Business

Natural gas has begun flowing again on a pipeline in British Columbia after a rupture on an adjacent line forced oil refineries in Washington to cut output and sent gasoline prices soaring up and down the West Coast.

Grupo Sesé, a major Spanish trucking and logistics company that handles the freight of many major European companies including Volkswagen, came to Chattanooga, Tenn., in late 2012 to serve VW’s U.S. assembly plant.

Crude posted the biggest decline in eight weeks as a risk-off sentiment spread through global markets. Futures tumbled 3% in New York on Oct. 11. Investors eyed a sixth day of U.S. equity losses along with heightened volatility.

A robust economy is placing new demands on third-party logistics service providers, based on survey results from two long-running university-sponsored studies released at the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals annual conference in Nashville, Tenn.

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters has ratified a new five-year contract with UPS Inc. for the company’s estimated 255,000 drivers and other employees who handle small freight.

Legal observers said the outcome of a case before the U.S. Supreme Court could have major implications for the trucking industry.

Four House Democrats have asked the Environmental Protection Agency Inspector General to investigate a glider truck study by a Tennessee Tech University researcher. The study already is the subject of a research misconduct investigation by the university.

Driver turnover is on pace to hit the highest annual rate in five years, but experts point to several ways carriers can limit the churn, including better hiring interviews, bonuses, expanded benefits, use of mobile freight apps and empathy when drivers are confronting hardship.

Senators are negotiating safety provisions in an autonomous vehicles bill that proponents insist could advance before lawmakers leave Capitol Hill ahead of the midterm elections next month.