���ϳԹ���

Consumer personal spending rose 0.2% July, as buyers took advantage of the government’s “cash for clunkers” program to trade in old cars for new ones, the Commerce Department said Friday.

While the highly popular Cash for Clunkers program boosted the sales of new autos, both foreign and domestic, it is unknown if it will have any noticeable effect on the economy, jobs, energy or the environment.

Cargo thefts have increased against over-the-road trucking firms during the recession, with criminals turning to “basics” such as food and paper products, as well as the traditional high-value loads, though no hard figures exist, American Trucking Associations said.

In its first major regulatory action under the Obama administration, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration said last week it may for the first time require new trucking companies to pass a proficiency exam before being allowed to begin operations.

The average retail price of U.S. diesel continued a slow upward creep last week, rising 1.6 cents a gallon to $2.668, a pace fleets said gives them some stability amid recession-driven volume and pricing challenges.

PITTSBURGH — Like many other champion truck drivers, Dale Duncan first took the wheel in childhood, on a family farm in Indiana, where his father supplemented the family income by driving a truck.

American Trucking Associations’ tonnage index fell 10.4% in July from a year ago, the slowest rate of decline since February, offering another sign that the sick U.S. economy may be starting to heal.

YRC Worldwide said its board has elected Richard Williamson to be the company’s first chief strategy officer to “coordinate and oversee” the less-than-truckload carrier’s recovery process.