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espite a slight recovery Friday in international oil prices, gasoline prices in the United States continue to slip, prompting some industry watchers to predict that oil prices could dip below 80 cents a gallon in some areas of the country, news services said.

An estimated $30 million a year in trucking industry costs for traveling through a Bullhead City, Ariz., detour around the Hoover Dam has some Arizona Department of Transportation officials unwilling to force truckers farther south on a third route.

Traffic managers have evolved from hourly workers, who combed through volumes of tariff guides looking for the right rate and service combinations for their company’s freight, to become supply chain professionals with whiz kid computer knowledge and a seat in the corporate boardroom.

Atlanta Flights Resume After Security Breach • Congress Passes Aviation Security Bill • Unions Join Chamber of Commerce Transportation Coalition • Texas Braces for More Heavy Rains • And more...

White House 91ÊÓƵland Security Director Tom Ridge announced Thursday that he was drafting a plan to combat terrorism that could include the merging of several federal agencies, news services reported.

If so, Transport Topics would like to hear about it. Please e-mail you story to: alaurio@trucking.org.

James P. Hoffa has declared victory in his race for re-election as president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, news services reported.

Congress Passes Aviation Security Bill • U.S. Seeks to Increase Traffic Flow at Northern Border • N.M. Plans Undercover Truck Inspections • USPS to Irradiate Santa Letters • And more ...

Supply Chain Management Increasing in Importance • @Track Communications Reports Lower 3Q Earnings • And more ...

Inventories at U.S. businesses declined by a larger-than-expected 0.5% in September, the Commerce Department reported on Thursday, but this positive news was offset by a report of 2.8% drop in October wholesale activity that pushed the important stock-to-sales ratio up to a three-year high