Business

The National Transportation Safety Board told federal regulators they can reduce the number of cargo tanker rollovers if  they mandated roll stability technology and improved cargo tank design.

NEW YORK — Shippers from the retail, building products and chemical industries said that demand has remained steady in recent weeks, a sign the second half of 2011 will not be as weak as some economists have suspected.

Trucking is playing an important role in the battle to lead the Teamsters union, as incumbent James Hoffa touts success in saving YRC Worldwide Inc. and challengers Sandy Pope and Fred Gegare lambaste him for failing to organize more freight haulers.

Truck maintenance executives will wrestle with corrosion, tire issues and other critical topics in Raleigh, N.C., later this month, while technicians compete for honors at an event sponsored by the Technology & Maintenance Council of American Trucking Associations.

It’s disappointing to see that the Department of Transportation’s own inspector general doesn’t think the agency is ready to proceed with the interminably delayed cross-border trucking pilot program with Mexico.

The Obama administration’s contentious cross-border trucking program with Mexico could be delayed until November after a Department of Transportation audit found that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has failed to set up several procedures aimed at monitoring and inspecting trucks that would enter the United States.

The federal government’s latest hours-of-service proposal will result in reduced wages for hundreds of thousands of truck drivers, significant costs for trucking companies and billions of dollars in lost productivity, American Trucking Associations told the Obama administration.

While change, churn and modernization may have become the mantra for much of the freight transportation industry, for managers working in damage prevention and claims, the most basic truth endures: Don’t ruin your shippers’ freight.

August orders for new Class 8 trucks jumped 68% this year from a year earlier as dramatic increases  in sales and orders continued. Despite a 31.5% gain in registrations in the second quarter, however, the total fleet size remained below previous years.

Truck maker Navistar International Corp. reported a jump in quarterly profits boosted mainly by a tax-related adjustment and said its sales have accelerated but are still held back by problems with components suppliers.