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.
Class 8 Truck Sales Jump 52.9%
U.S. Class 8 truck sales grew sharply in January, jumping 52.9% compared with the first month of 2011, as all manufacturers posted gains of more than 40%, with the exception of Volvo Trucks, which dropped 5.2%.
February 20, 2012ATA Files Lawsuit to Challenge FMCSA’s New Hours Rule
American Trucking Associations has asked a federal appeals court to throw out the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s recently published hours-of-service rule and is likely to challenge specifically the rule’s 34-hour restart provision.
February 20, 2012Engine Report, Carbon Emissions Top Agenda at Maintenance Council’s Annual Meeting
Fleet maintenance directors and their suppliers will return to Tampa, Fla., this week to discuss ever more complicated techniques for eking out new slender margins of efficiency to keep the nation’s trucks rolling down highways longer and more smoothly.
February 20, 2012Obama’s 2012 Budget Devotes $476 Billion to Transportation, Job-Creating Projects
President Obama last week proposed spending $476 billion on transportation over the coming six years in a plan that includes $50 billion for immediate infrastructure spending to spur job creation.
February 20, 2012Congress Drops Tax Break; Incentive Boosted 2011 Sales
Congress last week dropped a proposed extension of a tax break, credited with dramatically boosting truck sales in 2011, from a bill that extends the federal payroll-tax holiday, but a Democratic lawmaker said the tax incentive could be passed later in the year.
February 20, 2012Improved LTL Pricing Can Increase Profits, Beat 3PL Competition, Execs Tell Conference
CORAL GABLES, Fla. — Less-than-truckload carriers need to improve their pricing discipline and sophistication to boost profits in a market where rate-driven, third-party logistics operators are playing a growing role, LTL executives said.
February 20, 2012Debate, Vote Postponed on Highway Funding Bill
Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-Ohio) last week postponed debate and a vote on the six-year, $260 billion transportation reauthorization after several representatives objected to some of the bill’s provisions.
February 20, 2012Diesel Climbs 8.7¢ to $3.943; Fuel Price Highest Since November
Retail diesel prices hit their highest levels in three months last week, jumping 8.7 cents to $3.943 a gallon, the Department of Energy reported.
February 20, 2012New Highway Law Restricts ‘Convenience Interlining’
The new highway funding law will curtail the ability of carriers to hand off freight to other carriers through certain types of interline arrangements, a veteran transportation attorney said.
February 18, 2012TNT Rejects UPS’ $6.4 Billion Bid
TNT Express rejected an approximately $6.4 billion takeover bid from UPS Inc., news services reported late Friday.
February 17, 2012