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.
Bill Would Offer Federal Grants to Create Truck Parking Spaces
A new legislative proposal would provide $20 million in each of the next six years for a pilot program designed to generate more truck parking spaces across the country.
May 11, 2009Chrysler’s Suppliers Stung by Auto Firm’s Bankruptcy
Chrysler’s filing for Chapter 11 protection is spilling over into the trucking industry as suppliers adjust to a bankruptcy process that has shut down the company’s auto production for at least 30 days.
May 11, 2009Truckload Rates Fall in 1Q
Truckload rates continued their downward slide during the first quarter, and there is no sign recession-driven levels of intense competition, weak demand and excess capacity are abating, carriers and industry analysts said.
May 11, 2009Fleet’s Choice Site Creates Edge by Saving Miles, Fuel
Twenty-seven years ago at a bankruptcy sale, New England Motor Freight bought 22 acres at the Port of New York & New Jersey for just over $1 million.
May 11, 2009Lower Costs Lead Truckers to Buy ’07 Diesels
Lofty goals for the widespread use of clean alternative fuels at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, Calif., are running into market realities as drayage operators ignore liquefied natural gas engines and instead buy less-expensive diesel trucks.
May 11, 2009Tumbling Prices for Commodities Fail to Bring Relief to Truck Buyers
Prices of most key commodities used in making heavy trucks have dropped 50% or more since last year, but price reductions for tires, components and trucks have been difficult to find.
May 11, 2009Senate to Consider Stiffer Rail Competition Rules
Freight railroads are facing their stiffest legislative challenge in three decades, as a bill that would make the first changes to the industry’s competitive environment since 1980 is slated for a Senate vote in a matter of weeks.
May 11, 2009Diesel Price Dips 1.6¢ to $2.185
The average price of retail diesel in the United States slipped another 1.6 cents last week to $2.185 a gallon, the Department of Energy reported, even as crude oil hit a five-month high.
May 11, 2009Study Finds Green Benefits from Using Larger Trucks
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Larger, heavier trucks would not be just an economic boost, but also a means of cutting annual petroleum usage by billions of gallons and sharply reducing greenhouse gases, a university researcher told a gathering of shippers here.
May 11, 2009Proposal Would Boost Biofuels, Set Emission-Reduction Targets
The Obama administration last week issued a renewable fuel standard proposal aimed at growing the supply of biofuels and for the first time requiring them to meet emission-reduction targets.
May 11, 2009