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Competition among construction firms is sharply reducing the cost of infrastructure projects, allowing states to build and repair more roads and bridges than originally anticipated under the federal stimulus legislation, President Obama said last week.

Privatizing toll roads may give cash-strapped states a quick budget fix, but such deals, especially for existing highways, “pose long-term threats to the public interest,” according to a new study by an advocacy group.

Most of the 300 Sterling Trucks dealers in the United States and Canada accepted settlement offers from Daimler Trucks North America after DTNA announced it would shut the brand down, the Sterling board member of the American Truck Dealers said April 9.

Rising costs for container fees, administrative expenses and environmental requirements in the midst of an economic downturn are causing shippers, importers and retailers to consider alternatives to the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach for shipping their goods, according to trade association officials.

Manufacturing levels in the Philadelphia region continued to contract this month, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said Thursday.

The consumer price index fell 0.1% in March and declined over the past year for the first time in 54 years, the Labor Department said Wednesday.

Manufacturing activity in the New York region improved this month, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said Wednesday.

The U.S. economy continued to decline from the end of February through the beginning of April, affecting transportation industry services and demand, the Federal Reserve said Wednesday.

Business inventories fell 1.3% in February, the sixth consecutive decline, the Commerce Department said Tuesday.