Government

Factory orders plunged 5.6% in January, the biggest drop in six years, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday.

Fourth-quarter U.S. worker productivity rose 1.6%, matching the level for the full year but lower than originally estimated, the Labor Department said Tuesday.

Canadian firm Contrans Income Fund reported it earned C$7.8 million or 34 cents a unit, compared with C$6.3 million or 33 cents a year earlier.

Refrigerated truckload carrier Frozen Food Express Industries said Tuesday its fourth-quarter income fell to $3.4 million or 24 cents a share, from $6.4 million or 34 cents a year earlier.

The U.S. economy’s service sector growth declined in February, the Institute for Supply Management said Monday.

U.S. consumer confidence fell last month to a five-month low, according to the University of Michigan’s monthly consumer sentiment index released Friday.

According to the most recent Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration census, there are now 16,930 registered transportation brokers. These numbers have been growing at a rate of 30% over the course of the past three years.

Schneider National Inc., which recently received a license to operate as a domestic carrier in China, is at the leading edge of a growing Asian investment wave by U.S. fleets, joining both truckload and less-than-truckload companies that have partnerships or logistics operations there.

Surface trade among the United States, Canada and Mexico dipped 0.1% in December from the same month a year earlier, though both truck and rail numbers rose, the Department of Transportation said.

The Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing index for February rose to positive territory from January’s contraction, ISM said Thursday.