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.
SMC3 Adds Volume LTL Pricing API
SMC3, a knowledge hub for LTL transportation pricing data and technology, has added a tool to its platform.
October 18, 2018Amazon, FedEx, UPS Could Gain from Trump Threat to Leave Postal Union
U.S. e-commerce companies including Amazon.com and shippers such as FedEx Corp. and UPS Inc. stand to gain from the Trump administration’s move Oct. 17 to withdraw from an international postal agreement.
Car Wars: Steel Shows Strength Against Aluminum Rise
Lightweight aluminum has chipped away at steel’s use in vehicles as fuel efficiency standards have risen. Now steelmakers are fighting back. Their newest alloy could make its way to carmakers by 2021, with some available as early as next year, said Eric Petersen, vice president for research and innovation at AK Steel Holding Corp.
UPS’ New Automated Sorting Facility in Atlanta Is Up and Running
ATLANTA — UPS Inc. is looking to the future with its new Southeast Metro Automated Routing Terminal. About the size of 19 football fields, the automated facility can be expanded to increase the 1,700 packages a minute it is able to process now.
Second FedEx Ground Station Opens in Oklahoma City
FedEx Corp. has operated one 180,000-square-foot shipping station in Oklahoma City since 2006, and on Oct. 16 it celebrated the grand opening of a 270,000-square-foot shipping facility in north Oklahoma City to more than double its warehouse space in the area.
Marten Transport Posts Record Results in Third Quarter
Marten Transport Ltd. reported its best quarterly operating results ever, among the first of what is expected to be a string of bullish financial reports from trucking companies in the third quarter.
Heartland Express Returns to Historical Levels of Profitability
Heartland Express Inc. is getting back to its old self. The North Liberty, Iowa-based truckload carrier has been battling to restore its historically rich profit margins after the acquisition of Interstate Distributor Co. in July 2017.
Freight-Related Startups, Tech Firms Continue to Attract Investment
Interest in freight-related startups and technology continues to grow, as evidenced by several recent investment deals as well as a first-of-its-kind Founders Camp whereby representatives from 20 startup firms met with trucking executives and shippers in Chattanooga, Tenn., to exchange ideas for new products and services.
Tesla Secures Land in Shanghai for First Foreign Factory
BEIJING — Electric auto brand Tesla Inc. said it signed an agreement Oct. 17 to secure land in Shanghai for its first factory outside the United States, pushing ahead with development despite mounting U.S.-Chinese trade tensions.
FreightRover Gets Backing to Launch Freight Payment Service
FreightRover, a company launched a year ago by a former top executive at Celadon Group to provide technology to automate vendor payments, has secured a financing facility of up to $500 million from Crayhill Capital Management and other investors to support a new business that will offer trade finance and freight factoring services.