Business

Paccar Inc. said it is recalling more than 21,000 trucks for potential defects to seat belts and door latches, according to a notice posted Feb. 7 on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s website.

We were disappointed — but not surprised — that Rep. Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) said he would not support an increase in federal fuel taxes to fund the nation’s aging highway system. Shuster, chairman of the House Transportation Committee, made the comments at an infrastructure event in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 4.

Truck manufacturers ended 2013 on a high note, with Paccar Inc. posting higher fourth-quarter profit, and Daimler AG and Volvo AB reporting improved results in their truck divisions.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued a proposed rule that will toughen the requirements for truckers carrying food, as well as shippers and receivers.

YRC Worldwide Inc. should lower cash interest costs by $40 million to $50 million annually once a broad debt refinancing program is completed later this month, Chief Financial Officer Jamie Pierson said.

Three more truckload carriers reported weaker quarterly profits, citing higher costs, but Heartland Express posted improved results as earnings reports in the sector wound down last week.

A pair of leading dry-freight trailer manufacturers told Transport Topics they are prepared to supply 53-foot household goods vans — a market dominated by another manufacturer — to carriers anticipating a moving season that could become the best in years.

Three publicly traded less-than-truckload operators reported improved fourth-quarter earnings despite challenges such as severe weather, but profit slipped at a fourth fleet on higher insurance costs.

The continued cold weather throughout much of the United States pushed the diesel average up 4.7 cents to $3.951 a gallon last week, the highest price since September, the Department of Energy reported.