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The Labor Department said Friday that employers added 337,000 workers during October, boosted by a hurricane-related increase in construction jobs. The jobless rate rose to 5.5% from 5.4% as more people returned to the labor force.

CHICAGO — Confident engine makers said their products would easily meet government diesel-emission standards coming in 2007, but they questioned how to integrate exhaust aftertreatment devices into new trucks, and debated the virtues of selective catalytic reduction to meet even tougher rules scheduled for 2010.

ST. PETE BEACH, Fla. — Trucking’s current tendency to shun expansion of tractor and trailer fleets so as to achieve higher freight rates is not a productive long-term strategy for the nation’s economic health, a top industry executive charged last week.

WASHINGTON — The Southern Motor Carriers Rate Conference asked the Surface Transportation Board to allow the rate bureau nationwide ratemaking authority for less-than-truckload routes, saying it would allow its members the ability to set rates in the territories where they provide service.

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The Labor Department said Thursday that the productivity of U.S. workers grew at a 1.9% annual pace in the third quarter, the smallest gain since the fourth quarter of 2002.

CHICAGO — Michael Burns, chairman and chief executive officer of vehicle component supplier Dana Corp., said a strategic increase this year in his company’s inventory of heavy-duty axles and drive shafts had allowed Dana to take away business from other suppliers that were unable to fill truck makers’ orders during a surge in demand for Class 8 trucks. br clear=all.

Click here to write a Letter to the Editor. ith the economy in a sustained recovery mode, strong freight volumes and a relatively tight supply of trucks, the majority of motor carriers are scrambling to keep up with the growing demand for their services.