Safety

Covenant Transportation Group earned $176,000, or 1 cent per share in the fourth quarter, compared with a loss of $894,000, or 6 cents, a year earlier.

Truckload carrier Knight Transportation’s fourth-quarter profit fell to $13.8 million, or 16 cents a share, from $18.9 million, or 23 cents, a year ago.

So, we were able to keep two important features of the hours-of-service rules in place — which should have been no surprise to any one.

U.S. freight railroads have reached a tentative contract with about 81,000 workers represented by the United Transportation Union, Bloomberg reported Thursday.

Maine Gov. John Baldacci (D) signed a bill to temporarily allow trucks hauling forest products to exceed state weight limits by 5% in hopes of helping them offset high fuel prices, the Associated Press reported.

Canadian Logistics software provider Descartes Systems Group said it has acquired Fluensee Inc.’s MobiTrac fleet management business.

WASHINGTON — In a controversial report calling for huge new spending on the national transportation system, a congressional commission last week made several recommendations that would affect trucking, including new flexibility in the federal driver hours-of-service rule in congestion-prone areas.

WASHINGTON — A congressional report calling for a huge new federal investment in transportation infrastructure financed by hefty tax increases brought sharp opposition from Republicans, including Transportation Secretary Mary Peters, who led the commission.