Business

I have attended several meetings of American Trucking Associations’ Technology & Maintenance Council where participants have stated they simply want to know how many years a component will last.

There is reasonable cause for people in trucking to be optimistic in 2012. It looks like the economy’s recovery from the long and deep recession is gaining strength, so trucking can look forward to increasing demand.

Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater!” We have all heard this saying at some point in our lives. I was reminded of it recently, when I was researching the 2012 year-end W2 and 1099 reporting requirements.

Federal regulators retained the 11-hour driving limit for truck drivers, reversing their stated preference for 10 hours and rejecting arguments from labor and safety advocates that a change would reduce crash risk.

Even as expectations for the nation’s economic growth remain subdued, trucking may be on the cusp of one of its most profitable rides ever as freight demand in 2012 pushes against the limits of industry capacity, according to industry experts.

Tolls on bridges and tunnels would be subject to federal oversight under legislation introduced in Congress during December.

Truck tonnage rose 6% in November from the levels of a year ago, riding a wave of growth sparked by manufacturing demand and inventory restocking, American Trucking Associations reported.

Used-truck sales declined in November, the result of both a lack of supply and increasing buyer resistance to high prices, according to two trucking-industry research groups.

Marc Beam, the Truckload Carriers Association’s 2011 Highway Angel, is the type of person who saves the lives of a woman and two babies on a dark August night and doesn’t immediately tell anyone about it.

Profit surged at truck and engine maker Navistar International Corp. during the fiscal fourth quarter as its three main divisions — trucks, engines and parts — all posted stronger results.