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.
Lyft Driverless Cars Top 5,000 Rides in Las Vegas
Lyft driverless cars have provided more than 5,000 rides to passengers on the Las Vegas Strip since May.
FMCSA Plans to Continue to Reduce Commercial Vehicle Registration Fees in 2019, 2020
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has posted a proposed rule that would continue to reduce commercial vehicle registration fees in 2019 and 2020, the agency said in an Aug. 21 Federal Register announcement.
China Shipowners Stop Hauling Iranian Oil as US Sanctions Near
China’s shipowners are shunning Iran’s oil, while the OPEC producer is using its own tankers to supply top customers as impending U.S. sanctions threaten to disrupt global crude trade.
August 21, 2018Uber Freight Launches Shipper Platform
Uber Freight has introduced a technology platform for shippers to connect with drivers and small fleets hauling freight via its load-matching mobile app.
Two Reports Show Trucking Economy Remains Strong
American Trucking Associations’ seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index rose 1.9% in July, a jump of 8.6% compared with the same month a year ago. Another key indicator of the trucking industry’s overall health, the Cass Truckload Linehaul Index, shows that from both a volume and pricing perspective the U.S. freight economy remains strong.
FMCSA Seeks Industry Comment on Several Potential HOS Changes
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration officials have issued a proposal that seeks comment on several possible changes to the agency’s hours-of-service rule, ranging from how to increase driver or workday time in adverse driving conditions to revising the current mandatory 30-minute driver break after eight hours of continuous driving.
For Martin Weissburg, President Post at Mack Trucks Is ‘Dream Come True’
ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Martin Weissburg, the newly appointed president of Mack Trucks, is studying further changes to the Lehigh Valley Operations plant as he begins to put his mark on what he called a dream job.
ATRI Launches Industry Issues Survey
Trucking industry representatives now can submit their concerns to the American Transportation Research Institute. The nonprofit research organization launched its 2018 Top Industry Issues Survey on Aug. 21.
Why Future Vehicles Are More Likely to Be Painted Light Colors
Henry Ford famously said a customer can have a car in “any color that he wants, as long as it is black.” But black on self-driving cars could be deadly.
August 21, 2018US Army Corps of Engineers Endorses Plan to Deepen Lower Mississippi River
A long-discussed plan to deepen the lower Mississippi River by another five feet to accommodate larger ships has won a critical endorsement from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which foresees nearly $110 million in annual net economic benefits to the project.