Business

Fatigue is a problem. It’s a common one for just about every job imaginable. The consequences of fatigue, however, are far greater for those who operate motor vehicles. You put yourself and the lives of others in danger when you’re drowsy. But let’s face it, if you’re a trucker, you’ve probably driven when you really should not have because you were tired.

Certainly, summer and publication of the Transport Topics Top 100 list in this issue always leave us a bit giddy, but more substantively, we’re happy about a recent streak of positive economic developments that strongly suggests the first quarter’s 2.9% contraction was more of a fluke than an omen.

Nearly two years into the rebuilding of Navistar International Corp., CEO Troy Clarke has slashed expenses, reduced employment rolls, closed unnecessary divisions and streamlined purchasing and production in order to return the original equipment manufacturer to profitability.

The shortage of drivers is limiting the ability of many trucking companies to expand freight-hauling capacity and is a major factor behind an increase in the number of mergers and acquisitions, according to executives interviewed for the 2014 Transport Topics Top 100 list of U.S and Canadian for-hire carriers.

New Class 8 truck orders jumped 41.3% in June from a year earlier as fleets continued to invest in new equipment to better meet rising freight demand, ACT Research reported.

Turnover at large truckload carriers in the first quarter stubbornly lingered above 90% — marking the ninth straight quarter in that range, American Trucking Associations reported.

Tax-writing committees in the House and Senate last week approved bills to transfer about $11 billion to shore up the federal Highway Trust Fund.

Ford Motor Co. will ship some 2015 Transit vans in railcars that have been modified to accommodate larger vans, reflecting revised shipping preferences by vehicle makers as train-service slowdowns continued.