Business

Class 8 truck orders tumbled 39% year-over-year in April, reaching a seven-year low for the month, in the midst of a weak freight environment, slumping used-truck prices and overstocked dealer lots, two consulting firms reported.

Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems said it has sold its 450,000th Electronic Stability Program, a system that automatically deploys a truck’s brakes to protect against loss of control from swerving or a rollover.

XPO Logistics and Estes Express have agreed to pay a total of $13 million to settle overcharge claims in connection with the Defense Transportation Coordination initiative, a federal contract that was meant to lower logistics costs.

In the past two state budgets, Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the Legislature have allocated $2 billion in bank settlement money to the New York State Thruway Authority to pay for a new $4 billion span and to freeze tolls on the Thruway’s 570-mile system through 2020.

America’s trade deficit shrank more than forecast in March as imports fell in percentage terms by the most in seven years and outpaced a decline in shipments overseas.

U.S. worker productivity decreased for a second straight quarter, and employer costs for labor climbed by the most in more than a year.

XPO Logistics slightly reduced its first-quarter loss, excluding one-time costs, to $9.8 million, or 8 cents per share, while earnings slipped 9% to $96.6 million, or 53 cents, as airfreight and ocean forwarding results weakened.

Independent engine maker Cummins Inc. posted diminished first-quarter financial results with declines in sales and net income relative to the same time in 2015, and the North American heavy-duty truck market listed as a contributing factor.

ArcBest Corp.'s future is "bright" and the company is "in good hands," retiring board chairman Robert A. Young III said recently at the Fort Smith, Arkansas-based corporation's 2016 shareholders' meeting.