Safety

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.

Truckers who text from the driver’s seat are about 23 times more likely to have a crash, or at least a close encounter, than are drivers who are watching the road, according to a Virginia university study for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s decision to cut the maximum allowed stopping distance for large trucks by 30% will increase truck buyers’ costs somewhat, but will not force a widespread shift to new technology such as air disc brakes, industry groups and manufacturers said.

A sharp drop in intermodal business helped to drag down second-quarter earnings for the largest North American railroads.

Navistar Inc.’s 2010-compliant engines will sell for $6,000 to $8,000 more than its previous generation of engines, the company said last week.

American Trucking Associations’ tonnage index declined 13.6% in June from year-ago levels, the biggest such decline since early 1996.

Finance and leasing industry officials said a proposal to reclassify equipment leases as a form of debt or asset, rather than an expense, would be difficult and costly for most companies to comply with.