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A temporary suspension or liberalization of federal hours-of-service rules for truck drivers could help in the effort to clear away the backlog at West Coast Ports, the president of the American Trucking Associations suggested Friday.

WASHINGTON — Yellow Transportation took to the U.S. Supreme Court its fight to be repaid $500,000 in trucking fees it says Michigan illegally collected.

Maryland and Delaware State Police combined to thwart an alleged cargo theft ring last week after a trucking company owner reported that two trailers equipped with tracking technology had been stolen from his lot.

etail spending dropped 1.2% in September, the Commerce Department reported Friday, although the movement is up 0.1% if auto sales are disregarded.

Layoffs Could Trigger New Recession, Economic Group Says • Gasoline Prices Continue Decline in West • Top Officers Bid to Buy Landair • Port Closure Cuts Intermodal Total •

WASHINGTON — The less-than-truckload industry and the Teamsters kicked off negotiations Oct. 8 over a new labor pact, with the union searching for more health and pension benefits and higher wages and management saying it needed greater flexibility to delve into new types of businesses.

Shrinking truckload capacity in some parts of the country, along with an uptick in demand, is giving motor carriers room to raise their freight rates, trucking executives and analysts said.

Wholesale sales in the United States jumped 0.9% in August, the Commerce Department said. The increase was the largest gain in four months – an indication that factory production and shipments may be on the rise.

Executives from three of the top truck equipment suppliers are scheduled to participate in a panel discussion moderated by Transport Topics Publisher and Editorial Director Howard S. Abramson at the ATA Management Conference & Exhibition in Orlando, Fla.

Workers returned to West Coast ports Wednesday night to begin catching up with the backlog caused by a 10-day lockout -- a process that could take up to nine weeks, news reports said.