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.
2017 MCE Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony
Brad Klepper of Drivers Legal Plan, ATA Chairman Kevin Burch and ATA President Chris Spear cut the ribbon to officially open the 2017 MCE exhibit hall. (Joseph Terry/Transport Topics)
October 23, 2017Volkswagen and Daimler Inspected by EU as Cartel Probe Widens
Volkswagen AG and Daimler AG were inspected by European Union antitrust investigators as the EU stepped up a probe into allegations the German car industry colluded on technology for decades.
MCE Panel Lays Out Trucking’s Triumphs, Challenges
ORLANDO, Fla. — The North American Free Trade Agreement needs updating, but the process appears frozen in adversarial positions, even as truckload freight has grown 4% over the past five month, panelists here said.
Human-Machine Interaction, Computing Power Key to Development of Autonomous Trucks
ORLANDO, Fla. — To pave the way for autonomous trucks, technology developers will need to refine the interaction between the human and the machine, and add more advanced sensors and greater computing power to the vehicle, experts said.
Gasoline Demand Slips, Leaving Other Fuels to Pick Up Slack
America’s most popular fuel hasn’t been feeling the love. U.S. gasoline consumption dropped even as overall fuel demand posted an increase this year.
Navistar Announces Price Increases, New Services
ORLANDO, Fla. — Navistar International Corp. announced price increases of up to 2% for its model-year 2019 vehicles, citing rising commodity prices. The price increases may affect all product lines and classes of trucks and don’t single out Class 8 trucks.
Driver Shortage Returns to Top of ATRI’s Survey of Critical Industry Issues
ORLANDO, Fla. — The driver shortage has regained its status as the trucking industry’s most pressing concern for the first time since 2006, American Transportation Research Institute reported.
‘Item Response Theory’ Model Has Potential to Reduce Crashes, FMCSA Says
ORLANDO, Fla. — A new complex statistical model that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is exploring would utilize data to measure a motor carrier’s “safety culture,” rather than attempt to predict its likelihood of a crash, a top agency official said.
Industry Awaits $1 Trillion Infrastructure Funding Plan to Modernize Roads, ATA Official Says
ORLANDO, Fla. — The Trump administration’s plan to boost funding for freight corridors and modernize outdated infrastructure would benefit the commercial transportation sector, a senior official with American Trucking Associations said during a seminar at the group’s annual conference Oct. 22.
Autonomy Could Transform Trucking’s Future, Former GM Exec Says
ORLANDO, Fla. — Autonomous trucks could give rise to a future in which 90% of crashes are eliminated and transportation becomes dramatically more productive and cost effective, technology expert Larry Burns told industry executives here.