Business

Despite occasional hyperventilation from advocacy groups and some politicians, trucking’s safety performance is steadily improving and the industry’s dedication to playing its part in keeping America’s highways safe should be unquestioned.

The logistics arm of truckload carrier C.R. England Inc., Salt Lake City, has purchased brokerage software from McLeod Software Corp., the two companies announced on June 3.

Pacer International Inc. continued its management changeover by appointing a new executive vice president and revising the duties of two other executives.

WASHINGTON — Carriers will have difficulty expanding capacity cut last year after manufacturers and retailers slashed spending for transportation services, the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals said last week.

Flatbed trucking, which has been battered by declines in manufacturing and construction during the recession, is finally showing sustained signs of improvement, with better volumes leading to freight-rate increases, carriers and their shippers have said.

Allied Systems Holdings and the Teamsters union are clashing over the possible reversal of a 17.5% pay cut the union agreed to three years ago when the car hauler emerged from bankruptcy.

New Class 8 truck orders shot up significantly in May from a year earlier, although they were down slightly from April, two independent research firms reported.

The Senate Commerce Committee last week approved a bill aimed at encouraging states to pass their own distracted driving laws, sending the measure to the Senate floor.

Navistar International Corp. more than doubled its net income during the three months ended April 30, even though the company’s second fiscal-quarter revenue dipped, compared with the same time last year.

Officials at the Port of Los Angeles are crediting their clean trucks program for significantly lowering diesel emissions in 2009.