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The U.S. economy’s service sector improved last month, showing the smallest level of contraction in nine months, the Institute for Supply Management said Monday.

U.S. orders for new trailers put in their best two-month performance in a year through May, leading original equipment manufacturers to express cautious optimism for their industry. However, major OEMs would not declare the recession at an end.

In the four months since President Obama signed a more than $770 billion stimulus package, House transportation leaders said states have approved projects that would distribute more than half of the money available for road and bridge projects.

With the White House standing in his path and a pair of well-placed senators lining up with the administration, the guessing game in Washington is how long House Transportation Committee Chairman James Oberstar can keep his six-year highway reauthorization bill alive in Congress.

The U.S. heavy-duty fleet truck fleet is aging as carrier executives scrimp to cut costs wherever they can amid the continuing national freight drought.

A 3.2% rise in American Trucking Associations’ truck tonnage index during May from weak results in April may indicate that the worst of the recession could be over, even though the index was 11% below year-ago levels, industry experts said.

Finding quality financing for trucks and trailers recently has become more difficult for many trucking companies. The market has changed. Since last autumn, several transportation lenders have exited the business either permanently or temporarily, in large part because of losses and a lack

of liquidity.

Transportation and logistics firm Amerijet International said it will acquire a majority interest in Nations Express.