Business

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Shippers are missing collaboration opportunities to help themselves and fleets to improve productivity and more effectively tackle escalating driver and capacity challenges, industry executives said.

October’s extraordinary total for new-truck orders has raised expectations for Class 8 production in 2015, but analysts and manufacturers said the industry appears to be in a good position to handle the growing demand.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — With the holidays fast approaching, shippers’ frustration with cargo disruptions at U.S. ports is boiling over.

U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio of Oregon, the new top transportation leader for House Democrats in the next Congress, told Transport Topics last week he is hopeful about Congress’ chances of advancing a long-term highway bill before the current law expires in May.

A federal survey of truck drivers concluded that instances of carrier harassment are rare, and that drivers who use electronic logging devices generally are not subjected to harassment more frequently than those who use paper logs.

Executives at Daimler Financial Services said they expect the company to report record results in 2014 on surging sales of commercial trucks in the United States.

Trucks that run on the Illinois Tollway are bracing for the 40% toll hike that kicks in on Jan. 1, part of a long-range plan that by 2017 is expected to raise truck tolls by 60%.

A draft environmental impact study of ways to ease congestion at the Port of New York and New Jersey shows nearly a dozen alternatives that would primarily use boats and rail to reduce truck traffic at the port.

The U.S. retail diesel average resumed its downward trend last week, slipping 1.6 cents to $3.661 a gallon, the Department of Energy reported.