cut to help reduce costs as the largest less-than-truckload carrier struggles with falling tonnage in a weak economy.