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.
Opinion: New Stopping Distances, New Technology
I’m proud to be a member of the North American heavy-truck supplier community. Together, we’ve made significant strides in Class 8 truck brake safety, but not since the introduction of non-asbestos brake linings more than 20 years ago has the heavy-duty industry seen technological changes to brakes as significant as those we are experiencing today.
April 23, 2012Letters: Tinted Windows, Crash Data, Broker Liability
You may want to clarify the following statement from the news item titled “Trucks May Have Tinted Windows, Group Says,” which ran in the April 6 edition of TTNews.com: “Truck owners are allowed to tint the windshields and side windows of a truck’s cab, which could protect drivers from harmful sunlight, the International Window Film Association said.”
April 23, 2012Editorial: Toll Justice
Tolls. To paraphrase the late Ronald Reagan, “There they go again.” The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which controls all the access from New Jersey to the nation’s largest city, has slapped trucks with higher tolls that will skyrocket 163% by 2015 to $105.
April 23, 2012DOT to Award Funding for Heavier-Truck Study
The U.S. Department of Transportation said it soon will award grants to state agencies to study the safety of trucks running heavier than allowed by current federal law.
April 23, 2012Earnings Rise in 1st Quarter, but Firms Cautious on Future
Business in the first quarter was better for most trucking companies than the first three months of 2011, according to returns from publicly traded fleets and comments from privately held firms.
April 23, 2012Expanded Use of Tolling a Threat to Trucking, NFI’s Grabell Testifies to Senate Subcommittee
The expanding use of tolls on U.S. roads and significant toll increases are serious threats to the trucking industry and its customers, Steve Grabell, chief financial officer for National Freight Inc., told a Senate subcommittee last week.
April 23, 2012Rule on Medical Examiners Issued
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration released its long-anticipated national registry for certified medical examiners last week, requiring medical professionals who examine commercial drivers to receive training on driver health issues.
April 23, 2012House Shifts Highway Strategy, Seeks Compromise With Senate
The House of Representatives last week abandoned its efforts to pass a long-term transportation reauthorization bill of its own and voted to go to conference on the $109 billion, two-year bill already approved by the Senate.
April 23, 2012Daimler Opens Massive Factory in India, World’s Fastest Growing Truck Market
CHENNAI, India — Daimler AG officially opened its massive plant here on April 18, as the world’s largest commercial vehicle maker tries to push its way into what has become the fastest-growing truck and bus market in the world.
April 23, 2012SAE Updates Truck Standards for Wide Variety of Systems
New and updated standards from SAE International involving handling maneuvers, braking, corrosion testing, electrical systems and windshield wipers are expected to again have a significant effect on the trucking industry, several industry experts and manufacturers have said.
April 23, 2012