Consumer confidence retreated more than forecast in April as Americans’ optimism about the outlook for the economy and employment waned.

Norfolk Southern Corp. reported the best year-over-year improvement in first-quarter rail industry earnings, boosting net income 25% to $387 million, or $1.29 per share, helped by expense reductions and improved results for commodity groups, particularly automotive shipments.

Union Pacific Corp. reported first-quarter earnings higher than analysts’ expectations as the railroad cut costs and boosted prices to mitigate a steep drop in cargo demand, pushing shares to their highest value in five months.

U.S. net orders of trailers hit 13,800 in March, down 39% year-over-year as all but dump trailers showed weakness, while backlogs remained solid, research firm FTR said.

Hapag-Lloyd is in talks with United Arab Shipping Co. on a possible combination of their container businesses, potentially setting up the German company’s second merger in two years as the maritime-freight industry grapples with a drop in prices.

BEIJING — China will encourage ships flying its flag to take the Northwest Passage via the Arctic Ocean, a route opened up by global warming, to cut travel times between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, a state-run newspaper reported April 20.

The state and the railroad CSX Transportation have agreed to a plan to remove a bottleneck for freight shipping beneath the streets of Baltimore and have requested $155 million in federal funding to help pay for the project they say will boost Maryland's economy.

CSX Corp. kicked off the first-quarter earnings reporting season on a down note as net income fell 19% to $356 million, or 37 cents per share, and revenue dipped 14% to $2.62 billion, including a drop of 37% in coal traffic.

SAN ANTONIO — Shelley Simpson, chief marketing officer of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, was named winner of the 2016 Distinguished Woman in Logistics award.

Canadian Pacific Railway terminated a plan to combine with Norfolk Southern Corp., ending the Canadian carrier’s efforts to complete the first merger among major railroads since 1999.