Business

The trade deficit narrowed in November as U.S. petroleum imports sank to the lowest level in more than five years.

Companies added more workers than forecast in December, indicating the U.S. job market was sustaining strength as 2014 drew to a close, according to a private report based on payrolls.

Class 8 truck orders jumped 38% to 43,900 units in December, capping the industry’s second-best year on record for incoming orders, according to ACT Research.

California Gov. Jerry Brown wants to see a 50% reduction in petroleum use by cars and trucks by 2030 and a greater investment in roads and bridges as soon as possible.

CRST International is wrestling with options on how to wrap up its civil litigation with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in the federal court system concerning the company’s van expedited division.

Federal mediators are stepping into the protracted West Coast port talks at the request of labor and management that have been unable to reach an agreement after nearly eight months of bargaining.

Ford Motor Co. Chief Executive Officer Mark Fields said that an automaker probably will introduce a self-driving vehicle within half a decade, but it won’t be his company, which is focusing on less expensive features that assist in driving.

Factory orders dropped 0.7% in November, the fourth straight decline, the Commerce Department reported Jan. 6.

Diesel prices started the new year the way they ended 2014, falling 7.6 cents to $3.137 a gallon as oil prices fell below $50 a barrel for the first time in almost six years.