Business

A new “blue paper” by the research department of investment bank Morgan Stanley estimated that autonomous — “self-driving” — vehicles could save the freight transportation in¬dustry $168 billion annually, through pro-ductivity gains and lower costs for labor, fuel and accidents.

Omnitracs Europe has been acquired by Astrata Group, a Singapore based IT firm, from Qualcomm Europe. Terms were not disclosed.

Mary Phillips, the chief lobbyist for American Trucking Associations for more than three years, announced her departure from the federation last week.

Sysco Corp.’s planned acquisition of its largest competitor, U.S. Foods, is likely to be approved by federal regulators and could spur competition among food-service distributors, a prominent food industry consultant said.

XPO Logistics Inc. has agreed to purchase Pacer International Inc., the nation’s third-largest truck-rail intermodal freight operator, for $335 million in a deal that underscores the growing importance of that market segment.

Tom Hassel Transport Inc. has no maintenance facility, and company President Tom Hassel said he is not interested in setting up a shop. Instead, the Point Pleasant Beach, N.J., company leases many of its trucks and plans to phase out the ones it owns.

Wal-Mart Canada said it wants to expand its “Supercube” fleet after initial testing found the vehicle’s additional freight capacity reduced transportation costs by 24%.