AB Volvo will use the $6.5 billion Ford will pay for its passenger car division to expand its truck and other commercial products businesses, according to Volvo spokesman Stefan Lorentzson.

Volvo has purchased a minority stake in Scania and has started discussions on a merger with the rival Swedish company that would create the world’s second largest heavy truck builder.

The European Union’s hopes of shifting some freight off roads and onto “rail freight freeways” has failed to leave the station because of resistance from the railways, said Julia Clarke, director of the British Rail Freight Group.

The DaimlerChrysler merger created the first global manufacturer of a full range of passenger and commercial vehicles, and shook the automotive industry, which had resisted consolidation.

The European Union’s plan to shift inter-European freight from road to rail by developing "rail freight freeways" has failed to leave the station.

It has been called a leap of faith, a huge financial gamble, but most European Union nations have made the transition to a new currency, the euro (pictured).

When all the numbers are in, DaimlerChrysler expects sales in 1998 to increase by 15% to $148 billion, helped by a record-breaking performance by its commercial vehicles division.

Holland’s TNT Post Group paid $360 million to acquire the French express delivery company Jet Services, giving the Dutch giant a greater presence in France.

In a move that represents a significant loosening of its vertically integrated structure, Volvo Truck Corp. has decided to outsource its heavy-duty rear axles to U.S.-based Meritor Inc.

Holland’s TNT Post Group paid $360 million to acquire the French express delivery company Jet Services, giving the Dutch giant a greater presence in France.