Business

North Carolina enacted a new rule last week that places limits on unnecessary idling of heavy vehicles.

Signs of an economic turnaround have buoyed hopes for a recovery in trucking, although many fleet executives said they remain cautious about adding freight hauling capacity until rates rise enough to cover expected fuel, equipment and regulatory compliance expenses.

Carrier earnings for the second quarter started off on a positive note last week, with truckload carrier Landstar System Inc. reporting a 37% increase in net income and J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. announcing a 52% rise in profit.

Of the drivers pulled over during last month’s Roadcheck 2010, only 4.4% were placed out of service, tying the driver compliance record set in 2009, the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance reported.

American Trucking Associations President Bill Graves said he does not believe there will be any congressional action on a new long-term highway bill until at least 2011 — and possibly not until after the next presidential election.

Are carriers generally immune from exercising sound business practices? It’s really not that difficult to gather solid credit history and information on a broker, whereas getting accurate relevant information on a shipper is much more difficult.

The results from the Roadcheck 2010 safety blitz reinforce the message that trucking takes safety compliance seriously.

Two computer systems that support new federal chassis safety rules began working together last week, eliminating one of the stumbling blocks in the implementation process.

The continuing surge in Classes 3 and 6 retail truck sales pushed medium-duty volumes 37.3% above the same month in 2009.

The Environmental Protection Agency announced last week it wants the U.S. trucking industry to increase its use of biodiesel to 800 million gallons in 2011 from 650 million gallons this year.