Government

WASHINGTON — U.S. businesses added 163,000 jobs in August, a private survey found, a decent gain that suggests that employers are confident enough to keep hiring.

The average fuel economy of trucking companies participating in an annual study conducted by the North American Council for Freight Efficiency improved 2% on a year-over-year basis, the group announced.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has planned a public listening session this month to discuss several proposed changes to the commercial motor vehicle driver hours-of-service regulations.

Citing a persistent increase in the number of vehicle-train collisions at highway-rail grade crossings in recent years, the Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General has informed the Federal Railroad Administration that it is conducting an audit of the agency’s incident data.

Talks to revamp the North American Free Trade Agreement are set to resume as U.S. and Canadian negotiators push to strike a deal amid President Donald Trump’s threats to walk away.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. trade deficit widened for the second straight month in July, reaching the highest level since February, as imports hit an all-time high. The deficit in goods with China and the European Union set records.

The national average retail price of diesel fuel increased by 2.6 cents, pushing the weekly average to $3.252 a gallon, according to the U.S. Energy Department’s weekly report released Sept. 4. Trucking’s main fuel now costs 49.4 cents a gallon more than it did a year ago, when it was $2.758 a gallon.

President Donald Trump’s inaction on a long-term infrastructure plan has been detrimental to the country’s labor force, a key national union labor leader recently said on Fox News Sunday.