Business

Wal-Mart Stores is testing a home-delivery system in California to allow customers to buy food, medicine and other products online, similar to Amazon.com and other retailers, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday.

Arkansas Best Corp. said Monday its first-quarter loss was about half that of a year ago, citing higher tonnage and an improving freight environment.

Gasoline’s national average rose 12 cents in the past two weeks to a national average $3.88 per gallon, according to the latest Lundberg Survey of filling stations released Sunday.

New home sales jumped 11.1% March from a record low in February, the Commerce Department said Monday.

It took years for the trucking industry to get Congress to place responsibility for intermodal freight chassis road worthiness in the correct place. In 2005, legislators specified that the providers of the equipment — and not the fleets that were using them to move freight — had to ensure that the units met all safety standards.

For the trucking industry, the summer driving season means sharing the road with more passenger-vehicle drivers — some of whom are paying more attention to road maps, electronic devices or kids in the back seat than to the road in front of them, safety experts say.

The American Truck Dealers held its annual convention in Phoenix this month, with members cheerful over the economic rebound but increasingly leery of pending federal regulations.

While all fleet managers are waging a battle with soaring diesel prices, refrigerated carriers are facing a second front in terms of collecting fuel surcharges to cover the cost of buying the red-dyed diesel that powers the engines of their reefer units.

First-quarter net income and revenue soared for Paccar Inc. as the original equipment manufacturer benefited from increased global demand for its products, including Kenworth and Peterbilt trucks in North America.

Several tank-truck operators said freight volumes are increasing and rates are moving higher thanks to the combination of that higher level of demand and lower capacity on the carrier side.