Logistics

WASHINGTON — Strengthening commercial truck safety has made it onto the Most Wanted List of policies and actions issued annually by the National Transportation Safety Board.

The Surface Transportation Board, now reduced to two members, decided to wade further into rail service oversight and stay out of a California rail emissions case.

U.S. rail intermodal traffic increased 3.7% in December compared with the same month the prior year, the Association of American Railroads reported.

Jeff Rogers has been appointed CEO at Universal Truckload Services, concluding a plan begun in June.

Katie Farmer, group vice president of consumer products at BNSF Railway, has taken office as the first woman to chair the Intermodal Association of North America’s board of directors.

ABF Logistics has purchased Smart Lines Transportation Group, a truckload brokerage firm based in Oklahoma City, for $5.17 million.

November trailer orders rose 43% to the fourth-highest level ever, following October’s record high, to 36,000 units, ACT Research Co. reported.

U.S. rail intermodal traffic increased 4.5% in the week ended Dec. 13 compared with the same week last year, the Association of American Railroads reported.

U.S. electricity costs are poised to reach the highest level since 1999 because railroads are too clogged to deliver enough coal to power plants.