Consumer confidence rose in October, according to the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index released Friday.

BNSF Railway’s intermodal container project in Southern California took a step forward late last month, when a revised environmental impact statement was issued that supports construction of the $500 million project.

ATLANTA — A slowdown in global trade is forcing shippers and carriers to make adjustments in inventory and freight hauling capacity, transportation and supply chain experts said at the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals annual conference here last week.

XPO Logistics, which recently completed $125 million in additional financing, said that its third-quarter results will not match analysts’ expectations.

Universal Truckload Services said it has completed the purchase of third-party logistics firm LINC Logistics for $335 million.

C.H. Robinson Worldwide said Monday it has formed a new ChemSolutions division to provide logistics services to chemical manufacturing and distribution customers.

Trailer orders rose 15% in August from a year earlier, ACT Research reported, reversing a recent pattern of decline and fueling hope that the traditionally strong fourth quarter order pace will occur again this year.

With federal funding of transportation research facing political and budgetary pressures, many schools and research institutions are turning to industry to support research ranging from alternative fuels to electronic networks that connect vehicles and roadway infrastructure in ways that could lead to fewer and less severe crashes, according to industry experts and academic sources.