Business

About Business News...

Transport Topics business coverage focuses on the financial, economic, and commercial aspects of the modern freight business. Looking at both the microeconomic and macroeconomic forces shaping bottom lines, the news in this category includes labor news, jobs reports, tonnage and sales indicators, operations analysis, money and banking, mergers, acquisitions, e-commerce, bankruptcy, insurance issues, and more.

Government, Business, Technology, Safety, Fuel

Industry Stakeholders React Positively to Biden's Infrastructure Plan

Industry stakeholders say 2020 presidential candidate Joe Biden's $1.3 trillion investment plan in the nation’s infrastructure network is a good step.

Eleanor Lamb | Staff Reporter
November 19, 2019
Business, Equipment, Breaking News

Truck Tonnage Rises 1.7% in October

Truck tonnage on a seasonally adjusted basis rose 1.7% in October compared with year-ago levels, according to American Trucking Associations’ For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index.

Dan Ronan | Senior Reporter
November 19, 2019
Business, Technology, Safety, Logistics, Autonomous

XPO Robots Assist UK Workers With Holiday Volumes

XPO Logistics has increased its use of robots in the United Kingdom in anticipation of holiday retail volumes, the Connecticut-based company said in a Nov. 19 news release.

November 19, 2019
Business, Technology, Autonomous

Drones That Do the Work of 500 Farmers Transform Palm Oil

As haze blanketed large tracts of Southeast Asia last month, office workers with Genting Plantations Bhd. in Jakarta were investigating the source of the choking smoke more than a thousand kilometers away.

Anuradha Raghu | Bloomberg News
November 19, 2019
Government, Business

Postal Service Losses Up Even As Package Revenue Jumps 6.1%

The U.S. Postal Service saw revenue jump for the 2019 fiscal year ended Sept. 30, thanks largely to an increase in package volume.

Jim Stinson | Staff Reporter
November 19, 2019
Business, Technology, Fuel, Logistics, Autonomous

Ike Maintains Automation Will Add Truck Driving Jobs

Automated trucks developer Ike has a message for those behind the driver’s wheel of an 18-wheeler now: Automation can be complementary, not competitive.

Roger Gilroy | Senior Reporter
November 19, 2019
Business, Logistics, TCA

New Intermodal Facility Planned Near Portland

PORTLAND — In about the same amount of time it takes for an office coffee break — 25 to 30 minutes, give or take — a semi-truck pulls into Northwest Container Services.

Alex Paul | Albany (Ore.) Democrat-Herald
November 19, 2019
Business

CN Rail Strike Begins, Threatening Canada Oil, Grain Shipments

About 3,200 workers at Canadian National Railway Co. went on strike Nov. 19, threatening to crimp shipments of oil, potash and grain across the country.

Thomas Black | Bloomberg News
November 19, 2019
Government, Business

US Housing Starts Climbed 3.8% in October

WASHINGTON — U.S. home building jumped 3.8% in October, a positive sign for the overall economy as developers anticipate steady demand.

Josh Boak | The Associated Press
November 19, 2019
Government, Business, Logistics

New BUILD Grants Address Freight Movement Needs

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s latest round of BUILD discretionary grants includes projects that specifically address key freight routes.

Eleanor Lamb | Staff Reporter
November 19, 2019