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Manufacturing activity in the New York region expanded in December to the highest level in seven months, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said Thursday.

Transportation workers with potentially disqualifying criminal records are being issued Transportation Worker Identification Credentials in some cases because Transportation Security Administration officials are not permitted full access to information contained in FBI criminal databases, according to a new report by congressional investigators.

Federal regulators this week issued a formal clarification intended to close a potential loophole that has permitted some motor carriers to pay a civil fine in full without admitting guilt or liability of a violation.

Consumer confidence rose this month to a six-month high, according to the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index released Friday.

The U.S. trade deficit narrowed by 1.6% in October, shrinking to its lowest level of the year, the Commerce Department said Friday.

The federal government will replace thousands of Transportation Worker Identification Credential cards that were improperly encoded and do not work with card readers, the Transportation Safety Administration said.

The North Carolina State Senate has killed a proposal to cap the state’s 35-cent tax on gasoline and diesel, which is about to rise sharply, by voting to end its session.

Federal regulators have accepted a petition from several trade organizations who have complained that fluctuating federal hazardous materials safety permit requirements are causing some safe motor carriers to loose their eligibility and even cease operations.

An index of the U.S. economy’s service sector declined in November but showed overall continued expansion, the Institute for Supply Management said Monday.

Of course, concerns persist about electronic onboard recorders (“FMCSA Drops Its 2012 Electronic Log Rule Aimed at Carriers With Major HOS Offenses,” 11-21, p. 3). EOBRs are unconstitutional and should be outlawed.