Here are five things worth knowing today: 1. For the first time since late 2012, Navistar has reported a profit, the Springfield News-Sun reports. According to the report, Navistar turned a $4 million profit in the second quarter of this year. Though revenues dropped about 18% compared to the same time last year, the News-Sun states that the combination of cutting costs and record profitability in the company’s parts segment put Navistar in the black for the first time since the third quarter of 2012. 2. According to The Wall Street Journal, a report by Cowen and Co. and Chainalytics states that the spot market, where shipping prices are cheaper, is playing a “bigger role in truck transportation as companies look to take advantage of plentiful capacity on the roads.” According to WSJ, the report highlights how truck capacity has driven prices down and squeezed companies heavily on contracted over-the-road business. WSJ spoke with Swift Transportation, which typically contracts out full trucks to run long distances, said it is shifting some of its trucks to the spot market. WSJ has more. 3. Ford Motor Co. and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles recently announced they are cutting production of smaller cars and idling workers at North American plants as part of an effort to boost output of crossovers and SUVs, Automotive news reports. As part of the transition, Ford announced that it will shut the Michigan Assembly plant near Detroit, which makes the slow-selling Ford Focus and C-Max compact cars, an additional five weeks through the end of this year. Automotive News has more.4. On Tuesday night, hundreds of truck drivers parked along Okeechobee Road in Hialeah Gardens, FL, to protest against a large port complex, WSVN 7 News Miami reports. Protesters shut down the roadway on Tuesday night, which brought several South Florida police departments to oversee the protest. Truckers hope to change what they deem unfair labor practices. 5. Port Authority police have arrested a dump truck driver in northern New Jersey after a computer check of her license plate found that she owes nearly $16,000 in unpaid tolls and fees, ABC News reports. Police charged 42-year-old Laura Tarrats with theft of service, toll evasion and traffic violations. ABC News has more.
