Business

Cargo thefts have increased against over-the-road trucking firms during the recession, with criminals turning to “basics” such as food and paper products, as well as the traditional high-value loads, though no hard figures exist, American Trucking Associations said.

Tank truck carriers, who haul everything from wine to oil field supplies to industrial chemicals, said their business finally seems to be picking up after months of downward recessionary pressure on freight volumes.

Customer satisfaction with full-service moving companies is on the rise, according to the results of a J.D. Power and Associates survey published earlier this month.

The average retail price of U.S. diesel continued a slow upward creep last week, rising 1.6 cents a gallon to $2.668, a pace fleets said gives them some stability amid recession-driven volume and pricing challenges.

The Betsy Ross Bridge between New Jersey and Pennsylvania will become the first in the Philadelphia area with express E-ZPass lanes, the Associated Press reported.

U.S. consumer confidence slipped slightly in August from July but improved from an earlier forecast this month, according to the Reuters/University of Michigan monthly consumer sentiment index released Friday.

The in-house financing arm of truck maker Navistar International Corp. has signed an agreement for a one-year renewal of a $650 million floor-plan funding facility for its dealers, the company said.

Consumer personal spending rose 0.2% July, as buyers took advantage of the government’s “cash for clunkers” program to trade in old cars for new ones, the Commerce Department said Friday.

Trucking and intermodal firm Trailer Bridge Inc. said Thursday it has appointed Ivy Barton Suter its new chief executive officer, effective immediately.