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.
Petri Backs VMT for Highway Financing
WASHINGTON — The chairman of a key House subcommittee that oversees highways said a tax on the number of miles a vehicle travels is the fairest way to raise the money needed to support the nation’s transportation infrastructure.
March 4, 2013Trailer Makers Say Backlog Grows Despite Lower Orders in January
U.S. trailer manufacturers booked 20,357 new orders in January, which was down 20.1% from a year earlier but enough to boost manufacturers’ backlogs, ACT Research reported.
March 4, 2013U.S. Class 8 Fleet Expands
Growth in the nation’s heavy-duty truck fleet firmed in the fourth quarter and at the same time many of the oldest trucks — those made before 2000 — were purged, according to a report from R.L. Polk & Co.
March 4, 2013Movers Put Volume First When Eyeing Equipment
When it comes to what relocation companies want in the vehicles they use to move household goods and similar items, fleet managers said two words come to mind — cube, as in cubic feet, and customization.
March 4, 2013Daimler Seeks to Boost Market Share, Says 2013 Shaping Up as Expected
LOS CABOS, Mexico — The chief salesman for North America’s largest truck manufacturer said 2013 thus far has been “pretty much exactly what we predicted” when company officials created their business projections last year.
March 4, 2013UPS, FedEx Seek Postal Service Air Contract
As package giants UPS Inc. and FedEx Corp. jockey for a new billion-dollar U.S. Postal Service airmail contract, other carriers said they do not expect major changes if the agency’s plan to cut Saturday mail deliveries becomes reality.
March 4, 2013Truck Makers, Suppliers Look Toward MATS to Help Spark Slumping Heavy-Duty Sales
North America’s heavy-duty truck makers and many major suppliers hope to reignite slumping heavy-duty sales when the Mid-America Trucking Show begins later this month at the Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville.
March 4, 2013Diesel Up 0.2¢ After 6th Weekly Increase
Retail diesel prices edged up 0.2 cent last week to $4.159 a gallon, reaching the highest level ever recorded in the month of February, according to the Department of Energy.
March 4, 2013Oil Falls Below $91 to Lowest Price of Year
Oil fell to its lowest price this year, declining more than $1 to finish below $91 a barrel, Bloomberg News reported.
March 1, 2013Clean Energy’s Natural Gas Deliveries Rose 25% Last Year
Clean Energy Fuels Corp. said its natural-gas deliveries rose 25% to 195 million gallons last year, although the company reported a fourth-quarter loss.
March 1, 2013