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The following quotation was taken from a recent online article concerning rail fuel surcharges: “The surcharges accounted for 8% of 2005 revenue, compared with 2.9% a year earlier, while fuel expenses at the two rail lines rose 44%, to $4.35 billion, the paper said.”

Benchmark light sweet crude oil futures rose to more than $71.50 a barrel in early trading Friday following renewed concern over Iran’s nuclear program, Bloomberg reported.

Existing home sales dropped 2% in April, the National Association of Realtors said Thursday.

Universal Express said Thursday it signed a letter of intent to buy a majority interest in Miami-based Global Trucking Services.

The U.S. economy grew at a revised 5.3% annual rate in the first quarter, a half-percentage point higher than previously reported, the Commerce Department said Thursday.

The number of Americans filing first-time unemployment claims fell by 40,000 last week as employees in Puerto Rico returned to work after a temporary government shutdown, the Labor Department said Thursday.

Truck makers sold 24,297 heavy-duty trucks in April, a 19.2% increase over April 2005, marking the 30th-straight month of year-over-year expansion.

New home sales rose 4.9% in April to the highest levels recorded this year, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.

Crude oil fell Wednesday following a Department of Energy report that showed gasoline inventories rose last week, Bloomberg reported.

Durable goods orders fell 4.8% in April from March, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.