Business

About Business News...

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.

Business, Government

Ohio Truckers Seek 65-mph Speed Limit

Truck drivers in Ohio are asking state lawmakers to raise the highway speed limit for large trucks to a 65 mph limit, matching the speed limit for passenger cars, saying such a change would help make roadways safer, the Associated Press reported.

February 2, 2009

Best Trucking Accounting Software 2024

If you’re simply looking for a bookkeeping tool, you can stop reading here, and look no further than QuickBooks. If you’re embracing the notion that trucking accounting goes far beyond that, or want to have a more expansive trucking accounting system of which QuickBooks is a key part, then read on.

Government, Business

Personal Spending Falls for Sixth Straight Month

Consumer personal spending fell for a record sixth straight month in December, the Commerce Department said Monday.

February 2, 2009
Business

Opinion: Survival of the Fittest — and Hungriest

Picture yourself traveling across hundreds of miles of rural farmland dotted with tiny villages. Men are out in the fields, working the soil with oxen. Others are cutting down wheat by hand and stacking the stalks for market. It’s hard work by anyone’s standards.

February 2, 2009
Business, Safety, Government

December Truck Tonnage Plummets 14.1%

December truck tonnage plummeted 14.1% from year-earlier levels and 11.1% from November, the worst freight performance in more than a decade.

February 2, 2009
Government, Business, Fuel

Spot Market Freight Rates Dive as Recession Slashes Demand

Rates for freight services bought on the spot market have nose dived to 1990s levels as shrinking fuel surcharges have sent prices falling further while the recession continues to ravage shipping demand.

February 2, 2009
Government, Business, Safety

FMCSA Withdraws EOBR Rule For Review, Possible Expansion

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has pulled back its formal proposal to require some carriers to use electronic onboard recorders, with indications the Obama administration may want to expand their use.

February 2, 2009
Business, Fuel, Government

3PLs Caught in Middle of Shipper-Carrier Struggle as Cost Reductions Drive Fierce Competition

After surviving a record run-up in fuel prices during 2008, shippers and carriers now face an even bigger supply chain challenge: coping with a sharp downturn in freight volume as businesses cut back on production in response to lower sales.

February 2, 2009
Government, Business, Safety, Fuel

Graves Says ATA Will Fight L.A. Port’s Concession Plans

American Trucking Associations will exhaust all legal avenues to fight employee-only concession requirements contained in the Port of Los Angeles’ clean trucks plan, ATA President Bill Graves said.

February 2, 2009
Business

EPA Exempts 70 Idle-Reduction Devices From Federal Excise Tax for First Time

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has permanently exempted more than 70 commercial idle-reduction devices from the 12% federal excise tax because the devices help trucks reduce idling time.

February 2, 2009
Government, Business, Safety

Senate Confirms LaHood to Run DOT

The U.S. Senate confirmed several key cabinet posts, including Ray LaHood as secretary of transportation, but the Obama administration has yet to announce the president’s choices to lead several key transportation agencies within DOT.

Eric Miller | Senior Reporter
February 2, 2009