The Defense Department has agreed to conduct a test of the PowerTrack payment program to study its economic impact on freight carriers. PowerTrack is an electronic payment system that DOD plans to use it to pay contract carriers for the Army and Air Force, among others. The new procedure has raised concern among some carriers because it would raise costs.

C.H. Robinson Worldwide plans to acquire some of the assets and certain liabilities of freight forwarder Vertex Transportation, a unit of Country Wide Transport Services of Rochester, N.Y. C.H. Robinson of Minneapolis will pay between $6.5 million and $7 million above the net book value of the assets being acquired and liabilities assumed, company officials said.

Eight days after obtaining an expanded line of credit, United Road Services of Albany, N.Y., said it will search for a new chief executive “who will build, manage and lead this company into its next stage of development.” Edward T. Sheehan, a former executive at United Waste System, stepped down as chairman and chief executive officer, although he will continue to serve on the board of directors.

Investors may be shunning trucking stocks, but a small but growing number of firms think there is money to be made in owning truck terminals. Long viewed as a financial backwater, freight terminals are being touted as good long-term investments and a way for trucking companies to free up money to invest in other parts of their business.

Commercial Equipment Company of Charlotte, N.C., changed its name to Lake Shore Pacific Corp. to better reflect its nationwide service network. Lake Shore Pacific will operate two regional dry van trucking divisions: Lake Shore Carrier (formerly Special Transport Service), based in Charlotte and Pacific Carrier, based in Santa Clara, Calif.

Less than a year after paying $19.3 million to buy 2.1 million shares of TransFinancial Holdings’ stock to thwart a takeover by the company’s two largest shareholders, three members of the board of directors have offered to buy out all the remaining shares for $5.25 a share, or about $17.1 million.

Over the past two weeks, USFreightways Corp., Boyd Bros. Transportation and Covenant Transport each announced that they expect profits in the second quarter of 1999 to be higher than Wall Street estimates. The news may have sparked a bit of a rally. The Trucking Stock Index listed in Transport Topics rose 4.78% from June 11 to 18. That could be good news for long-suffering stockholders who have seen prices for most trucking stocks fall sharply over the past 12 months.

Deaton Inc., a flatbed and dry van truckload carrier based in Birmingham, Ala., has boosted mileage pay for drivers by an average of 12%, with pay rates for the most experienced drivers rising more than 21%. President Jerry Crews said the company is hopeful that the extra pay will attract better quality drivers and improve service to customers.

In an attempt to improve its service in Arizona, Central Freight Lines, Waco, Texas, has agreed to acquire the business and assets of Jaguar Fast Freight of Phoenix in a stock transaction. The deal is expected to push back Central’s plans for an initial public stock offering.

The chairman, vice-chairman and president of TransFinancial Holdings have proposed a buyout of all of the outstanding stock in the company for $5.25 a share, or about $17 million.