Safety

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission last week began laying the groundwork for a stronger regulatory hand over oil traders and investors, with a series of hearings and a report on trading patterns that could lead to limits on some purchases of futures contracts.

Intermodal rail traffic in the United States fell 17.9% last week compared with the same week last year, the Association of American Railroads said.

Truckload carrier P.A.M. Transportation Services reported a second-quarter loss of $2.4 million, or 25 cents per share, compared with a loss of $1.3 million, or 14 cents, a year ago.

Surface transportation trade among the United States, Canada and Mexico fell 35.4% in May from a year earlier, the largest year-to-year drop on record, the Department of Transportation said Thursday.

Substantial production cuts did not stop Germany-based truck maker MAN SE’s second-quarter profit from plummeting 95%, Bloomberg reported.

The Federal Reserve said Wednesday that almost all Federal Reserve districts are seeing the pace of economic recession slow down, but the transportation sector is still showing signs of weakness.

Navistar said that its exhaust gas recirculation technology will increase International truck prices by up to $8,000 for the 2010 model year.

Durable goods orders declined 2.5% in June, but orders excluding transportation equipment increased 1.1%, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.

Truck tonnage decreased 13.6% in June compared with a year ago, American Trucking Associations said late Monday.

Covenant Transportation Group said it lost $3.1 million, or 22 cents per share, in the second quarter, compared with a loss of $2.3 million, or 17 cents, a year ago.