Business

LAS VEGAS — Leading heavy-duty truck components manufacturers said technology exists today to build a safer, environmentally friendly and low-cost heavy-duty “world truck,” but major obstacles are consumer acceptance and the lack of a single global standard for emissions and safety technology.

Swedish truck maker Scania AB posted a fifth straight gain in quarterly income and German rival MAN AG dropped a hostile takeover bid in favor of friendly negotiations, Bloomberg reported.

For the fifth straight meeting, the Federal Reserve on Wednesday kept the benchmark U.S. interest rate at 5.25%.

FedEx Corp. said Wednesday it completed its previously announced acquisition of Indian firm Prakash Air Freight Pvt. Ltd. Terms were not disclosed.

Saia Inc. said Wednesday its fourth-quarter net income fell to $5.2 million or 35 cents a share, from $10.7 million or 73 cents for the previous fourth quarter.

TSA Awards TWIC Contract to Lockheed Martin • Canada Passes Border Security Bill • Railroads to Get More Safety Scrutiny • EU Customs Chief Criticizes Cargo-Screening Measure

Hino Motors Ltd., Japan’s largest maker of heavy-duty trucks, saw its fiscal third-quarter profit drop 45% as the company spent more to develop new models and expand production, Bloomberg reported.

Click here to write a Letter to the Editor.WASHINGTON — Shippers would like to see a switch to larger trucks, and U.S. safety inspectors monitoring size-and-weight rules could have more technology at their disposal in the coming years, according to a Transportation Research Board panel discussion here.

U.S. construction spending fell 0.4% December, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.

The National Association of Purchasing Management-Chicago’s manufacturing index fell in January to the first contraction since April 2003, NAPM said Wednesday.