Deregulation has truckers sharpening pencils on pricing

Don't expect to see many truck drivers wearing three- piece business suits. But you can expect the people who run many trucking companies to become much more sophisticated executives as they enter what some are calling the "whole new ball game" of their now "deregulated" business.

The law that President Carter signed on July 1 sharply cut back the number of government regulations -- some in effect since 1887 -- over the US trucking industry. By making it easier for new companies to enter the business; for existing companies to expand into new territories and routes; and for all truckers to vary their prices according to costs and market forces, the law greatly enhances the meaning of the word "competition" for this industry.