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.
Business Continuity Plans Needed for Fleets to Avoid Permanent Shutdown, Experts Say
Disasters, both man-made and natural, come in all shapes and sizes, but regardless of the source, the only way to minimize disruptions to business is to have a comprehensive disaster-recovery plan in place, fleet managers and industry experts said.
April 21, 2014Carrier 1Q Profits to Lag Year Ago as Weather-Related Costs Increase
First-quarter trucking earnings reports, the first of them released last week, generally are expected to trail the 2013 period because of higher costs to counter cold weather, snow and ice that struck the South, Midwest and Northeast.
April 21, 2014STB Pressures Two Railroads to Speed Fertilizer Shipments
BNSF Railway and Canadian Pacific Railway, the primary railroads in oil-rich North Dakota, last week came under federal pressure to accelerate fertilizer shipments to the region after delays on both lines slowed that freight as planting deadlines approach.
April 21, 2014Petri to Leave US House When Term Ends
Rep. Tom Petri (R-Wis.), chairman of the highway and transit panel of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, said he will join a growing number of colleagues in retiring at the end of the current term.
April 21, 2014Brokers Press for Bill to Set Fleet Standard
TUCSON, Ariz. — Legislation aimed at creating a national standard for determining how carriers are qualified and addressing inconsistent handling of liability cases is expected to be introduced in Congress later this month, Transportation Intermediaries Association President Robert Voltmann said.
April 21, 2014N.J. Reconsiders Independent-Contractor Bill
A bill opposed by the trucking industry to classify independent drayage operators and parcel delivery drivers as company employees has been reintroduced in the New Jersey Legislature.
April 21, 2014Diesel Price Dips 0.7¢ to $3.952 in Fifth Straight Weekly Decline
The average retail price of U.S. diesel dipped for a fifth straight week, falling 0.7 cent a gallon from the previous week to $3.952, the Department of Energy reported.
April 21, 2014CBO Says Highway Fund Will Be in Shortfall Under Obama’s Transportation Plan
The federal Highway Trust Fund will have “insufficient revenues to meet obligations” beginning in fiscal 2015, according to the Congressional Budget Office’s latest estimate of the president’s budget proposal.
Hub Group Reports Lower 1Q Profit, Citing Weather
Hub Group Inc. said its first-quarter profit slipped from a year ago, citing “extreme weather in many markets,” although its revenue improved.
April 18, 2014Wyo. Trucking Co. Facing Nearly $1 Million Fine for Illegal Dumping
A Wyoming trucking company is facing fines of nearly $1 million for allegations of dumping oil drilling waste on a country road in North Dakota, state mining officials said.