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This afternoon's headlines: Truck rate bureaus withdraw proposed hikes; CNF Transportation posts net income increase; and Sterling announces shutdownahead of union drive.

The House of Representatives passed its version of a bill Oct. 14 to create the National Motor Carrier Administration and beef up truck and bus safety on other fronts, in what some observers are calling the most significant change in federal trucking oversight since the industry was deregulated nearly 20 years ago.

In voting to establish a motor carrier administration Oct. 14, the House also approved language that could nail the coffin lid on the state-based Single State Registration System, which allows trucking companies to register their operations using proof of insurance.

When Procter & Gamble Co., one of the nation’s largest consumer products manufacturers, and Wal-Mart Stores, the world’s biggest retail chain, decided to share sales information and work together to reduce distribution costs, many truckers who hauled goods for the two companies naturally wondered what would be in store for them.

A minor accident seven years ago taught Overnite driver Tommie Hawks a valuable lesson, and it paid off last week when he was named Driver of the Year by the Safety Management Council.

The safest trucking operations seem to have intertwining dimensions of driver, machine and management, judging by the success of Viking Freight and Pitt-Ohio Express. The two fleets took this year’s top prizes awarded by the American Trucking Associations’ Safety Management Council.

Experts with a wealth of experience in journalism and public relations are heading up efforts by American Trucking Associations to use the media to advance trucking’s image and agenda.

Members of the Safety Management Council of American Trucking Associations are facing some disturbing news: some of their colleagues are being forced to leave the council because their employers have decided not to become ATA members.

A representative of American Trucking Associations made another pitch to members of The Maintenance Council to formally affiliate with the agency, as required under ATA’s new strategic plan.

The National Transportation Safety Board is holding a public hearing on highway safety issues raised by the North American Free Trade Agreement.