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Truckload carrier P.A.M. Transportation Services said it lost $1.3 million, or 14 cents a share, in the second quarter, compared with net income of $2.2 million, or 21 cents, a year earlier.

The cost advantage offered by shipping direct and avoiding paying for warehousing and inventory is dwindling, possibly forever, as the price of fuel rises. As a result, more carriers have started looking at warehousing to play a larger role in the logistics process.

Large truckload fleets are gaining business by shifting from marginally profitable longhaul lanes to regional trucking, which in turn is forcing smaller carriers with fewer resources to fight for that longhaul business, industry experts said.

Trucking company bankruptcies more than doubled in the second quarter, soaring 118% from last year as high fuel prices pushed 970 U.S. carriers out of business, a leading industry analyst said.

Transportation software firm Xata Corp. said Wednesday it lost $712,000, or 8 cents a share, in its fiscal third quarter, compared with a loss of $1.6 million, or 21 cents, a year ago.

Oil prices rose to $120 a barrel in early trading Wednesday, a day after falling more than $2 to below that level, Bloomberg reported.

WASHINGTON — On the heels of a report criticizing the federal government’s efforts to ensure that truck drivers are medically qualified, the House transportation committee’s chairman blasted the top truck safety agency for not living up to its mission and for dragging its feet on the health issue.

The Transportation Security Administration said Monday it is suspending Verified Identity Pass — the company that operates Registered Traveler programs under the brand name Clear, due to a security breach.

In an injury crash, a drug and alcohol test is required only if the driver receives a citation and the injury is treated immediately, away from the scene of the accident.

The consolidation trend in the truck transportation industry has been in progress for several years but, over the past five years, has accelerated rapidly.