Trucking industry leaders will gather this week at American Trucking Associations’ Management Conference & Exhibition to discuss recent accomplishments and prepare for the challenges of the upcoming year.

Trucking industry leaders will gather this week at American Trucking Associations’ Management Conference & Exhibition to discuss recent accomplishments and prepare for the challenges of the upcoming year.

American Trucking Associations unveiled several spotlight events of its 2012 Management Conference & Exhibition, scheduled for Oct. 7-10 in Las Vegas.

J.R. “Bob” Halladay, a longtime trucking leader who formerly served as senior vice president for federation relations for American Trucking Associations, died last week at the age of 91 after complications from a stroke and Parkinson’s disease.

Nearly 12 months ago, I proudly accepted the title of chairman of American Trucking Associations, thus beginning one of the most exciting and exhausting years of my professional life, and an experience I’ve been humbled and honored to have.

Total operating costs for the trucking industry rose 9.3% in 2011 to an average of $1.706 a mile, the highest cost since the American Transportation Research Institute began tracking the figure in 2008.

Ohio Truck Shield, a joint program of the Ohio Trucking Association and the Ohio Highway Patrol launched earlier this year, has already trained 500 truck drivers to watch for criminal activity on the roads.

New heavy-duty truck orders fell 23.4% to 16,200 in August from a year earlier, according to preliminary figures from ACT Research Co., and some truck makers said they plan more downtime at plants in order to trim production.

Pilot Flying J said Tuesday it has completed its deal to gain controlling interest in Maxum Petroleum.

Transport Topics Online will be closed Monday for the Labor Day holiday. Please check back on Tuesday, Sept. 4, for the latest trucking and freight transportation news.