Business

Truckload carrier and logistics firm CFI announced plans to acquire Chicago-based Optimal Freight.

Without a doubt, 2018 was a banner year for trucking and almost every other form of freight transportation. Business investment took off, hiring picked up and freight volume soared with both domestic and international shipments sharing in the bounty.

U.S. consumer confidence slumped in December to the lowest since July as a gauge of labor market expectations fell by the most in 41 years, the latest sign Americans are growing less optimistic as stock markets gyrate and the expansion moderates.

The Rhode Island Department of Transportation has received federal approval to advance construction on 10 more truck-tolling gantries.

BILLINGS, Mont. — President Donald Trump’s administration miscalculated the potential benefits of putting better brakes on trains that haul explosive fuels when it scrapped an Obama-era rule over cost concerns, The Associated Press has found. A government analysis used to justify the cancellation omitted up to $117 million in estimated future damages from train derailments that could be avoided by using electronic brakes.

The U.S. average retail price of diesel dropped 4.4 cents to $3.077 a gallon, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported, as crude oil prices lingered below $50 per barrel.

The nation’s largest grocery chain stepped into the driverless delivery market Dec. 18, bringing milk, eggs and other items to a customer’s home in a vehicle with nobody at the wheel.

U.S. filings for unemployment benefits decreased for the third time in four weeks, hovering near an almost five-decade low that reflects a robust job market.

The U.S. oil industry is delivering a one-two punch to Middle East producers already reeling from a collapse in prices. A tussle is playing out in the market for so-called light oils, which have a lower sulfur content and are less dense than heavier varieties.