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.
Opinion: Survival of the Fittest — and Hungriest
Picture yourself traveling across hundreds of miles of rural farmland dotted with tiny villages. Men are out in the fields, working the soil with oxen. Others are cutting down wheat by hand and stacking the stalks for market. It’s hard work by anyone’s standards.
February 2, 2009December Truck Tonnage Plummets 14.1%
December truck tonnage plummeted 14.1% from year-earlier levels and 11.1% from November, the worst freight performance in more than a decade.
February 2, 2009Spot Market Freight Rates Dive as Recession Slashes Demand
Rates for freight services bought on the spot market have nose dived to 1990s levels as shrinking fuel surcharges have sent prices falling further while the recession continues to ravage shipping demand.
February 2, 2009FMCSA Withdraws EOBR Rule For Review, Possible Expansion
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has pulled back its formal proposal to require some carriers to use electronic onboard recorders, with indications the Obama administration may want to expand their use.
February 2, 20093PLs Caught in Middle of Shipper-Carrier Struggle as Cost Reductions Drive Fierce Competition
After surviving a record run-up in fuel prices during 2008, shippers and carriers now face an even bigger supply chain challenge: coping with a sharp downturn in freight volume as businesses cut back on production in response to lower sales.
February 2, 2009Graves Says ATA Will Fight L.A. Port’s Concession Plans
American Trucking Associations will exhaust all legal avenues to fight employee-only concession requirements contained in the Port of Los Angeles’ clean trucks plan, ATA President Bill Graves said.
February 2, 2009EPA Exempts 70 Idle-Reduction Devices From Federal Excise Tax for First Time
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has permanently exempted more than 70 commercial idle-reduction devices from the 12% federal excise tax because the devices help trucks reduce idling time.
February 2, 2009Senate Confirms LaHood to Run DOT
The U.S. Senate confirmed several key cabinet posts, including Ray LaHood as secretary of transportation, but the Obama administration has yet to announce the president’s choices to lead several key transportation agencies within DOT.
Retail Diesel Continues Falling
U.S. retail diesel prices continued to edge down last week, as the average dipped 2.8 cents to $2.268 a gallon, the Department of Energy reported.
February 2, 2009House Approves Stimulus Bill With Only $30 Bln. for Roads
The House of Representatives last week approved an $819 billion package of spending and tax cuts aimed at boosting the economy, but with less spending on such projects as roads and bridges than some key legislators wanted.
February 2, 2009