Government

Oil prices dipped Wednesday following an Energy Department report that showed distillate inventories, which include diesel fuel and home heating oil, rose last week.

Registration for truck drivers and other transportation workers to get the Transportation Workers Identification Credential, a biometric identification credential that will be required for unescorted access to secure areas at all U.S. ports.

WASHINGTON — The American Road and Transportation Builders Association said it would seek an exemption from federal hours-of-service rules for drivers in the construction industry, even as the group representing state enforcement officials said they would look to roll back the exemptions already in place.

The North Carolina Trucking Association has teamed up with the Governor’s Highway Safety Program in launching a new state initiative aimed at enhancing commercial vehicle safety.

U.S. factory orders rose 0.5% in October, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.

The economy’s service sector growth rate declined in October, the Institute for Supply Management said Wednesday.

Severe floods in the Pacific Northwest have closed a stretch of Interstate 5 until at least Thursday, news reports said.

U.S. worker productivity jumped to an annual rate of 6.3% in the third quarter from 2.2% the previous quarter, the Labor Department said Wednesday.

The Senate voted 77-18 Tuesday for a U.S.-Peru free-trade agreement, opening the way for expanded economic ties with that country, the Washington Post reported Wednesday.