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As the recession deepens, there is growing awareness in the transportation industry of the role dispatchers play in keeping third-party logistics firms and freight brokerages competitive, particularly in the areas where dispatch and customer service collide.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s decision to cut the maximum allowed stopping distance for large trucks by 30% will increase truck buyers’ costs somewhat, but will not force a widespread shift to new technology such as air disc brakes, industry groups and manufacturers said.

Norfolk Southern Corp. reported that their second-quarter profit fell 45% from a year ago.

The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee advanced the nominations of several other key administration officials to the full Senate on July 21, including the nomination of Deborah Hersman to lead the National Transportation Safety Board.

Trucking groups hailed the decision by the National Conference on Weights and Measures not to proceed with proposals to regulate the temperature of retail fuel at the pump.

Canadian transportation firm TransForce Inc. said its second-quarter net income fell to C$18 million, or 21 cents a share, from C$19.3 million, or 22 cents, a year ago.

Transportation and third-party logistics firm C.H. Robinson Worldwide reported a second-quarter profit of $92 million, or 54 cents a share, up slightly from $90 million, or 52 cents a share, a year ago.

HOUSTON — During the second half of 2007, when the U.S. economy and stock market were at their respective peaks, a colleague of James Crane said he was — for a brief while — bitter and unhappy. But as gross domestic product and the value of stocks, housing and other assets fell dramatically, the smile returned to Crane’s face as he realized the comfort of cash — hundreds of millions of dollars of it.