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.
Harbor Truckers Express Cautious Optimism on Turn Times in 2017
Truck drivers took one minute longer, on average, to enter and exit the two large ports in Southern California in December 2017 compared with the same month in 2016, although the full-year average was three minutes faster than a year ago.
J.B. Hunt Profits Grow Significantly Due to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. announced that profits more than tripled in the fourth quarter, although, as will be the case across multiple industries, the results were bolstered by a significant tax credit related to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act signed last month.
Wisconsin’s Expanded Frozen Road Law Eases Weight Limit for Timber Haulers
The Wisconsin Department of Transportation has expanded its “frozen road” law that allows trucks moving forest products, salt and sand to carry heavier loads.
San Francisco Self-Driving Car Startup Pony.ai Raises $112 Million
It’s a measure of the current frenzy surrounding self-driving cars that a year-old startup can haul in more than $100 million in its first fundraising round.
Deep Freeze Slows Flights, Sorting at FedEx Express World Hub in Memphis
A deep freeze following snow Jan. 16 continued to disrupt FedEx’s world hub in Memphis on Jan. 17, causing potential delays in package deliveries.
CSX Executive James Foote Promises to Continue Hunter Harrison’s Vision for Railroad
The new management team at CSX Inc. released improved financial results for the fourth quarter of 2017 and promised to carry out former CEO Hunter Harrison’s vision of a new, more efficient and more profitable railroad.
EPA Proposal to Repeal Glider Kit Limit Draws Strong Battle Lines
A proposal by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to repeal a limit on the number of glider kits built annually is shaping up to be a battle pitting independent truckers and those that would reap economic benefits from more gliders against environmentalists, new truck makers and most trucking-related trade organizations.
North Dakota Town Rallies Around Trucking Company Lost to Fire
Not even a day after an early morning fire Jan. 16 consumed semi and farm trucks whole and left just a smoldering shell of the longtime Korsmo Brothers Farms and Trucking business, a makeshift office opened and the deliveries rolled on.
FMCSA Grants ELD Waivers to Old Dominion, MPAA
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has granted Old Dominion Freight Line Inc. and the Motion Picture Association of America exemptions from hours-of-service regulations pertaining to the electronic logging device mandate.
Jobless Claims Plunge to Lowest Tally Since 1973
U.S. filings for unemployment benefits plummeted to the lowest level in almost 45 years in a sign the job market will tighten further in 2018, Labor Department figures showed Jan. 18.