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U.S. retail sales rose 0.6% in March, following a drop in February, the Commerce Department said Thursday.

The Pennsylvania Motor Truck Association is pushing for a statewide database that would compile employer records on drivers’ drug test results, in an effort to weed out problem truckers, the Associated Press reported.

Air cargo carrier Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings earned $27.5 million or $1.32 a share in the fourth quarter of last year, compared with $27 million or $1.32 a year earlier.

Business inventories were unchanged in February from a month earlier, while business sales fell 0.6% following a 1.2% increase, the Commerce Department said Thursday.

U.S. consumer sentiment has improved in April, according to the University of Michigan’s preliminary monthly index released Thursday.

The number of U.S. workers filing initial unemployment claims rose by 12,000 to 313,000 last week, the Labor Department said Thursday.

The price of goods imported to the United States fell 0.4% in March, the Labor Department said Thursday.

Crude oil futures closed at more than $69 a barrel for the first time this year, the highest price since Sept. 1 following Hurricane Katrina, Bloomberg reported.

Auto transporter Allied Holdings said Thursday it has filed a motion with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court seeking “interim relief” from the company’s contract with the Teamsters union.

As chairmen of American Trucking Associations’ Safety Policy and Regulations committees, we are concerned by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s recent announcement that it would begin reposting for public access SafeStat data and scores.