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.

Business, Technology, Logistics

United Road Unveils Load-Matching Application

Vehicle-hauler United Road Services Inc. launched an app designed to help its third-party carriers find and book vehicle loads 24 hours a day, the Romulus, Mich., company announced Sept. 19.

September 20, 2019
Business

American West Acquires Sun Delivery in Furniture-Hauling Consolidation

American West Worldwide Express Inc. announced Sept. 18 it will acquire Sun Delivery. The deal will close Oct. 1, but terms were not disclosed.

September 20, 2019
Business, Technology, Equipment

Ritchie Bros. Offers PriorityBid

Auctioneer Ritchie Bros. announced PriorityBid, a feature that enables buyers to make proxy bids online for items in its live auctions up to a week before the sale.

September 20, 2019
Business, Technology, Logistics, Autonomous

Walgreens, Google Affiliate Wing to Launch Drone Delivery Test

Walgreens and a Google affiliate are testing drone deliveries that can put drugstore products on customer doorsteps minutes after being ordered.

Tom Murphy | Associated Press
September 20, 2019
Government, Business, Technology, Fuel

California Sues US to Regain Power Over Auto Emissions

California is asking a federal court to prevent President Donald Trump from stripping the state of its power to set limits on auto emissions of greenhouse gases that are stricter than those of the national government.

September 20, 2019
Business, Technology

Daimler Trucks Announces Battery Cell Supplier

Daimler Trucks announced an agreement with battery manufacturer Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. to supply lithium-ion battery cell modules for its electric trucks, including the Mercedes-Benz eActros, Freightliner eCascadia and Freightliner eM2.

September 20, 2019
Business, Technology, Equipment, Autonomous

AI-Powered Analytics: Company Reports Can Now Write Themselves

Truckers looking to autogenerate written reports from their databases now have a raft of choices available, thanks to the emergence of artificial intelligence-enabled ­writing software. Essentially, these AI-generated writing solutions can drill down into company databases and autoproduce easy-to-understand, written reports.

Joe Dysart | Webology 101
September 20, 2019
Business, Technology, Safety, Autonomous

Why Truck Makers Are Skipping Level 3

What do the 2009 crash of Air France Flight 447 and a seminal 2012 study by Google on how people interact with self-driving cars have in common?

B. Cameron Gain | Special to Transport Topics
September 20, 2019
Business, Technology

Amazon Heeds Calls for Environmental Action

Amazon.com contributed more greenhouse gas emissions last year than some big competitors in retail, logistics and technology, but less than rival Walmart Inc. and the world’s biggest energy companies, highlighting the growing scale and diverse businesses of the conglomerate.

Matt Day and Eric Roston | Bloomberg News
September 20, 2019
Business, Technology, Equipment, Autonomous

Self-Driving Trucks: A Reality Check

No discussion of the future of the trucking industry is complete without considering the advance of automated driving technology, and how it might support the movement of freight in the years and decades ahead.

Seth Clevenger | Managing Editor, Features and Multimedia
September 20, 2019