Business

Gasoline rose 6.7 cents in the past three weeks to $3.325 a gallon, according to the latest Lundberg survey of filling stations released Sunday.

As we close the book on 2012, I think most economists and trucking executives would agree that while growth is preferable to the alternative, the relatively anemic growth we saw last year is certainly nothing to get excited about.

The new “captains” of the nation’s trucking industry — namely the 19 freshly appointed members of America’s Road Team — are now on the job.

Customers ordered 21,300 heavy-duty trucks in North America in December, in line with the full year’s business levels but far below the corresponding month in 2011, ACT Research Co. reported.

Many state leaders began 2013 grappling with how to create new revenue streams to fund transportation projects in their jurisdictions.

American Trucking Associations called for more action last week from state and federal government officials on the group’s proposals to increase trucking and highway safety, including a national speed limit of 65 mph for all vehicles and a study into possible graduated licensing for commercial driver licenses.

Pressure from federal safety regulations and the latest transportation bill is pushing more carriers to make the switch from paper driver logs to electronic logging through in-cab systems, according to fleets and vendors.

Stock market analysts are cautious about trucking’s earnings prospects for this year after the steady improvement in industry profits that began in 2010 stalled in the fourth quarter of 2012.

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association said it has filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn a “de facto” federal regulation that allows law-enforcement officers to make truckers stop driving based solely on their suspicion the driver is fatigued.