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Love thy enemy? You do if they helped you increase intermodal volume 20 percent in the year's first half compared with last year.

That's why Burlington Northern Santa Fe posted "We Love Truckers" banners at its 11 intermodal facilities and honored truckers at an event held yesterday at the railroad's intermodal terminal in Alliance, Texas, to help trucking firms celebrate National Truck Driver Appreciation Week.

More than 1,000 truck drivers were given free pizza, drinks, mugs, T-shirts, key chains and heart-shaped cookies as tokens of appreciation. The items were handed out by BNSF truckload salespeople and a few trucking firm executives.

"The 'We Love Truckers' event is our way of saying thanks to our trucking company partners and their drivers who, along with railroad people, are the backbone of ensuring the products we use daily are delivered safely and efficiently," said John Hickerson, BNSF assistant vice president of truckload sales, in a prepared statement.

Railroaders and truckers have a much more integrated relationship today, said Texas Motor Transportation Association President and Chief Executive Officer Bill Webb.

"We have become connected at the hip, from a strategic perspective," he said. "The ability for truckers and BNSF to meet customer requirements rests solely on our ability to maintain a cost-effective and efficient supply chain."