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.

Government, Business, Safety, Fuel

Forward Air Reports Steady 1Q Income

Forward Air Corp.’s first-quarter profit was $10 million, or 35 cents a share, compared with $10.3 million, or 34 cents, a year earlier.

April 21, 2008
Business

Volvo Sets More Layoffs at Va. Truck Plant

Volvo Trucks North America plants to lay off 1,100 workers at a Virginia truck production plant next month, citing a weak economy and sagging truck sales, the Roanoke Times reported.

April 21, 2008
Business

Mississippi Bridge Span Reopened

The $338 million Biloxi-Ocean Springs bridge in Mississippi reopened to traffic earlier this month, the Associated Press reported.

April 21, 2008
Business, Technology, Equipment, Safety, Government

TransCore Unveils Rate Index Pro Database

Trucking technology system provider TransCore said its new Rate Index Pro product will provide single-lane, real-time truckload information that can be used in pricing and contract negotiations.

April 21, 2008
Business

Daimler Sets Truck Venture With Indian Firm

Daimler AG and India’s Hero Group will invest about $1.1 billion in the next five years as Daimler seeks to expand in India, the company said.

April 21, 2008
Business, Fuel, Government

Railroads Showing Strong Growth, Paper Says

Freight railroads are benefitting from high diesel fuel prices, truck driver shortages and a growing “green” movement, the Washington Post reported Monday.

April 21, 2008
Government, Business, Safety

Medical Panel Discusses Driver Rules

ARLINGTON, Va. — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s medical review board backed a proposal to recommend to the agency that drivers who have undergone successful kidney-transplant surgery can resume driving 90 days later.

Amy McMahon | Editorial Assistant
April 21, 2008
Business

Mortgage Crisis Chills Market for Road Privatization Schemes

Wall Street’s subprime mortgage crisis has chilled the market for private infrastructure funding by making it more expensive for investors to get financing, according to interviews with several executives.

April 21, 2008
Government, Business, Safety, Fuel

Lenders Tighten Standards for Truckers Seeking Credit

Rising fuel costs, weakening demand for freight hauling and the subprime lending crisis are making it tougher for drivers and trucking companies to qualify for financing to buy equipment.

April 21, 2008
Business

March Truck Sales Fall By 35%, But Orders Rise for Sixth Month

Heavy-duty truck making continued its contraction in March, the 15th straight month that U.S. retail sales declined on a year-over-year basis, but orders continued climbing, holding out hope for a rebound later this year.

April 21, 2008