Editorial director Lou Smyrlis will be presenting the results of the annual report on Transportation Buying Trends at the upcoming Transpo 2008 in late March.

The research, conducted by our Transportation Media Research division, surveys shippers across Canada on issues such as anticipated shipment volumes and concerns over capacity as well as rate increases and surcharge penetration by mode. Smyrlis will also be presenting the CITA Supply Executive of the Year Award at Transpo’s dinner gala.

In early April Smyrlis has been invited to speak at the Transportation Sales and Marketing Association annual conference in Phoenix, Arizona. He will be addressing issues in Canadian transportation.

Transportation Media has just begun this year’s version of the Driver Satisfaction Survey.

The annual research, conducted in partnership with the Canadian Trucking Human Resources Council, examines a variety of recruitment and retention issues, including what drivers consider most important in selecting one carrier over another, the training and benefits they consider most important as well as their general job satisfaction. The results will be published in a comprehensive report in an upcoming issue of Motortruck Fleet Executive.

Trucknews. com’s WebTV show, Transportation Matters, launched its fifth episode mid-February. The show’s segments included an interactive test drive of Challenger Motor Freight’s truck simulator and an informative interview with Scott Taylor of Transport Financial Services on how drivers can maximize their tax returns.

Transportation Matters has made plans to move from a monthly show to once a week starting in March.

Log on to trucknews.com every Thursday for the show’s latest batch of transportation information.