Business

The fiasco over the Mexican border situation just keeps growing, as interested parties turn to their lawyers for relief and others try to turn up the political heat to get things moving.

A new study linking obesity and obstructive sleep apnea found that truck drivers are so resistant to testing and treatment that the federal government should mandate screening because the disorder plays a larger role in accidents than officially reported.

The U.S. diesel average inched up last week 0.7 cent a gallon to $2.228, following two weeks of major increases, while the gasoline price dipped, the Department of Energy reported.

The Transportation Security Administration said it will not delay the April 15 deadline for an estimated 1.2 million workers to obtain their Transportation Worker Identification Credentials, but the U.S. Coast Guard will allow entry at some ports through mid-May to workers who present proof they have passed a security screening but have not yet received their credential cards from TSA.

The U.S.-Mexico trucking dispute continued to grow as more legal action was taken on both sides of the border and a coalition of interest groups stepped up pressure on the Obama administration to find a resolution.

The overall U.S. employment picture remained bleak in March, but the Labor Department’s latest report offered a slightly more positive picture for trucking’s performance during the just-completed quarter.

Initial signs of a pickup in trucking activity are starting to surface as the U.S. economy keeps stumbling along, according to interviews with several industry officials.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration said it will begin assessing repeat violators of the most critical regulations the maximum allowable fines more quickly, under a new policy announced late last month.

President Obama last week nominated Victor Mendez, former head of the Arizona Department of Transportation, to lead the Federal Highway Administration and Charles Hurley, a longtime safety advocate, to run the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Sterling Truck Corp. officially ended its 11-year life span last month when the last Class 8 rolled off the St. Thomas, Ontario, assembly line, part of a final order for ABF Freight System Inc.