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More than 25,000 members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union walked off the job at 29 West Coast ports Thursday, in a protest over the war in Iraq.

Purolator Courier and Teamsters Canada have reached a tentative agreement on a contract renewal for Purolator’s couriers, package handlers, truck drivers and owner-operators across Canada, the company said.

Fikes Truck Line named Gary Salisbury its chief executive officer this month, the company said. He takes over from owner and former president Jim Smith, who remains chairman of the board.

The Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing index continued to show contraction in April, matching March’s reading, ISM said Thursday.

Specialty truck maker Oshkosh Truck Corp. reported a fiscal second-quarter profit of $72.6 million, or 97 cents a share, up from $50.9 million, or 68 cents, a year ago.

Initial jobless claims rose to a four-year high last week, the Labor Department said Thursday.

Consumer personal spending rose 0.4% in March, the Commerce Department said Thursday.

Authorities closed westbound lanes of Interstate 70 west of Denver Thursday because of accidents caused by a spring snowstorm, the Associated Press reported.

Refrigerated truckload carrier Frozen Food Express Industries said it lost $825,000, or 5 cents a share, in the first quarter, compared with a loss of $233,000, 1 cent, a year ago.