Business

President Bush outlined an energy plan Tuesday that would boost the use of alternate fuels such as ethanol and biodiesel, and would seek a 20% reduction in gasoline use in the next 10 years, news services reported.

Eastern freight railroad Norfolk Southern Corp. said Wednesday its fourth-quarter profit rose 6%, as record revenue from coal shipments offset declines in intermodal shipments.

Canadian freight railroad Canadian National Railway Co. reported its fourth-quarter net income rose 16% to C$499 million, with earnings-per-share rising to 95 cents.

The Transportation Department’s recent proposal to use electronic onboard recorders to monitor driver hours is “weak” and ineffective, safety advocacy groups said last week, while some trucking industry organizations applauded the plan.

Click here to write a Letter to the Editor. The problem is not with the “black box,” it’s with the 14-hour rule. We are not children, we are professionals. So why doesn’t anyone understand the problem? We are always up against the wall when it comes to hours of service.

I may be missing something, but it seems to me that the U.S. motor carrier industry is lagging behind the vessel industry’s container security accomplishments to the point that it could threaten this nation’s security.

Driver Gets Life in Smuggling Deaths • New Passport Rule Takes Effect • Okla. Study Cites Cellphone Accident Hazards • N.D. Lawmaker Wants 40-Mph Minimum on Interstates

USA Truck Wednesday announced the promotion of Jerry Orler to chief executive officer.

Crude oil prices surged more than $2 a barrel Tuesday after Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman said President Bush plans to double the size of the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve by 2027, Bloomberg reported.

Truckload carrier Werner Enterprises’ fourth-quarter profit fell 16% to $24 million or 31 cents a share, from $28.8 million or 36 cents a year earlier.