Economy Archives - Page 118 of 145

Container lines’ costs jump on tougher green fuel rules

Ocean carriers’ operating costs increased by $500 million in 2015 due to tougher fuel emissions regulations for ships sailing in North European and North American waters that came into effect last year, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (This article requires registration at the Journal of Commerce. To access, please click on […]

Trucking Industry Celebrates a Decade of Clean Diesel Fuel

A truck driver who climbs aboard a new Class 8 tractor and drives 140 miles produces less fine particle emissions than a chef grilling a one-third pound hamburger. This fun fact comes just 10 years after the introduction of ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel for commercial trucks in 2006, according to the Diesel Technology Forum. The […]

U.S. not alone with driver shortage; it’s a global issue

The U.S. is not the only place struggling with a shortage of truck drivers, one which is forecast to only get worse as the years pass and current drivers retire or quit and fewer young drivers enter the profession. A neighbor to the north has the same concern, and so do folks down under. Same […]

Canadian Factory Shipments Decline in March

Canadian factory sales fell in March on lower transportation and primary metals sales, and together with a downward revision to February’s sales, marked the steepest two-month drop in more than a year. (This article requires a subscription to the Wall Street Journal. To access, please click on the above link.)

Another Hike in Diesel Prices, Oil Nears $50 Per Barrel

The average price of diesel fuel increased once again last week, continuing a streak of price hikes that began in February, according to the latest numbers from the Energy Department.

Transportation Services Index tumbled in March

The combined Transportation Services Index (TSI) in March was tabulated at 121.3, down 0.5 percent from February’s level and 0.9 percent from March 2015’s mark, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS).

Hapag-Lloyd and Asian lines form six-member alliance

Six container lines left out of two global alliances have set up a third group as the industry finally settles most of the outstanding uncertainties about who will team up with whom.

Consumers Turn Out to Be U.S. Growth Lifeline After All

American consumers last month shook off the winter blahs in impressive fashion. Retail sales climbed in April by the most in 13 months, abruptly ending an early-year letdown in spending that caused a first-quarter downshift in the economy, Commerce Department data showed Friday. The gain was broad-based, with purchases picking up at auto dealers, apparel […]

As Online Shopping Intensifies, Outlook Dims for Mall Stores

Online shopping is reaching such a critical mass with American households that many of the icons of the traditional mall – from Macy’s to The Gap and J.C. Penney – face an increasingly uncertain future.

Trucking adds jobs, barely; wage gap with construction grows

After two months of shedding jobs, for-hire trucking companies added a small number of new employees in April, as the U.S. economy overall created 160,000 new jobs. The truckload and less-than-truckload carriers tracked on a monthly basis by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics added 700 jobs to their payrolls in April, preliminary data show. […]