Business

Wireless-services provider Qualcomm Inc. said late Wednesday its fiscal first-quarter profit rose to $648 million or 38 cents a share, up from $620 million or 36 cents a year earlier.

Truckload carrier Knight Transportation said late Wednesday that its revenue and income for the fourth quarter and full-year 2006 reached records.

Truckload carrier Celadon Group said late Wednesday it earned $6.1 million or 26 cents a share in its fiscal second quarter ended Dec. 31, up from $4.8 million or 21 cents in the same quarter a year earlier.

Arkansas Best Corp.’s fourth-quarter net income fell to $14.2 million or 56 cents a share, from $30.2 million or $1.20 a year earlier, the company said Wednesday.

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.