Government

The Department of Transportation will develop a proposal to reopen the United States to trucks from Mexico before President Obama visits President Felipe Calderon there later this month, a spokeswoman told Transport Topics.

Two regional less-than-truckload carriers announced across-the-board pay cuts because of deteriorating freight volumes and prices, Saia Inc. by 5% for salaried employees and drivers, and Ward Trucking Corp. by 8.9%. Both companies said executives’ pay was cut even more.

An Illinois jury has awarded $23.8 million in damages against leading freight broker C.H. Robinson Worldwide in a dual-fatality 2004 truck accident case involving a motor carrier hired to haul a load of potatoes.

President Obama named two nominees to lead agencies within the Department of Transportation, the White House said.

The U.S. economy’s service sector continued to contract in March, the Institute for Supply Management said Friday.

Less-than-truckload carrier Con-way Freight will take over the final leg of express shipments from Europe under a new partnership with Dutch transportation and logistics firm TNT.

U.S. factory orders rose in February for the first time in seven months, the Commerce Department said Thursday.

Manufacturing in the U.S. improved in March but showed contraction for a 14th straight month, the Institute for Supply Management said Wednesday.

Construction spending fell 0.9% in February, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.

Democratic lawmakers announced legislation Tuesday that they say would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by one fifth, reduce dependence on foreign oil and create energy-related jobs, the Associated Press reported.