Business

A total of 9,090 trucks were taken off the road due to fleet bankruptcies in the third quarter, a slight decline from the second quarter, as rising freight rates and falling fuel prices helped keep some marginal fleets afloat, Avondale Partners analyst Donald Broughton said.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is allowing 13 Mexico-based trucking companies that were part of the agency’s cross-border pilot program to maintain U.S. operating authority.

Third-quarter earnings at nearly all publicly traded trucking businesses are expected to show solid year-over-year growth, propelled by factors such as higher rates and the improving economy, industry analysts believe.

SAN DIEGO — Executives attending a dimethyl ether industry meeting here were told by trucking representatives that while the fuel has a number of desirable qualities, the jury is still out on its practicality as a transportation fuel.

Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. reportedly is pursuing CSX Corp. at a time when the U.S. regulators who would have to approve such a move are showing increasing frustration with today’s delay-plagued rail environment.

FedEx Freight drivers at a Philadelphia-area terminal voted last week to become the first U.S. workers at the largest less-than-truckload carrier to become Teamsters members.

Prices for used trucks in the United States remain near record highs as strong demand outweighs a growing supply of late-model units, dealers and analysts said.

While Congress continues to punt on the nation’s long-term road-funding crisis, interest in vehicle-mileage taxes to augment or replace fuel taxes is growing among states.