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Gov. George Ryan signed laws that force Chicago-area trucks to undergo annual emissions tests and give trucks greater leeway on portable scales.

USFreightways Corp. entered the truckload market a year ago with the purchase of Glen Moore Trucking of Carlisle, Pa. Now, USF Glen Moore has acquired Underwood Truck Line of Brazil, Ind.

Con-Way Transportation Services, the nation’s fourth-largest less-than-truckload carrier, announced a new base for its fuel surcharge formula Aug. 2, as the national average price for diesel rose again, to $1.146 a gallon.

The drive to create a separate federal agency specializing in the issues and interests of trucking moved into high gear last week, dramatically improving the chances that such a unit will be in operation before too much more time passes.

The government has an opportunity to seize the moment and advance safety even further by reforming the archaic hours-of-service rules in a science-based fashion. It will be sad, indeed, for the trucking industry, as well as for the motoring public, to end up with rules that advance the political interests of a few while jeopardizing the many.

The new president of Navistar International’s Truck Group would like to change the truck-buying culture by reducing — or even eliminating — the customization that is an accepted part of the purchasing and manufacturing markets.

J. Steven Keate’s plan to reduce customization in Navistar International’s Truck Group generated a mixed reaction among the other truck manufacturers.

Fighting against economic re-regulation and for approval of the sale of Conrail, railroads far outspent trucking on lobbying in 1998, according to a report by the Center for Responsive Politics.

Integrating less-than-truckload, truckload, logistics and freight forwarding services into one company is incredibly difficult. But one company has done it successfully: USFreightways Corp.

In the news this morning: USF Distribution buys Special Dispatch; Firm reaches plea deal about illegal shipments; and Nissan Diesel America announces personnel changes.