Safety

Transportation firm EGL Inc. said Monday it has signed a definitive merger agreement under which EGL Chairman and Chief Executive Officer James Crane and two investment firms will buy the firm for $38 per share, or about $1.7 billion.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s recently proposed rule mandating the use of electronic onboard recorders for habitual violators of federal hours-of-service regulations has set in motion an industrywide discussion about the plan’s merits.

While much of the heavy-duty truck sales hoopla during 2006 focused on truck makers as they set new monthly and yearly sales records, trailer makers were quietly posting their third-best sales year ever, according to new data from ACT Research.

LAS VEGAS — Leaders of the Truckload Carriers Association said they will take a more active role in shaping trucking’s policy in the coming year and emphasize the need to provide drivers a safer work environment and wage stability.

A funny thing happened just as some fleets were discussing reducing their fuel surcharges: Prices went flying again. Since Jan. 26, after five straight weekly increases, the average retail price of diesel is $2.626 a gallon, and climbing.

Rail intermodal traffic rose 8.9% last week but carload traffic fell 0.9% as overall volume reached its highest level this year, the Association of American Railroads said Thursday.

The U.S. Transportation Department’s transportation services index fell 0.6% in January following a one-month increase in December, DOT said Wednesday.

Surface trade among the United States, Canada and Mexico jumped 8.9% last year over 2005 levels, the Department of Transportation said Tuesday.

Click here to write a Letter to the Editor. There is a lot more traffic and a lot more going on behind the wheel other than turning it, with cellphones, Global Positioning System and onboard computers.