Appreciated. It's never too early to prepare for Truck Driver Appreciation Week, coming up Aug. 24. This year's top-rated gift for shippers to show truck drivers that they really care is an auxiliary power unit. The No. 2 gift is a backhaul load out of Southern Florida.

Congested. The Department of Transportation's new congestion relief plan is due out soon but we've gotten an early preview. We don't want to say they're a little obsessive over at DOT, but three-quarters of the plan is aimed at speeding up service at the Starbucks on the ground floor of the DOT headquarters. The rest of it was too coated in coffee stains to make out.

Disabled. Speaking of service at DOT, the department got some big coverage for all the wrong reasons last month. The Washington Post reported DOT has been drawing complaints at its new headquarters for access in the building for disabled workers. A DOT assistant secretary provided a helpful memo for disabled workers using the cafeteria, offering advice on "politely requesting assistance." That included such good tips as explaining the assistance clearly: "Could you reach a drink in the cooler for me?" It "encouraged" workers to visit the cafeteria during "non-peak" hours. The department got some advice - politely, no doubt - on how not to write patronizing memos. But the drinks remained out of reach. 

Loaned. They must be kicking themselves over at the DM&E Railroad. Too late to recover the loan that was nixed over at the Federal Railroad Administration, the railroad realized the key to approval wasn't the finances or the business plan. A rail industry observer notes they just needed to call their plan a public-private partnership.

Railing. One bitter trucking executive we know is getting tired of watching railroad TV ads saying trains can move a ton of freight 436 miles on a gallon of fuel. He claims that only works if the train is going downhill.