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TruckPac, American Trucking Associations’ political action committee, raised and spent more in the 1998 elections than it did in the previous two election cycles, according to Federal Election Commission records and interviews with ATA officials.

Yellow Corp. announced it is acquiring Action Express, a less-than-truckload carrier based in Boise, Idaho, to expand its regional trucking service in the Pacific Northwest and West.

A traffic stop near Memphis last Saturday led to the arrest of man on murder charges in the slayings of four hotel guests, including three men from the trucking industry who came to Atlanta to watch a football game.

The public may comment on the consent decrees signed by diesel engine makers in an agreement with the Department of Justice and the Environmental Protection Agency.

Flatbed carrier Boyd Bros. Transportation is going west. The Clayton, Ala., company, which operates in the eastern two-thirds of the U.S., plans to acquire Houston-based Ruel Smith Transportation Services and a freight brokerage affiliate for $4.5 million in cash and stock.

The Federal Highway Administration is proposing changes to driver medical examination forms that trucking interests say would let physicians perform additional tests at their discretion.

A dispute over the medical exams required by Canadian drivers to work in the U.S. may result in a long-awaited reciprocity agreement between the two countries.

Tolls on the Ohio Turnpike will increase as scheduled Jan. 1, despite suggestions by one turnpike official last winter that the extra money may not be needed.

Incumbent Sen. Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, narrowly won re-election today, defeating his Republican challenger, Rep. John Ensign, by 459 votes. In other national races, Tuesday's elections brought no significant changes to congressional committees with oversight over trucking issues.