ARLINGTON, Va. — Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said the Obama administration is spending money on freight rail projects to bolster its push for high-speed intercity passenger rail.

Schneider National Inc., the nation’s largest privately held truckload carrier, said that it plans to hire 2,000 more drivers this year — one of the most aggressive hiring drives in its 75-year history and an expansion that by itself would place the company among the 100 largest for-hire trucking fleets.

Two third-party logistics firms announced that they have hired new chief financial officers.

Truck stop chain Flying J Inc. said it has started accepting Comdata payment cards at its 270 U.S. and Canadian travel centers.

The logistics arm of truckload carrier C.R. England Inc., Salt Lake City, has purchased brokerage software from McLeod Software Corp., the two companies announced on June 3.

WASHINGTON — Carriers will have difficulty expanding capacity cut last year after manufacturers and retailers slashed spending for transportation services, the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals said last week.

Officials at the Port of Los Angeles are crediting their clean trucks program for significantly lowering diesel emissions in 2009.

Officials at the Port of Los Angeles are crediting their clean trucks program, which resulted in significant turn-over of older trucks to newer and cleaner trucks, for significantly lowering port-wide diesel emissions in 2009.

April trailer orders rose 3% from 2009 levels, and the backlog at trailer factories working to fill those orders rose to its highest level in 20 months as demand for equipment continued to exceed build rates, ACT Research Co. reported.