Surface

USA Truck reported a net loss of $3.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2012, an improvement compared with the net loss of $4.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2011.

Old Dominion Freight Line today moved its service center in Toledo, Ohio, to an expanded 48-door facility with more yard space and a larger dock.

Shippers seeking lower LTL costs need to start not by seeking lower rates but by sharing “cleaner” shipping data, speakers told the SMC3 Jump Start 2013 Conference on Jan. 21.

In the week ending Jan. 26, intermodal volume rose 1.6 percent year-over-year to 238,397 trailers and containers, according to the Association of American Railroads.

Chattanooga, Tenn.-based truckload carrier Covenant Transport reported profit in the fourth quarter of 2012 was $1.5 million, up from a net loss of $2.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2011.

North American truckload transportation business Knight Transportation reported profit in the fourth quarter of 2012 was $17.7 million, up 1.3 percent from $17.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2011.

North American trucking and transportation company Landstar System today reported its profit in the fourth quarter of 2012 was $34.0 million, increasing 4 percent from $32.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2011.

Truck driver staffing firm TransForce has acquired Superior Driver Source and Superior Driver Source of the Carolinas. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Pittsburg, Kan.-based Watco Railroad Company Holdings has purchased Ann Arbor Railroad.

Asset-light freight transportation management company Hub Group reported income in the fourth quarter of 2012 was $18.8 million, rising 11 percent compared with the fourth quarter of 2011.

A looming driver shortage, rate increases and equipment dislocations are the main challenges that cargo interests will encounter over the next two years as the U.S. economic recovery continues, transportation experts told a Journal of Commerce Webcast Tuesday.

Trucking company Saia today reported income in the fourth quarter of 2012 was $5.4 million, shooting up 118.6 percent from $2.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2011.

A courtroom showdown over truck driver hours-of-service rules is fast approaching, with a deadline for implementing new rules on how many hours truckers can spend behind the wheel not far behind.

Class I rail carrier Canadian Pacific Railway reported profit in the fourth quarter of 2012 was C$15 million (about US$14.9 million), plummeting 93 percent from $219.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2011.

Trucking company Werner Enterprises reported profit in the fourth quarter of 2012 was $26.0 million, dropping 12 percent from $29.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2011.

U.S. diesel prices rose for the second week straight, climbing 2.5 cents in the week ending Jan. 28.

Grupo Mexico has allocated $3.5 billion for its investment budget in 2013, which will be presented for the approval of the board of directors.

Swiss intermodal operator Hupac blamed a weak European economy, periodic closures of the trans-Alpine Gotthard tunnel and increased competition from trucks for traffic slumping 10.7 percent in 2012.

CSX will build a new 89-acre, $100 million intermodal rail terminal in the Perron Industrial Park in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Quebec...

North American trucking company TransForce has acquired about 1.8 million common shares of less-than-truckload operator Vitran Corp., representing 10.75 percent of the issued and outstanding common shares of Vitran.

Jacksonville, Fla.-based class I railroad CSX Transportation, the main subsidiary of CSX Corporation, in collaboration with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, has opened New England’s first double-stack cleared intermodal route...

In the week ending Jan. 19, U.S. intermodal volume rose 13.5 percent year-over-year to 249,397 trailers and containers, according to the Association of American Railroads.

Celadon Group reported profit in the second quarter, ending Dec. 31, 2012, of the company’s fiscal year ending June 30, was $7.4 million, jumping 34.6 percent from $5.5 million in the same quarter in 2011.

U.S. shippers that fail to understand the booming Mexican economy risk losing out on tapping a new market and paying too much for cross-border transportation, said a Kansas City Southern Railway executive Thursday.

The major U.S. railroads could eventually snatch about 45 million truck loads annually on routes 500 miles or higher, as intermodal infrastructure improves, fuel costs rise and trucking industry capacity tightens, a Cleveland Research senior analyst and partner said Wednesday.

Arkansas-based trucking and transportation company J.B. Hunt Transport Services reported profit in the fourth quarter of 2012 was $84.0 million, rising 15.7 percent from $72.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2011.

Railcar lessor GATX today reported income in the fourth quarter of 2012 was $29.7 million, dropping 6 percent from $31.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2011.

Trucking company Heartland Express reported its profit in the fourth quarter of 2012 was $14.3 million, dropping 16.5 percent from $17.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2011.

The trucking industry may be rolling toward a "pricing renaissance" of its own, as rising operating costs and tight capacity push truck rates higher.

Mondovi, Wis.-based temperature-controlled truckload carrier Marten Transport recently reported the highest net income for any quarter and year in the company’s history.

Omaha, Neb.-based Union Pacific Railroad reported profit in the fourth quarter of 2012 was $1 billion, compared with $964 million in the fourth quarter of 2011.

Phoenix-based regional truckload carrier Swift Transportation reported profit in the fourth quarter of 2012 was $46.9 million, jumping 27.3 percent from $36.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2011.

Groupe Eurotunnel’s 2012 revenue grew 14 percent from the previous year to 993.1 million euros ($1.3 billion), driven by record truck shuttles through its undersea rail track between the U.K. and France.

JOC Senior Editor William B. Cassidy identifies the top trucking stories for 2013.