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Numerous national health and safety organizations have come together to petition and support the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s regulation to ban cell-phone use in commercial vehicles.

A proposed federal rule that triples to $3,000 the annual registration fee for large hazardous materials motor carriers but maintains a fee of $300 for small carriers places an unfair burden on large carriers, American Trucking Associations and National Tank Truck Carriers said in written comments opposing the new rule.

Several U.S. senators have criticized the Obama administration’s plan to use $4 billion to create a new national infrastructure bank to help finance transportation projects, questioning how the bank would operate and whether rural projects would lose funding to larger urban areas.

Ryder System said Monday it has signed a joint venture partnership with Cargo Services Far East Limited, an Asia-based logistics provider specializing in export consolidation services.

Canadian transportation firm Mullen Group said its fourth-quarter profit grew 56.3% to C$11.1 million or 14 cents per share, from C$7.1 million, or 9 cents per share, a year ago.

The final rule for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners is expected late this summer and is causing concern about rising prices and availability among drivers and motor carriers.

Dupré Logistics created a partnership with GreenRoad, a driver behavioral analysis firm, to enhance the logistics operator’s safety program.

The transportation and logistics industries must do a better job of recruiting employees and upgrading the skills of current workers to meet the increasing needs of shippers, said several leaders in those industries.

Transportation and third-party logistics firm Pacer International said its fourth-quarter profit grew to $10 million, or 10 cents per share, compared with a $64 million loss, or $1.83 cents, a year earlier.

The Obama administration last week proposed a $4 billion “down payment” on a national infrastructure bank to supplement traditional highway funding, as part of its $78.8 billion budget proposal for the Department of Transportation.