91ÊÓƵ

A 37-year-old motor carrier will close its doors before Thanksgiving, largely due to high diesel prices.

Spending several days in a hotel clustered with thousands of trucking industry leaders and executives reviewing the issues of yesterday, today and tomorrow reinforces the notion that vigilance is a full-time — or as some of us are fond of saying today, a 24/7/365 — job.

The perception that investments in the Internet are complex and costly for trucking businesses is only partly true. Once new gizmos become as run of the mill as the telephone, they are no longer exotic or intimidating. So, brace yourself. The Internet is already making the transition from the mysterious world of high tech to an everyday business tool.

Duane W. Acklie is unlike any other chairman that American Trucking Associations has had.

The chairman of American Trucking Associations for 2000-2001 practiced law for 13 years before taking the plunge into ownership of a trucking company.

American Trucking Associations is offering a new strategic partnership to affiliated state trucking associations that federation officials said is designed to boost membership and increase revenue for all.

Former British Prime Minister John Major said he expected crude oil prices to fall to $20 a barrel within the next six months.

Truckers will have more than high fuel prices to worry about in the year ahead; they will also face a slowdown in freight demand, rising operating costs and a continuing shortage of drivers, industry executives were told here Oct. 29.

Along with soaring fuel costs and the prospect of a slowing economy, executives of small trucking companies now have to contend with something that has plagued their larger competitors; namely, driver turnover.

The qualities that make an athlete a champion can make champions in business too, Olympic gold medal gymnast Mary Lou Retton said at a breakfast during the American Trucking Associations’ Management Conference.