Click here to write a Letter to the Editor. oving company Atlas Van Lines will expand its use of background checks to include seasonal employees by the middle of 2006 in order to improve security, a company official said.

Click here to write a Letter to the Editor. img src="http://www.ttnews.com/images/printeditiontag_new.gif" width=120 align=right>GeoLogic Solutions, a provider of mobile communications technologies to trucking, said it received a patent for its Proximity Alert, a software package the company sells to help fleets improve their monitoring of trucks by documenting loading/unloading time for computation of possible detention charges.

Click here to write a Letter to the Editor. LEVELAND — Tom Weisz, who recently relinquished his position as chief executive officer of trucking software provider TMW Systems Inc. but remained its chairman, said he will devote more time to developing new products.

Click here to write a Letter to the Editor. xecutives with some of the nation’s largest carriers said they were having some success preventing driver fatigue by having open discussions with their drivers and incorporating new software.

Click here to write a Letter to the Editor. xecutives at mobile communications company PeopleNet said they have upgraded a software package that will make it easier for trucking companies and drivers to comply with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s revised hours-of-service rules.

Click here to write a Letter to the Editor. .S. monthly retail sales of Class 8 trucks rose by 16.3% over last September’s level to 21,677 units, the 23rd straight monthly increase on a year-over-year basis.

Click here to write a Letter to the Editor. rucking companies must do a better job of using software and increase that use to stay profitable in an era of lower margins and higher operating costs, said Barry Pottle, first vice chairman of the Truckload Carriers Association.

Click here to write a Letter to the Editor. img src="http://www.ttnews.com/images/printeditiontag_new.gif" width=120 align=right>The driver turnover rate for large truckload companies jumped nine percentage points in the second quarter to 129%, the second highest on record, American Trucking Associations said last week.

Click here to write a Letter to the Editor. img src="http://www.ttnews.com/images/printeditiontag_new.gif" width=120 align=right>FC Stone Group, a risk-management consulting company, said it has developed a new software program that allows shippers to better manage fuel surcharges.

Click here to write a Letter to the Editor. img src="http://www.ttnews.com/images/printeditiontag_new.gif" width=120 align=right>August U.S. Class 8 truck sales jumped 24.3% over last year’s pace, the 22nd consecutive year-over-year increase. But some analysts and company officials said they were concerned that future sales could be dampened by rising fuel prices, a slowing economy and tougher federal emission standards.