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.
Opinion: Techniques, Technologies to Combat Fatigue
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.
July 14, 2014Editorial: Gaining Strength
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.
July 14, 2014Navistar CEO Cites Gains
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.
July 14, 2014Transport Topics Unveils 2014 List of Top 100 For-Hire Carriers
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.
July 14, 2014June Truck Orders Jump 41.3%
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.
July 14, 2014Daimler Demonstrates Self-Driving Truck, Says Technology Will Change Profession
Daimler Trucks this month premiered its latest technological innovation, an autonomous-driving truck the company believes will reshape the truck-driving profession.
Driver Turnover Stays Above 90% In 1Q at Large Truckload Carriers
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.
July 14, 2014House, Senate Panels Move Temporary Trust Fund Bills
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.
July 14, 2014Cummins Promotes Two; Freeland Named President
Cummins Inc. has promoted Rich Freeland to president and chief operating officer and has tapped Dave Crompton to succeed Freeland at the helm of the company’s engine business.
July 14, 2014Vehicle Makers Revise Shipping Methods As Train-Service Slowdowns Continue
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.
July 14, 2014