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.
Japan’s Hino Motors’ Fiscal Third-Quarter Profit Falls 45%
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.
January 31, 2007Shippers Back Increasing Weight Limit for Trucks
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.
Construction Spending Declines 0.4% in December
U.S. construction spending fell 0.4% December, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.
January 31, 2007January Chicago Manufacturing Index Shows Contraction
The National Association of Purchasing Management-Chicago’s manufacturing index fell in January to the first contraction since April 2003, NAPM said Wednesday.
January 31, 2007Fourth-Quarter GDP Jumps 3.5%; Full-Year Growth Was 3.4%
The U.S. economy expanded at a 3.5% annual rate in the fourth quarter, the Commerce Department said Wednesday, the strongest since last year’s first quarter.
January 31, 2007STB Ruling Hits Rail Fuel-Surcharge Practices
The Surface Transportation Board ruled that freight railroads not calculate their fuel surcharges as a percentage of their base rates.
January 31, 2007C.H. Robinson’s Fourth-Quarter, Full-Year Income Show Gains
Transportation and logistics firm C.H. Robinson Worldwide's 2006 net income rose to $266.9 million or $1.53 a share, up from $203.4 million or $1.16 in 2005.
January 30, 2007Bush Warns Against Trade Barriers in Speech at Caterpillar
President Bush on Tuesday warned against erecting global trade barriers during a visit to heavy-duty engine manufacturer Caterpillar’s East Peoria, Ill., headquarters, Bloomberg reported.
January 30, 2007Crude Oil Price Posts Biggest Gain Since September 2005
Crude oil futures posted their biggest one-day gain Tuesday since September 2005, rising on forecasts of continuing cold weather and expectations of a stronger U.S. economy, Bloomberg reported.
January 30, 2007UPS Reports Fourth-Quarter Profit Topped $1.1 Billion
UPS Inc. reported its fourth-quarter net income rose 7.5% to $1.13 billion or $1.04 a share, up from $1.05 billion or 95 cents a year earlier.
January 30, 2007