Government

Economic recovery for trucking probably still is several months away, based on steep increases in retail and industrial inventories, according to several industry officials and analysts.

OXON HILL, Md. — The entire North American trucking industry is in the midst of a fundamental reshaping, which will lead to flat tonnage levels for fleets and fewer truck manufacturers producing much more expensive vehicles and mostly in Mexico, said a senior executive of Navistar Inc.

FedEx Corp.’s package delivery unit won a victory in its ongoing battle over the classification of its drivers when a federal appeals court ruled April 21 that a handful of Massachusetts drivers were wrongly classified as employees with the ability to unionize, instead of as independent contractors.

Prominent members of the Senate’s tax-writing finance committee introduced legislation April 23 that would pare back the tax benefits private companies gain from leasing public highways, making those privatization deals less attractive to investors.

The long downward trend in insurance rates for fleets may be coming to an end as more insurers push for higher premiums to make up for investment losses and as fewer underwriters compete for the business.

The Ontario Ministry of Transportation said it will begin issuing permits this summer allowing double, 53-foot trailers on selected highways in the province.

Lower fuel prices, along with the assistance of some forgiving financiers, limited the number of first-quarter trucking bankruptcies to 480, slightly more than in the last three months of 2008, but far below the 935 firms that failed in the corresponding period a year ago.

New home sales fell 0.6% in March, the Commerce Department said Friday.

Durable goods orders fell 0.8% in March, the Commerce Department said Friday.