Business

Navistar International Corp. announced last week its fiscal fourth-quarter loss ballooned to $2.76 billion, mostly due to a tax-related charge, but executives said long-term product improvements will restore profits.

FedEx Corp.’s Ground and Freight units increased fiscal second-quarter profit, cushioning the blow of lower profits at the Express business, the company reported last week.

ARLINGTON, Va. — Trucking companies participating in the annual “Wreaths Across America Day” hauled thousands of Christmas wreaths that will lie on veterans’ headstones during the holiday season.

Truck tonnage probably will grow at a slower pace in 2013, but a stronger economic recovery could boost the industry in 2014 and 2015, according to the latest projections from American Trucking Associations.

Ryder System Inc. last week promoted President and Chief Operating Officer Robert Sanchez to the additional post of chairman, effective Jan. 1.

Highway speed reduction, driver training, progressive shifting and fuel-operated heaters received the highest marks for return on investment in a recent fleet survey evaluating initiatives in the SmartWay program.

The trucking industry and its allies pushed back against modified hours-of-service rules for drivers, while federal regulators pushed ahead with safety initiatives that ranged from requiring electronic onboard recorders to ensuring that unsafe trucking companies cannot keep operating after being shut down.

Like many of the nation’s businesses, American Trucking Associations operated cautiously in 2012, said Bill Graves, the federation’s president.

Major acquisitions, the upcoming electronic onboard recorder mandate and a move toward mobility platforms were among the year’s biggest developments in trucking’s technology arena.

After a series of temporary extensions kept highway construction projects and federal transportation programs afloat for three years, Congress in June finally passed a new highway reauthorization bill.