Safety

Evergreen Transportation has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, the truckload carrier said in a statement on its Web site.

The U.S. economy’s service sector showed a downturn in activity last month, the Institute for Supply Management said Wednesday.

Transportation software firm Xata Corp. said Wednesday it lost $62,000, or 1 cent per share, in its fiscal third quarter, compared with a loss of $712,000, or 8 cents, a year ago.

The Department of Transportation will convene a September summit to come up with a plan to deal with the issue of texting while driving, DOT said Tuesday.

Manufacturing activity improved in July and shrank at the slowest pace in nearly a year, the Institute for Supply Management said Monday.

A number of trucking and bus companies have been ordered shut down for violating federal safety rules and staying in business under different names, the Associated Press reported, citing a government study.

A bill introduced in the House of Representatives would provide up to $3,000 in tax credit for fleets to purchase auxiliary power units.

I differ from the “Reregulation, Please” letter writer’s view that small carriers are offering transport service prices that are too cheap. Yes, there are some shoestring trucking operations hauling for very low freight rates, but there also are large carriers doing the same.

There were no surprises in the new federal rule designed to improve the braking power of a standard, fully loaded, tractor-trailer by almost one-third.