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WASHINGTON — A House panel created to explore freight issues has recommended that Congress create a national freight transportation policy and designate a freight network that includes all transport modes, namely highway, rail, air and water.

The Cass Freight Index, which measures shipment activity in trucking and other transport modes, edged up 0.1% in September from a year ago, while expenditures jumped by the most since March.

YRC Worldwide Inc. CEO James Welch has put himself in charge of the company’s $3.3 billion a year  less-than-truckload unit, replacing Jeff Rogers, who departed as profit-improvement efforts sagged.

COLUMBUS, Ind. — Demand for new Class 8 equipment should rise about 15% next year, powered by a stronger domestic freight market and the ongoing need to replace old tractors, ACT Research reported.

The latest DAT North American Freight Index report of spot market freight volume showed increases in August from the previous month.

Trucking rates are expected to rise this fall as capacity tightens on regulatory effects and improved freight demand, according to FTR’s Trucking Conditions Index.

Freight volumes have remained steady into early September, but are showing little sign of an emerging peak shipping season because of economic weakness and changing strategies by carriers and shippers, according to industry officials.

Washington state’s two U.S. senators said they plan to introduce a bill next month to overhaul how the country collects and spends money to improve seaport freight infrastructure.

Truck freight capacity dipped in June, reflecting a relatively weak freight environment, according to the FTR Associates’ Shippers Conditions Index.