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The on-again, off-again fight to toughen classification standards for independent contractors is on again, with an effort being led by Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), who last month introduced a bill trucking industry officials said would erode the protections afforded employers against attempts by the Internal Revenue Service to reclassify independent contractors as employees.

Truck and engine maker Navistar International Corp. reported a fiscal fourth-quarter profit of $86 million, or $1.19 a share, driven by what it said was a pickup in commercial truck volume and continued military sales.

The average cost of a gallon of diesel in the United States rose for the first time in eight weeks, inching up 0.6 cent to $2.732 a gallon, the Department of Energy reported.

Manufacturing activity in the Chicago region showed expansion in December, the Institute for Supply Chain Management-Chicago reported Wednesday.

Hampden, Maine flatbed carrier Carlen Transport is closing its doors, leaving more than 100 workers without jobs, the Associated Press reported Wednesday.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration said it was delaying some intermodal chassis safety requirements for six months to give operators of that equipment more time to create a database to track the condition of each chassis.

The Environmental Protection Agency has refused to back a request from American Trucking Associations and the Canadian Trucking Alliance that foreign (non-U.S.) drivers be allowed to reposition their trailers between two points.

Consumer confidence rose to a three-month high, the New York-based Conference Board reported Tuesday, as retail sales last week improved 2.3% from a year ago.