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The year began with the city of Long Beach in the middle of what was shaping up to be a national crisis — labor strife at West Coast ports and its resultant slowdown of shipping activity, according to a year-end review article in the Long Beach Press Telegram. Container ships stretched for miles down the…

President Obama was expected to sign a highway bill approved by Congress late last week, marking the end of years of stopgap transportation funding measures, according to a report in USA Today. The $305 billion bill to repair and expand highways, bridges and transit during the next five years was sent to President Obama Dec….

For the first time in at least a decade, imports fell in both September and October at each of the three busiest U.S. seaports, according to data from trade researcher Zepol Corp. and reported by The Wall Street Journal. Combined, imports at the container terminals at the ports of Los Angeles, Long Beach, Calif. and…

A controversial proposal to allow heavier trucks on interstate highways in an effort to save shippers time and money was rejected by the House on earlier this month, one of dozens of amendments offered as part of a sweeping new transportation bill, according to an article in CTPost.com. The amendment, defeated by a vote of…

President Obama recently signed yet another bill extending highway funding on a short term basis as Congress tries to come to an agreement on a long-term bill. The new bill extends federal transportation funding through Dec. 4, according to a report in The Hill. Obama has railed against short-term transportation funding patches, but he signed…

Could autonomous trucks one day replace drivers on long-distance hauls? That’s the question the trucking industry is trying to answer. For now, it seems like humans will keep their jobs, but they’ll soon be assisted by self-driving features. Some believe these innovations could enter the mainstream within the next five to 10 years, helping big…

Warning of “potential legal consequences” if lawmakers embrace Governor Raimondo’s trucks-only tolling proposal, the Rhode Island Trucking Association proposed an alternative that relies instead on hikes in the diesel tax and truck registration fees, according to an article in the Providence Journal. “We have always stated we want to be part of the solution, but…

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) Deputy Administrator Daphne Jefferson says her agency wants to see more women to join the trucking industry, according to a recent blog post. Jefferson said that this is one way that she wants to help more people become part of the middle class. Career opportunities in the trucking industry…

Teamsters General President James P. Hoffa and a collection of lawmakers and truck safety advocates are speaking out against efforts to extend the length of tractor trailers nationwide, saying the move jeopardizes highway safety, according to the union. Allowing trucks to pull 33-foot trailers would add an additional 10 feet to the length of existing…

For years the auto industry fought the mandating of various safety technologies. Airbags, for example, were opposed by most car companies for decades before they became required equipment on all passenger vehicles starting in 1989. But the auto industry has been extraordinarily open to voluntarily adding an important and potentially life-saving active safety technology known…