Trucking and freight companies of all kinds are confident that the economic environment will remain strong throughout 1999, despite some forecasts of an overdue downturn.

The AFL-CIO has given lukewarm support to the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s latest attempt at an ergonomics regulation, which is still opposed by trucking and other industries.

The AFL-CIO has given lukewarm support to the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s latest attempt at an ergonomics regulation.

Trucking and freight companies of all kinds are confident that the economic environment will remain strong throughout 1999.

The Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Justice heard an earful about the consent decrees U.S. diesel engine makers were forced to agree to in order to settle alleged Clean Air Act violations.

A group of California law firms said it will sue diesel engine manufacturers on behalf of truckers for damages resulting from the deal to settle alleged violations of the Clean Air Act.

Freightliner Corp. and its parent company, Daimler-Benz AG, claim that in 1991 the Environmental Protection Agency explicitly condoned the same electronic emissions controls that the agency later called “defeat devices,” forcing U.S. diesel engine makers into a punishing settlement for alleged violations of the Clean Air Act.

A draft of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s new ergonomics standard shows that the agency’s latest proposal is very similar to its 1995 plan, which industry studies estimated would cost trucking $6.5 billion.

No decisions are expected anytime soon from a federal judge who is reviewing the Environmental Protection Agency’s settlements with engine manufacturers on emissions testing. While that process is moving forward, a congressional investigation of the settlements is under way.

The government is looking at moving the responsibility of testing drivers for their alcohol level after an accident.