Safety

WASHINGTON — The trucking industry has made great strides in truck safety over the past decade, but numerous challenges remain as motor carriers and truck drivers cope with an increasingly tough regulatory environment, industry executives told the National Transportation Safety Board Tuesday.

Multiple security background checks and costly fees have caused the population of truck drivers with Transportation Security Administration hazardous materials endorsements to decline by roughly 1.2 million since 2004, a top American Trucking Associations official told a congressional subcommittee last week.

Seat belt use among drivers of medium- and heavy-duty commercial vehicles rose to 78% last year, from 74% in 2009, the fourth straight annual increase, according to a new Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration study.

Manufacturing activity in the Chicago region slipped in April from March, but showed continued expansion, the Institute for Supply Chain Management-Chicago said Friday.

The country’s recent economic climate certainly illustrates how essential and strong the transportation component is to our way of life, but trucking has needed to navigate regulatory challenges as well.

The number of injuries in U.S. truck related accidents declined by 18% in 2009, according to new statistics compiled by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Swift Transportation Co. reported a first-quarter profit compared with a loss a year ago, as its operating income more than doubled.

Thank you for your March 21 cover story, “Vets Make Valuable Employees, Several Motor Carriers Report.” There is no greater testament to the value that our military veterans bring to our industry than from those carriers with firsthand experience attracting, hiring and supporting them as they develop careers in transportation.

The truck-involved fatality rate on the nation’s highways has hit a new low in the latest data provided by the Department of Transportation.