Business

The clarification of an hours-of-service rule for truckers in a short-term funding bill was signed by President Obama shortly after the Senate cleared the bill Dec. 9 and a shutdown of the federal government was averted.

Driver turnover fell 19 percentage points year-over-year to 81% in the third quarter for larger truckload fleets, dropping to the lowest level in five years due to the soft freight environment, American Trucking Associations reported last week.

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder turned the bills governing autonomous and platooning vehicles into law Dec. 9. Senate Bills 995-997 had been passed overwhelmingly by both houses of Michigan’s Legislature.

Truckload carrier U.S. Xpress Inc. formally announced its plans Dec. 8 to be an early adopter of the recently unveiled zero-emission, hydrogen-electric Class 8 Nikola One truck from Nikola Motor Co.

Cummins Westport Inc. said its ISB6.7 G, a 6.7 liter midrange natural gas engine, now is available for medium-duty trucks and vocational applications, more than doubling the engine’s potential market.

Consolidated Fastfrate, a less-than-truckload company headquartered in Ontario, is offering cross-border service into the United States through partnerships with other carriers, the company announced Dec. 6.

Consumer confidence jumped more than forecast this month as Americans expressed the sunniest picture of their financial situation in 11 years, extending a boost following Donald Trump’s presidential election victory.

MEXICO CITY — The U.S. Chamber of Commerce told a closed-door gathering of Mexican and American corporate and government leaders that it is aiming to keep Donald Trump from fulfilling his campaign threat to tear up the North American Free Trade Agreement, according to three people with direct knowledge of the matter.