A high-ranking federal safety regulator said truck-involved fatalities have been stuck at a “relatively flat” level for years, and that trend leads officials at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to recommend using “Buck Rogers”-style technologies to lower accident rates.

Towne Air Freight said it acquired Synergy Cargo Logistics, which will give Towne a greater presence in the southwestern United States. Terms were not disclosed.

Third-party logistics company and freight broker Hub Group’s fourth-quarter profit rose 33% to a record $18 million, or 47 cents per share, up from $13.5 million, or 34 cents, a year earlier.

Express-1 Expedited Solutions said it bought Concert Group Logistics for $9 million in cash and 4.8 million shares of stock.

December truck tonnage increased by 1.4% from year-ago levels, the first back-to-back improvement in freight volume since May and June 2006, American Trucking Associations reported in its national index.

New rules for the types of identification that U.S. and Canadian citizens must present to cross into the country took effect Thursday and authorities were optimistic the changes would not cause significant delays, the Associated Press reported.

Transportation and logistics firm C.H. Robinson Worldwide’s fourth-quarter profit rose to $85.3 million, or 49 cents a share, from $71.8 million, or 41 cents, a year ago.

Rep. James Oberstar (D-Minn.), chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, last week criticized the chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board for suggesting a design flaw was a key factor in the Interstate 35W bridge collapse in Minneapolis.