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Trucking companies continue to deal with an avalanche of safety and environmental regulations while bracing for potential disruption from new technology and changes in shipping patterns.

Although welcomed by medical professionals and nonprofit safety groups, the prospects of regulatory guidance for truck driver diagnosis and treatment of obstructive sleep apnea continues to raise concerns in the trucking industry.

Truck-rail freight in the second quarter fell by 5.5%, the largest year-over-year decline since late 2009. The fall was driven by a weak economy, a market share skirmish with over-the-road trucking and 2015 market dislocations that inflated shipments last spring, industry experts said.

Being one of the few CDL holders with an autonomous endorsement to drive a truck with “self-driving” capabilities is a dubious claim to fame. But there it is. And why, if the truck drives itself, is there a need for a credential?

Congress is poised to adjourn for its summer break without sending to President Obama legislation that would let truck drivers avoid a rest requirement of 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. on consecutive days.

A series of weak second-quarter earnings reports in the weeks ahead should document evidence that truck freight markets have suffered this year amid excess capacity and overstocked inventory, analysts believe.