Editorial

Several notices pointing toward recovery in trucking and the economy at large are one pleasant side of the news last week.

CSA 2010 will become CSA 2011 before all the bricks of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s new safety enforcement structure are set in place.

It’s wise not to get too giddy, but it definitely appears things are improving for the economy — and for trucking.

The Mid-America Trucking Show this year was miles beyond the somber version last year. The exhibition hall in Louisville was humming last week with new products and rising expectations, reflecting the fact that virtually all segments of trucking are showing signs of recovery.

Congratulations to the governing board that oversees the Unified Carrier Registration program for casting a vote for fairness and good sense by blocking a plan for states to begin collecting fees before the pricing structure for 2010 is set.

The ongoing refusal of the U.S. government to honor the terms of the North American Free Trade Agreement is about to claim some new, and as yet unknown, victims.

Things are getting better. That was the consensus most analysts have reached after looking at recent weeks’ economic numbers, and it was the nearly unanimous opinion of people attending the Truckload Carriers Association convention last week in Las Vegas.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s new enforcement plan, Comprehensive Safety Analysis 2010, seems destined to be a major step forward in how the federal government oversees truck fleets and drivers.

The reasonably good news about the direction of the nation’s economy continues to reach our offices every week. And while the recovery is surely not as robust as any of us wants, it is unmistakably occurring.

The mid-Atlantic region is the latest area to be reminded of Mother Nature’s capriciousness and unrelenting fury, as a seemingly endless string of major snowstorms has dumped record amounts from Virginia to New Jersey.