Business
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.
Message of Safety Hits Home Leading Up to Illinois Truck Driving Championships
FedEx Freight drivers Ritch Fundell and Miguel Corral are back and ready to repeat in the Illinois Truck Driving Championships on June 7-8. The event's primary safety focus will be on emphasizing adherence to Scott's Law, named after a Chicago firefighter who was struck and killed by a motorist while assisting at a roadside crash scene in 2000. Overall FedEx Freight claimed five division championships in 2018. UPS took home two first-place finishes, and XPO Logistics and YRC Freight earned one apiece.
Walmart’s EV Stations Let You Plug In While You Shop
Electric vehicle owners will have a new reason to visit Walmart as they travel across America: Not only can they stock up on snacks and drinks but they can get electric charges.
US Payrolls, Wages Cool as Trade War Weighs on Economy
U.S. employers added the fewest workers in three months and wage gains cooled, suggesting broader economic weakness and boosting expectations for a Federal Reserve interest-rate cut as President Donald Trump’s trade policies weigh on growth.
Not a PR Stunt: GM Still Hopes to Sell Lordstown Plant to Workhorse
General Motors CEO Mary Barra said June 5 that the company still hopes to sell its Lordstown, Ohio, assembly plant to Workhorse Group, an electric-vehicle start-up, although questions have been raised about that company’s financial wherewithal.
June 6, 2019Cost of Diesel Likely to Go Up Once Tariffs Begin to Hit Mexico
President Donald Trump’s threat to impose a 5% tariff on Mexican products June 10 unless he is satisfied the Mexican government has done enough to slow the surge of immigrants into the United States is likely to raise the price of diesel.
Significant Upward Changes in Trucker Pay Continue
A persistent driver shortage, near full employment and a favorable freight market last year have contributed to a “significant change” in the pace of pay increases in the first quarter of 2019, according to the National Transportation Institute.
Mexico Tariff Would Have ‘Significant’ Negative Impact, Ford Says
Ford Motor Co. would feel a serious impact if tariffs are levied on the cars, engines and transmissions it imports from Mexico, but a top executive at the automaker expressed optimism the trade dispute can be resolved without lingering damage.
Congress’ ‘Problem Solvers’ Tackle Infrastructure Policy
Although President Donald Trump and Congressional Democrats hit the pause button on infrastructure policy discussions earlier this year, a bipartisan group of policymakers opted to press ahead with a plan of action of its own.
2019 Vermont Truck Driving Championships
Photos of the winners from the Vermont Truck Driving Championships June 1 in Pembroke, N.H. (Vermont Truck & Bus Association)
June 6, 2019Amazon Poised to Test Drone Deliveries Powered by Artificial Intelligence
Amazon.com Inc. has unveiled a revolutionary new drone — part helicopter and part science-fiction aircraft — that the company expects to use for test deliveries of toothpaste and other household goods starting within months.