16 Jan Former Transportation Secretary Mary Peters Receives Lifetime Achievement Award WASHINGTON — Mary Peters, one of two secretaries of transportation during President George W. Bush’s tenure, was recognized with a lifetime achievement award at the annual meeting of the Transportation Research Board. Read more...
16 Jan High Court Rules Contractors May Challenge Fleets in Court In a unanimous decision, the U.S. Supreme Court on Jan. 15 limited the ability under federal law for motor carriers to force disputes with owner-operators to be resolved in arbitration, a ruling that could cause an increase in future class-action lawsuits by truck drivers. Read more...
16 Jan Homebuilder Sentiment Gauge Rises From Three-Year Low Sentiment among U.S. homebuilders rose for the first time in three months amid a decline in borrowing costs, a sign that housing may stabilize in the year ahead even as the industry remains in a broad slowdown. Read more...
16 Jan Wheels Are a Component of Fleets' Lightweighting Efforts The cost of fuel consistently ranks among the top three expenses for trucking fleets, putting fuel economy at the top of fleet managers’ minds. Increasing fuel efficiency and consequently reducing operating expenses is a major reason fleets turn to vehicle lightweighting, especially on components such as truck wheels. Read more...
16 Jan Medium-Duty Sales in December Continue Upward Trend Single-digit increases defined U.S. retail sales of medium-duty trucks in December and for the full year compared with year-ago periods, WardsAuto.com reported. Read more...
16 Jan State Freight Plans Don't Reflect Uniform Metrics, Expert Says WASHINGTON — State freight plans indicate various levels of detail regarding the ways freight is discussed and measured, according to a transportation expert from Northwestern University. Read more...
16 Jan Sears CEO Eddie Lampert Wins Bankruptcy Auction That Keeps Company Alive Eddie Lampert won a bankruptcy auction for Sears with a plan that will keep the rtailer in business and seek to save tens of thousands of jobs, according to a person with knowledge of the discussions. Read more...
16 Jan Volkswagen to Invest $800 Million, Create 1,000 Jobs at Tennessee Plant From the Detroit auto show, Volkswagen announced this week plans to invest $800 million in its Chattanooga, Tenn., plant, expecting to create 1,000 jobs in the United States. Read more...
16 Jan Oaktree Capital Invests $450 Million in Rail Transportation Firm Watco Oaktree Capital Management is investing $450 million and forming a strategic partnership with Watco Cos., a privately owned company that provides a broad range of rail transportation services in North America and Australia. Read more...
16 Jan Home Sales Fall in December; Price Growth at Six-Year Low U.S. home sales slumped in December, while prices inched up slightly, marking the smallest annual increase since the end of the last housing crash in 2012, according to data from brokerage Redfin. Read more...