Oil was steady early Friday after closing Thursday below $37 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the first time it closed below $40 in more than four years, Bloomberg reported.
December 19, 2008Business
Government Approves $17.4 Billion Auto Industry Bailout
The Bush administration Friday approved an emergency $17.4 billion bailout of the U.S. auto industry, offering loans in exchange for concessions from automakers and their workers, the Associated Press reported.
December 19, 2008BusinessGovernmentTechnologyEquipmentSafety
Ryder to Cut 700 U.S. Jobs; Scale Back International Business
Ryder System will scale back its international business and cut 700 U.S. jobs while temporarily laying off 1,425 workers and focusing its operations on the United States, Canada, Mexico and the United Kingdom.
December 19, 2008BusinessSafetyEquipmentAutonomous
ATA Report Shows Increase in Trucking Miles
Class 8 trucks rolled up 139.3 billion miles in 2006, up from 130.5 billion in 2005, according to American Trucking Associations’ American Trucking Trends 2008-2009 report, released this week.
December 19, 2008Business
TMA Names New President
The Truck Manufacturers Association has named Timothy Blubaugh as its president.
December 19, 2008GovernmentBusinessSafety
Snow, Ice Storm Hits Northern Regions
A big winter snow storm moved from the Northwest across the Midwest and on to the East Coast Friday after dumping more than two feet of snow in some areas, the Associated Press reported.
December 19, 2008GovernmentBusinessSafety
Groups File with FMCSA Against Hours-of-Service Rules
A coalition of advocacy groups including Public Citizen and the Teamsters union has asked the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to reconsider key provisions of its controversial hours-of-service rule.
December 18, 2008GovernmentBusinessSafety
Rep. Ray LaHood Is Obama’s Choice for DOT Secretary
President-elect Barack Obama is set to name retiring Illinois Republican Rep. Ray LaHood as his transportation secretary, several news outlets reported.
December 18, 2008Business
FedEx 2Q Profit Improves; Will Cut Salaries, Costs
FedEx Corp. said Thursday its fiscal second-quarter profit rose 3%, but it cited difficult economic conditions and said it would trim senior executives’ salaries and set a hiring freeze.
December 18, 2008BusinessGovernmentLogistics
Hub Group Downgrades 4Q Outlook
Third-party logistics company and freight broker Hub Group said its full-year 2008 earnings will be lower than previously estimated, due to sluggish intermodal and brokerage volumes and pricing.
December 18, 2008