Business

Rail shipments of crude and refined products fell last week to the lowest level since October 2013 after a derailment shut a track in Illinois for four days.

The Conference Board’s index of leading economic indicators, a measure of the outlook for the next three to six months, rose 0.2% in February for a second month, the New York-based group said March 19.

Fewer than 300,000 Americans filed applications for unemployment benefits for a second week, signaling the labor market remains resilient even as the economy shows signs of slowing.

Volvo Trucks introduced a rugged version of its I-Shift automated manual transmission for severe-duty applications.

Trucks carried the largest amount of trade among North American Free Trade Partners last year, with trucking trade rising 4.5% from 2013 to $715 billion, the Department of Transportation reported.

U.S. rail intermodal traffic rose 7% in the week ended March 14 compared with the same week last year, the Association of American Railroads reported.

FedEx Corp. improved fiscal third-quarter net income by 53% to $580 million, or $2.01 per share, fueled by earnings gains across the Express, Ground and Freight units.

Container volume at the Southern California ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach declined in February from a year ago because of backed-up congestion related to labor issues, the two said.

House Republicans’ budget blueprint unveiled March 17 would enhance states’ control over critical highway projects, and it would establish a reserve fund to develop proposals for bringing surface-transportation legislation to passage.