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Motor carriers will be well positioned over the next decade to gain business from faster-growing economic sectors such as durable goods, exports and chemical shipments, American Trucking Associations’ chief economist said last week.

Privatizing toll roads may give cash-strapped states a quick budget fix, but such deals, especially for existing highways, “pose long-term threats to the public interest,” according to a new study by an advocacy group.

Most of the 300 Sterling Trucks dealers in the United States and Canada accepted settlement offers from Daimler Trucks North America after DTNA announced it would shut the brand down, the Sterling board member of the American Truck Dealers said April 9.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc.’s first-quarter earnings fell 16% to $30.8 million, providing new evidence of the recession’s effect on carrier profits.

Companies that manufacture heavy-duty truck parts have become “a little more optimistic” about their industry after the first quarter of 2009, despite the fact that 85% are still experiencing sales declines and only 45% of their customers are paying on time, according a survey by the Heavy Duty Manufacturers Association.

Rising costs for container fees, administrative expenses and environmental requirements in the midst of an economic downturn are causing shippers, importers and retailers to consider alternatives to the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach for shipping their goods, according to trade association officials.

A few more customers may be peeking into the showroom, but buying volume continues to limp along near 25-year lows, according to the latest report on Class 8 truck sales.

Manufacturing levels in the Philadelphia region continued to contract this month, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said Thursday.

Initial jobless claims fell last week, while continuing claims reached a record over 6 million, the Labor Department said Thursday.