Business

The U.S. trade deficit narrowed in November to its smallest level since July 2005 and, as exports reached a record and oil imports declined, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday.

The Department of Homeland Security said Tuesday it will grant $445 million for fiscal year 2007 to protect critical infrastructure, including ports and transit systems.

Highway Watch Report Leads to Arrest • McMurray Named FMCSA’s Chief Safety Officer • Mass. Trucking Company Files Complaint Against FMCSA • Survey Cites Drivers’ HOS Compliance Concerns • And more...

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration said late Tuesday that it will announce a proposed rule regarding electronic on-board recorders for commercial trucks and buses on Thursday morning.

Crude oil futures hit a 19-month low price, closing at $54.02 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange Wednesday following a Department of Energy report showing strong heating-oil inventories, Bloomberg reported.

The American Transportation Research Institute issued a final call Tuesday for motor carrier safety data to measure the effects of the federal hours-of-service rule’s split sleeper-berth provisions.

Less-than-truckload carrier YRC Regional Transportation said late Monday that its USF Bestway and USF Reddaway units will consolidate into one organization under the USF Reddaway brand.

The average retail price of diesel fuel dropped 4.3 cents to $2.537 a gallon, the Department of Energy reported Monday.

Wachovia Capital Markets upgraded the U.S. trucking sector to “market weight” from “underweight,” citing opportunities for investors to be more constructive ahead of the next upturn, Reuters reported.

Several people who obtained commercial driver’s licenses from a southern Missouri trucking school gave false home addresses, and state officials acknowledge they currently have no way to stop the practice, the Associated Press reported.