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.
Defining Driver Responsibility When Trucks Begin to Drive Themselves
As truck makers and technology developers work toward introducing vehicles with some level of automated driving features in the years ahead, it will be essential for drivers to have a clear understanding of what those systems can and cannot do and how much they can rely on them.
June 8, 2018Driver Turnover Puts Pressure on Large Carriers
The rise in freight being carried nationwide led to a rise in truck driver turnover in the first quarter as large trucking firms demanded more qualified drivers to transport goods.
Canadian National Railway Plans Purchase of 1,000 Grain Hopper Cars
Canadian National Railway Co. plans to acquire 1,000 new-generation high-cube grain hopper cars over the next two years to rejuvenate the aging equipment needed to serve increasing annual crop yields, according to the Montreal-based railroad.
June 8, 2018KLLM Announces Another Pay Increase for Drivers
KLLM Transport Services will institute another pay hike for company drivers, bringing the increase to 30% in just the past eight months, the Jackson, Miss.-based over-the road carrier announced.
June 8, 2018Bernanke Says US Economy Faces ‘Wile E. Coyote’ Moment in 2020
U.S. economic growth could face a challenging slowdown as the Trump Administration’s powerful fiscal stimulus fades after two years, according to former Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.
As Economy Heats Up, Truck Driver Shortage Burns More Companies
A strengthening economy has its downsides. Just ask United Natural Foods Inc.
The Eyes of Autonomy
Advances in sensor technology will play a key role in the development of increasingly sophisticated driver- assist systems and the eventual deployment of self-driving trucks in commercial fleets.
Website Not Encrypted? Google Soon Will Add Warnings That Could Turn Visitors Away
Come July, Google Chrome will add stark security warnings that could turn business away from your website if it’s unencrypted. Specifically, Google will brand your site as “not secure” in the address bar of its popular web browser if it senses you’re operating without encryption. “Users presented with this warning will be less likely to interact with these sites or trust their content,” so it’s “imperative” that site operators get their websites encrypted, said Patrick Donahue, security engineering product lead at Cloudflare, a web services provider.
The Future Is Autonomous, Not Jobless
If autonomous vehicles are the future of the trucking industry, what is the future of the truck driver? On the surface, it might appear to some casual observers that automation could soon spell the end of the truck driving profession, but that perception quickly falls apart when examining the current limitations of the technology and the stark realities of trucking’s labor needs.
Institutional Funds Invest in GCT Global Container Terminals
IFM Investors and British Columbia Investment Management Corp. became equity investors in GCT Global Container Terminals Inc., an operator of four North American container terminals. IFM acquired a 37.5% holding, and BCI acquired a 25% stake. The value of the investments was not released. The purchases are subject to regulatory approvals.
June 8, 2018