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.
Quality Distribution’s First-Quarter Income Declines
Quality Distribution Inc. reported its first-quarter net income declined in part on severe weather conditions.
May 5, 2014James Oberstar Dies; Was Former House Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman
Former House Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman James Oberstar died May 3. He was 79.
Intermodal Shipments Rise 2.6%, IANA Reports
The Intermodal Association of North America said that intermodal volume in the first quarter rose 2.6% in spite of winter weather that slowed economic activity.
May 5, 2014Gasoline Rises to $3.722 a Gallon in Lundberg Survey
The average price for regular gasoline rose 3.07 cents in the past two weeks to $3.722 a gallon, according to Lundberg Survey Inc.
May 5, 2014Interstate Distributor to Install Tracking Technology on Trailer Fleet
SkyBitz said its trailer-tracking system has been selected by Interstate Distributor for its fleet of trailers.
May 5, 2014Service Sector Expands at Fastest Pace in Eight Months
Service industries expanded in April at the fastest pace in eight months, a sign the biggest part of the economy will bolster growth this quarter.
May 5, 2014Senate Panel to Review Cash-Strapped Highway Trust Fund May 6
Senate tax writers will examine ways to keep the Highway Trust Fund’s road and transit programs funded before the account runs out of money later this summer.
Editorial: So Close, and Yet...
For years, trucking has been pleading for government officials to take seriously the need for a well-funded, long-term surface transportation plan, not because it is convenient for the industry but because it is a demonstrated necessity for the nation’s long-term economic health.
May 5, 2014Opinion: The Secret Weapon for Retaining Drivers
Driving trucks is more a lifestyle than a job, and it’s not for everyone. Drivers often work in the small hours of the night, live on the road for weeks at a time in cramped quarters and pilot big rigs through city streets in maneuvers roughly equivalent to steering the Queen Elizabeth 2 up a creek.
May 5, 2014Letters: Carriers’ Dilemma, Higher Productivity, Merging Ports
The writer of the letter headlined “Carriers’ Dilemma” in the April 21 Letters to the Editor section (p. 8) risked appearing naïve, but I would echo his sentiments about who unloads a truck and who pays for it, and raise a related concern: Why does the truck delivering a sealed load have to wait while the pallets are broken down and the individual items that constitute the load are checked in?
May 5, 2014