Business

U.S. payrolls rose by 97,000 in February and the unemployment rate dipped to 4.5% from 4.6% the previous month, the Labor Department said Friday.

Logistics and delivery firm Dynamex Inc. said its fiscal second-quarter net income rose to $3.7 million or 35 cents a share, from $2.7 million or 24 cents a year earlier.

The number of heavy-duty trucks in use in the United States increased 5.2% to 3.51 million Class 8 commercial vehicles last year, as fleet owners stocked up on new trucks and kept more old vehicles in service, market research firm R.L. Polk & Co. said.

Transportation Secretary Mary Peters told a congressional panel Thursday that DOT expects the pilot program involving allowing trucks from Mexico to U.S. roads will involve fewer than 1,000 trucks.

Rail intermodal levels rose 8.6% last week but carload traffic continued a downward trend in falling 5%, the Association of American Railroads said Thursday.

Diesel engine maker Cummins Inc. said Thursday that its board declared a two-for-one split of the company’s stock, to be payable on April 9 to shareholders of record as of March 26.

DHL Worldwide Express plans to focus on expanding overseas shipments from the United States after investing in a domestic package delivery network, Bloomberg reported.

Truck drivers need greater flexibility within federal driver work and rest rules to allow them to select sleep times and duration based on individual need, according to a study released jointly by American Trucking Associations and a sleep research firm.

Federal Reserve districts reported some regional slowdowns in trucking in the first few months this year, the Fed said Wednesday in its latest “beige book” survey of economic conditions.

Initial jobless claims fell by 10,000 last week, following the previous week’s gain to a 14-month high, the Labor Department said Thursday.