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Retail sales of Class 8 trucks dropped sharply in April, belatedly tracking with widespread predictions that 2000 figures will fall well short of the record set in 1999.

“I’m from the government and I’m here to help you.” The line, usually associated with a joke, is delivered with an almost straight face by Officer John Harmon, who is addressing a group of student truck drivers at the Chattanooga State Technical School in Tennessee.

A sampling of manufacturers and distributors that have their own trucking fleets reveals that they may either be unaware or unconcerned about the possible effects of changes in driver hours of service on their businesses.

Vermont is a governor’s signature away from opening up much of the state to 53-foot trailers, ending an often bitter battle that pitted one community against another.

This afternoon's headlines: Liles backs off on bid for KLLM but preparing another; Illinois CDL scandal spurs Wisconsin review of licensees; Mack Trucks says It will cut production, lay off 300 workers at its South Carolina plant.

In the news this morning: Pennsylvania, trucking company reach settlement in Philadelphia crash lawsuit; Iowa sees increased traffic fatalities involving large trucks; and crude oil price goes up again on U.S. gasoline fears.

The Environmental Protection Agency and American Trucking Associations will face off in the U.S. Supreme Court on how air pollution standards are set.

The Department of Transportation is sticking to its self-imposed deadline of completing an update to the federal hours-of-service regulations for truck drivers by year’s end, which means there will be no extension in the public comment period.

This afternoon's headlines: Simon Transportation rejects Moyes' offer to buy the carrier; GE Capital expected to buy Transamerica Leasing unit; and trucker hospitalized after stabbing at Minnesota rest area.

The entire trucking industry, not just the truck makers, is starting to pay the price for the go-go economy of the last five years, the head of Volvo Trucks North America said in a May 16 speech.