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An index of leading economic indicators improved in August, the New York-based Conference Board said Thursday.

The Port of Los Angeles is recommending that harbor commissioners push back the first phase of the port’s controversial clean trucks program until the end of 2011.

The Obama administration has agreed to support truck weights of up to 100,000 pounds on additional stretches of interstate highways in Maine and Vermont.

The biodiesel industry suffered a setback when supporters in the U.S. Senate failed to attach an amendment to the recently-adopted Small Business Jobs Act that would have restored the industry’s tax credit.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — The new federal hours-of-service rule due to be unveiled shortly is likely to trim one hour of maximum driving time, and extend the rest period necessary to initiate a new workweek, according to the chairman of the Truckload Carriers Association.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration last week said it will not require the next generation of electronic onboard recorders to use a different type of computer connection than current models, or to operate in temperature extremes beyond the capability of existing systems.

Consumer confidence declined this month, according to the latest Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan monthly consumer sentiment index released Friday.

Manufacturing levels in the Philadelphia region showed contraction for the second consecutive month, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said Thursday.

Prices paid to U.S. producers rose for the second consecutive month in August, the Labor Department said Thursday.