������ý

Truckload carrier P.A.M. Transportation Services reported a second-quarter loss of $2.4 million, or 25 cents per share, compared with a loss of $1.3 million, or 14 cents, a year ago.

Supply chain technology firm Intermec Inc. reported a second-quarter loss of $6.5 million, or 11 cents a share, down from a profit of $7.7 million, or 13 cents, a year ago.

The U.S. economy contracted at an annual rate of 1% in the second quarter after the worst contraction in 27 years, the Commerce Department said Friday.

I differ from the “Reregulation, Please” letter writer’s view that small carriers are offering transport service prices that are too cheap. Yes, there are some shoestring trucking operations hauling for very low freight rates, but there also are large carriers doing the same.

There were no surprises in the new federal rule designed to improve the braking power of a standard, fully loaded, tractor-trailer by almost one-third.

Navistar Inc.’s 2010-compliant engines will sell for $6,000 to $8,000 more than its previous generation of engines, the company said last week.

YRC Worldwide’s $255 million second-quarter loss reported July 30 capped a generally miserable round of earnings reports for publicly traded carriers pounded by falling rates and tonnage.

The House moved quickly last week to shift $7 billion to the nearly depleted Highway Trust Fund, and the Senate followed suit, although Senate leaders continued to advocate for extending current highway legislation for 18 months.

Truckers who text from the driver’s seat are about 23 times more likely to have a crash, or at least a close encounter, than are drivers who are watching the road, according to a Virginia university study for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

A sharp drop in intermodal business helped to drag down second-quarter earnings for the largest North American railroads.