The current recession in the United States has affected many of its trading partners, but none more than neighbors Canada and Mexico, the New York Times reported.

U.S. factory orders totaled $333.2 billion in October, for an increase of 7.1% compared with September, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.

CNF Inc., parent company to Emery Worldwide airlines, announced Wednesday that it will discontinue use of the company’s grounded air fleet and combine its Emery Worldwide, Menlo Logistics and Vector SCM subsidiaries under the new name Menlo Worldwide.

The National Association of Purchasing Management’s factory index rose 4.7 points to 44.5 in November, outperforming predictions but continuing to show contraction, Bloomberg said.

The U.S. House of Representatives on Friday voted 371 to 11 to grant Mexican trucks access to U.S. highways provided they meet stringent safety standards, news services reported.

U.S. orders for durable goods, boosted by a surge in defense hardware orders, jumped 12.8% in October, the largest single-month increase since the Commerce Department began tracking orders in 1992.

The U.S. economy is still in poor shape, the Federal Reserve said in the final edition in 2001 of its Commentary on Current Economic Conditions.

Consumer confidence is at a 7½ -year low, according to a Conference Board report released Tuesday.

The average price of diesel fuel fell 2.2 cents last week to $1.269, its lowest price since Nov. 15, 1999, when the price was $1.261, according to a Department of Energy report released Tuesday.

The investigation into the crash of American Airlines Flight 587 is leading authorities away from suspicions of a terrorist event and toward the possibility of mechanical failure, news services reported.