Business
Transport Topics business coverage focuses on the financial, economic, and commercial aspects of the modern freight business. Looking at both the microeconomic and macroeconomic forces shaping bottom lines, the news in this category includes labor news, jobs reports, tonnage and sales indicators, operations analysis, money and banking, mergers, acquisitions, e-commerce, bankruptcy, insurance issues, and more.
Letters: Oak Harbor Strike, Freight Brokers, Mexican Trucks, Cap-and-Trade
Teamsters International Vice President Al Hobart brags that “due to the effectiveness of the [union] strike,” Oak Harbor Freight Lines has been forced to cut its workforce by more than 50%. Is this something to be proud of?
March 23, 2009The Great Louisville Debate
SCR vs. Advanced EGR: The face-off in Louisville had all the earmarks of a hotly contested debate, with competing manufacturers and suppliers assembling their best arguments and putting on their most compelling displays while attempting to sway opinion as to why one 2010 clean-engine technology is better than the other.
March 23, 2009Feb. Class 8 Sales Sink 39% to Lowest Level in 26 Years
Class 8 truck volume set a 26-year low in February as U.S. manufacturers and their dealers sold only 6,236 heavy-duty vehicles.
March 23, 2009Navistar Unveils 15-Liter Engine; EGR Unit Uses Caterpillar Block
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Navistar Inc. said it soon will introduce a 15-liter engine, which combines the fuel-induction technology of its 11-liter and 13-liter MaxxForce models with the block and other basic components of a Caterpillar C15 power plant.
March 23, 2009EPA Offers Grants to Fleets to Help Buy ‘Greener’ Trucks
The Environmental Protection Agency last week launched a program that could give fleet owners up to 25% of a new vehicle’s cost for every diesel truck it replaces with a diesel-electric hybrid, liquefied natural gas or other alternate-fueled engine.
March 23, 2009Mexico Retaliates With Tariffs After U.S. Halts Border Program
Just days after Congress and the Obama administration shut down the controversial cross-border trucking pilot program with Mexico, government officials there struck back last week, imposing new tariffs on about 90 U.S. products valued at about $2.4 billion.
March 23, 2009EPA to OK Copper Zeolite for SCR, Cummins Says
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Cummins Inc. said it is confident the Environmental Protection Agency will approve the company’s use of copper zeolite in engines de-signed to meet 2010 emission rules, removing any potential roadblock for the new models.
March 23, 2009FedEx Corp. Profit Tumbles
FedEx Corp.’s freight unit last week posted its first-ever operating loss, falling victim to the recession that cut both rates and freight volumes. It announced cost-cutting moves that included job reductions and the closing of its California general office.
March 23, 2009Fleets Struggle to Achieve Productivity Gains
The ability to track the location and contents of trailers, in theory, can help carriers haul more goods in fewer trailers.
March 23, 2009Chicago Area Has Worst Traffic Bottleneck, Study Finds
The worst U.S. traffic bottleneck is on the south edge of Chicago, according to a pioneering study that uses electronic data from trucks — a research method that could influence future transportation spending debates.
March 23, 2009