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In the news this morning; Teamsters shift gears in effort to organize port truckers; Trucking firm Lantner Co. to branch out into e-commerce fulfillment; and New York to make more rest stop space available for tired truckers.

The Teamsters union has sued former president Ron Carey and others, alleging racketeering, embezzlement, breach of fiduciary duties and legal malpractice during Carey’s re-election effort.

This afternoon's headlines: Illinois gives truckers the go-ahead to join electronic toll system; Georgia judge rules against trucker over truck ban in residential areas; and Recent truck-related crashes put Houston police on alert for Easter weekend.

The retail price of diesel fuel dropped below $1.40 a gallon for the first time in 13 weeks, but analysts are warning truckers not to get too happy because a price spike may be on the way.

A proposal to update driver hours of service remains in regulatory limbo. While the Department of Transportation said the new proposal would be out by the end of April, the White House has yet to approve the plan.

The Department of Transportation’s effort to change its longstanding drug and alcohol testing policy is not going down smoothly with drivers or their bosses.

In the news this morning: KLLM CEO receives backing to make counter-offer to Low's buyout bid; Knight Transportation buys Fastway Systems; and J.B. Hunt lands operations deals with 31 Wal-Mart distribution centers.

The fatality rate on the nation’s highways last year rose slightly from a record low in 2004, and overall fatalities and deaths from large truck crashes rose slightly, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Thursday.

PNV Inc. will be America Online's trucking site of choice after an April 19 announcement that the Internet giant bought a stake in the trucking Web portal and entertainment firm.

Higher fuel prices obviously increase the cost of trucking. But how much? Martin Labbe Associates crunched the numbers and, according to their formulas, it comes out to an increase of between 5 and 6 cents per mile.