Safety

Automobile hauler Performance Transportation Services said it has gone out of business, due to a strike against the company last week by the Teamsters union.

WASHINGTON — Several prototype Class 8 hybrid trucks are currently under development, but the technical and economic obstacles in the way of placing reliable and fuel-efficient heavy hybrid over-the-road trucks in service remain daunting, experts told a House subcommittee.

Roadrunner Transportation Services, formerly known as Roadrunner Dawes Freight Systems, said Monday it has rebranded to reflect new offerings its third-party transportation logistics, supply-chain management, and truckload and less-than-truckload services.

Caterpillar Inc., which lost its dominant position in heavy-duty engines last year because of persistent problems with 2007-compliant models, said it will pull out of the North American Class 8 market by 2010, except for a severe-duty truck and engine in partnership with Navistar International Corp.

Caterpillar Inc. and Navistar International Corp. said they will pursue business opportunities around the world together, as Caterpillar bowed out of the North American heavy-duty engine market last week.

BELSPRING, Va. — Inside Norfolk Southern Railway’s Cowan Tunnel at the foot of Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains, the latest intermodal ad-vancement is moving forward — 4 feet at a time.

The U.S. diesel average inched downward for the second consecutive week, dipping 1.5 cents to $4.692 a gallon, while gasoline topped the $4 mark for the first time ever, the Department of Energy reported.

Rail and intermodal traffic fell for the week ended Saturday compared with the same week a year ago, the Association of American Railroads said.

The call center run by the contractor responsible for overseeing the Transportation Worker Identification Credential program has delayed additional enrollments by leaving workers on hold for more than 20 minutes on average, the chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security said.