Patent assertion entities (PAEs) do not invent anything. They don’t develop nor engineer products. They don’t even sell products. PAEs exist for no reason other than buying up lots of patents for products invented, developed, and produced by others, and use these patents as the basis for expensive, time-consuming lawsuits against the companies that do…
The less than truckload sector of the trucking industry, the part that handles small parcels of freight including UPS and FedEx, has struggled with high costs, low profits, and poor earnings ratios for decades. This sector also took some of the hardest hits to the transportation industry during the economic crisis that began in 2008….
Businesses are looking forward to the August 13 announcements by the Commerce Department after economists report their expectations that the economy has gained momentum again in July, following three consecutive months with better figures. A survey of 64 industry leading economists, conducted by Bloomberg, indicates the economy is finally beginning to overcome the obstacles imposed…
Spot freight consists of shipments that fall outside an ordinary shipping contract. When shippers have loads not covered under carrier contract, they turn to a spot freight broker or a load board, which shops the shipment to carriers to find the most suitable vehicle and rate to make the shipment. Since spot freight load availability…
Democrats and Republicans ended sessions to enjoy a five-week break while none of the 12 annual spending bills required to continue government operations have yet been passed. One of the most hotly contested bills before Congress is the Transportation Bill, which failed to get funding from either Congressional house. Republicans and Democrats are at a…
It took just a few weeks for U.S. and Canadian transportation authorities to issue new regulations on rail operators following the July incident reported here yesterday. On July 23, Transport Canada issued a new rule requiring at least two crew members to be on board any train carrying hazardous materials.
On July 6, Canada experienced the worst rail disaster since 1910. Seventy two freight cars parked safely in a parking area were improperly secured and left to roll into the downtown area of Lac-Megantic, Quebec, killing as many as 50 people and destroying 30 buildings. The train, which belonged to Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway…
E-waste, or electronic waste, is becoming quite a problem in developing nations. Not only are these countries producing mass amounts of their own e-waste, it has been common practice for developed countries to send their e-waste to developing nations for disposal, and the result isn’t pretty. Most of this waste comes from manufacturers and businesses…
According to Avid Garman and Samuel Thernstrom in their op-ed piece for the Wall Street Journal, Europe’s use of renewable energy resources such as wind and solar power by far exceeds the use of green energy in the U.S. America’s currently generates 3.5 percent of their energy from wind and solar sources while Denmark has,…
Overall, the economy was relatively flat during the first two quarters of 2013, with an estimated GDP growth of just 1.5 percent. Rail profits in all rose just .8 percent, yet Union Pacific managed to secure a strong growth of 10.4 percent, nearly beating their record profits in year over year gains. Overall load volumes…