Business

Rising costs for container fees, administrative expenses and environmental requirements in the midst of an economic downturn are causing shippers, importers and retailers to consider alternatives to the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach for shipping their goods, according to trade association officials.

Heavy-duty truck sales rebounded in March from historic lows the previous two months but were still 21.1% below the results in the same month of 2008.

Privatizing toll roads may give cash-strapped states a quick budget fix, but such deals, especially for existing highways, “pose long-term threats to the public interest,” according to a new study by an advocacy group.

Companies that manufacture heavy-duty truck parts have become “a little more optimistic” about their industry after the first quarter of 2009, despite the fact that 85% are still experiencing sales declines and only 45% of their customers are paying on time, according a survey by the Heavy Duty Manufacturers Association.

Motor carriers will be well positioned over the next decade to gain business from faster-growing economic sectors such as durable goods, exports and chemical shipments, American Trucking Associations’ chief economist said last week.

Most of the 300 Sterling Trucks dealers in the United States and Canada accepted settlement offers from Daimler Trucks North America after DTNA announced it would shut the brand down, the Sterling board member of the American Truck Dealers said April 9.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc.’s first-quarter earnings fell 16% to $30.8 million, providing new evidence of the recession’s effect on carrier profits.

Common wisdom has long maintained that truck dealers make more money from parts and service than from new vehicle sales. But the economic reality today is challenging even that old maxim.

Competition among construction firms is sharply reducing the cost of infrastructure projects, allowing states to build and repair more roads and bridges than originally anticipated under the federal stimulus legislation, President Obama said last week.