Business

Freight volume hauled by U.S. trucking companies hit a three-month high in October as it rose 6% from a year earlier, American Trucking Associations said Nov. 22.

The world of drayage carriers has certainly changed since motor carriers finally convinced the federal government to establish that it was the owners of freight container chassis who are legally responsible for their maintenance. But the change has not at all come in the ways most fleets expected.

The costs of a proposed federal rule expected to prohibit the transportation of flammable liquids in unprotected product piping on tank trucks would far outweigh the benefits, a trucking industry delegation told White House officials last week.

The average price of diesel fuel dipped 1.3 cents last week to $3.171 a gallon, below the two-year high of the previous week, despite stronger U.S. and global demand, the Department of Energy said Nov. 22.

Consumer confidence increased this month, according to the monthly Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index released Wednesday.

Logistics and delivery firm Dynamex Inc. has received an acquisition offer for a higher price than the one it accepted last month, it said.

Initial jobless claims dropped by 34,000 last week to the lowest level since July 2008, the Labor Department said Wednesday.

Durable goods orders dropped 3.3% in October, the largest decrease since January 2009, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.

Consumer personal spending increased 0.4% in October as incomes gained 0.5%, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.