Safety

House and Senate Appropriations funding leaders plan to unveil a fiscal 2015 omnibus spending bill soon — a measure backed by trucking leaders hoping to turn back a law regulating how long a driver can be behind the wheel.

New Class 8 truck orders skyrocketed in October to 46,200 units, the second-highest level recorded, as large fleets locked in 2015 build slots, ACT Research reported.

Voters handed control of the U.S. Senate to Republicans last week, strengthening the GOP’s ability to advance transportation initiatives when the next Congress convenes in January but lowering the prospects of action before then, analysts said.

Southern California port truckers, crippled by extensive delays, intend to seek the first-ever federal hours-of-service rule waiver for the sector in a bid to free up clogged cargo at the two largest U.S. ports.

Shippers are asking carriers and logistics companies to handle their entire books of freight, with truckload, less-than-truckload, intermodal and parcel deliveries in the mix, transportation software makers said.

Truck-driver training schools are the obvious place for fleets to look for new drivers, but the recruiting challenge for small trucking companies is being made more difficult by underwriter standards, insurance and fleet executives said.

Those sifting last week’s state election results for clues about the future of transportation issues may find more contradictions than answers.

Intermodal rail volume for October rose 4.9% to the highest level on record compared with the same time last year, the Association of American Railroads reported.

Look back at election results as they happened Tuesday night in our live blog, with a focus on Senate and House races that mattered most in the world of transportation.

Truckers such as Bill Compton, Tom Camp, Henry Bates and Al Weddle have more in common than their love of the road.