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U.S. manufacturing activity fell to a three-year low in August, the Institute for Supply Management reported Tuesday.

Construction spending fell in July for the first time in four months, the Commerce Department said Tuesday.

Consumer confidence rose in August to the highest level in three months, according to the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index released Friday.

Manufacturing activity in the Chicago area slipped slightly in August, the Institute for Supply Management-Chicago said Friday.

Factory orders rose 2.8% in July, the biggest gain in a year, the Commerce Department said Friday.

Navistar Inc. will once again be able to pay a penalty to sell heavy-duty diesel engines that violate 2010 emissions standards, thanks to a new federal regulation that replaces a previous set of penalties overturned by a court in June.

Transport Topics Online will be closed Monday for the Labor Day holiday. Please check back on Tuesday, Sept. 4, for the latest trucking and freight transportation news.

Let me understand you correctly: If a driver runs out of time 30 minutes from the yard and is on an electronic onboard recorder, “He either spends the night 20 miles from home or, more likely, breaks the law and comes to the yard anyway.”

Transportation companies with independent contractor relationships should brace themselves for potential misclassification challenges from multiple fronts. Given the budget crises facing many states and the federal government, the interests of legislators, government agencies and unions have aligned, resulting in a coordinated effort to discourage the use of independent contractors — or to reclassify them as employees.

It appears that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is listening to trucking, at least somewhat.