Business

About Business News...

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.

Business, Equipment

Goodyear Reports First-Quarter Profit

Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.’s first-quarter earnings rose to $147 million, or 60 cents a share, compared with a loss of $174 million, or 96 cents, a year ago.

April 28, 2008
Government, Business

ALK to Offer Web Link With PC Miler Program

PRINCETON, N.J. — ALK Technologies will add a Web-based version of its PC Miler mapping and routing software to the company’s family of truck navigation products this year, ALK’s chief technology officer said.

April 28, 2008
Business, Safety, Government

Illinois Highway Construction Fatalities Decline

The Illinois Department of Transportation said the number of highway construction work zone fatalities in the state has fallen by more than half in the past four years, the Associated Press reported.

April 28, 2008
Government, Business, Fuel

Oil Hits Record Near $120 a Barrel

Crude oil prices hit an all-time record in Monday, hitting $119.93 a barrel in pre-market electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the Associated Press reported.

April 28, 2008
Fuel, Business, Safety, Government

ATA Officer Calls for Oil Release From SPR

WASHINGTON — The government should not only stop filling the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, but also consider releasing oil to help lower the price of diesel fuel, Dave Berry, chairman of the American Trucking Associations’ environmental and energy policy committee, told Congress last week.

Eric Miller | Senior Reporter
April 28, 2008
Business, Fuel, Government

Truckload Carriers Trim Fleets as Freight Declines, Fuel Rises

Truckload carriers are slashing capacity at the highest rate in a decade in an effort to bring supply and demand into balance as fuel prices skyrocket and demand withers, according to industry experts.

April 28, 2008
Business, Fuel, Equipment, Government

Used Truck Prices Buoyed by Rising Foreign Demand

An unprecedented wave of exports, mostly to Russia, has cushioned a downturn in the Class 8 used-truck business, which has been hurt by high fuel prices and a weak freight market, according to industry executives.

April 28, 2008
Business

Private Fleets: Control of Operational Costs Is Essential to Fleet Success, Industry Officials Say

For any company that goes the route of running its own private fleet — seeking the advantage of always being its own highest-priority customer — the most common pitfall is failing to properly manage operational costs, industry officials said.

April 28, 2008
Fuel, Business, Government

Diesel, Gas Set Records

U.S. retail fuel prices continued to soar into uncharted territory last week, as the average price of diesel jumped another 8.4 cents to $4.143 a gallon and gasoline gained 11.9 cents to $3.508, the Department of Energy reported.

April 28, 2008
Business, Safety

March Truck Tonnage Falls 0.2%

Truck tonnage declined 0.2% in March from a year ago, marking the first year-to-year downturn since October, American Trucking Associations said Thursday.

April 25, 2008