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.
Ryder Leases 23 Nat Gas Tractors to La. Company
Ryder System said Eagle Distributing in Louisiana signed a deal to lease 23 compressed natural gas tractors.
March 11, 2013Opinion: Three Areas Where Fleets Could Fail
Interestingly, regardless of company size or type of operation, trucking companies share common failure points — activities or programs they lack that have a negative effect on profitability.
March 11, 2013Editorial: The Shrinking Driver Pool
The word out of the Truckload Carriers Association annual meeting last week is that freight capacity is already beginning to look pinched, even as the number of people applying for driver jobs is falling sharply.
March 11, 2013February Truck Orders Up 4.2%
Fleets ordered 23,300 Class 8 trucks in North America during February, 4.2% more than they had a year earlier, ending a string of 13 straight year-over-year declines, according to ACT Research.
March 11, 2013Study Finds $15 Billion in Annual Fuel Savings From Building Roads With Harder Surfaces
Building roads with harder surfaces could save more than $15 billion in annual fuel costs in the United States, according to a new study by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
March 11, 2013ATRI’s Brewster Selected as 2013 Woman in Trucking
LAS VEGAS — Rebecca Brewster, president and chief operating officer of the American Transportation Research Institute, was recognized here with the 2013 Influential Woman in Trucking Award.
March 11, 2013Medium-Duty to Drive Gains Around World, Report Says
Global truck sales should expand by 4.3% this year over the 2012 level, boosted by medium-duty models and nations with developing economies, according to a report from consulting firm Frost & Sullivan.
March 11, 2013Truckload Execs Predict Rate Increases on More Freight, Fewer Drivers
LAS VEGAS — Simultaneous improvement in freight demand and a sharp shrinkage in driver candidates is squeezing truck capacity and ratcheting up pressure to raise rates now, ahead of expected productivity losses from upcoming hours-of-service rule changes, according to several fleet executives.
March 11, 2013Navistar Pares Loss in Fiscal First Qtr., Selects Clarke as Next Top Manager
Navistar International Corp. announced last week it narrowed its loss during its first fiscal quarter and has chosen Troy Clarke, its current president and chief operating officer, to take over as CEO on April 15.
March 11, 2013Used Sales Dip on Economic Concerns, Limited Low-Mileage Models, ACT Says
Sales of used Class 8 vehicles slipped 3.1% in January from the same month last year as limited inventories and economic concerns put a damper on purchases, ACT Research reported.
March 11, 2013