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The chickens are coming home to roost, in the form of notable freight rate increases in he trucking industry, and especially from truckload carriers.

Our image of the truck driver is a man behind the wheel. In recent years, it has become increasingly difficult to keep drivers behind the wheel as customers make drivers wait at shipping and receiving docks or handle freight themselves without compensation. Driver dissatisfaction is aggravating the already serious shortage of qualified drivers.

Vicki Carpenter started her career in late 1980s as a truck driver practically standing up in the cab, as she wedged a king-sized pillow behind her on a specially mounted seat so she could reach the pedals while strapped in safely and still have some support for her back.

A group of state legislators and officials from the Portland area are studying a plan to eliminate exit tolls from the southern half of the Maine Turnpike and allow motorists to drive for free within regions.

The use of Intelligent Data Bus technology to make electronic systems in trucks more efficient and less costly doesn’t appear to be far off, but several hurdles remain.

In the late 19th century, as today, many people thought that technology would solve mankind’s problems. This was the era when electricity became a modern power — the first electric motors were developed by such men as Elihu Thompson, Nikola Tesla, Thomas Edison and Hiram Maxim, who became better-known for developing the machine gun.

Trailer shipments in 1999 will reach about 302,000, topping the record set in 1998 by almost 8%, according to a survey.

Sales of Class 8 trucks through November remained strong despite reports of falling orders in October that led one manufacturer to lay off workers recently. The 11-month total for 1999 hit 238,489, crushing the record of 209,483 set in 1998 and keeping pace to reach 260,000 for the year.

As the Teamsters’ strike against Overnite Transportation Co. lumbered into its eighth week, union organizers launched two new offensives designed to keep pressure on their adversary.

After listening to a two-hour briefing on proposed ergonomics rules, tougher diesel emissions standards and changes in driver hours of service, a top federal transportation official had just one question for the staff experts at American Trucking Associations: “What does it all mean in terms of increased cost to shippers?”