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The number of Americans filing first-time unemployment claims fell by 40,000 last week as employees in Puerto Rico returned to work after a temporary government shutdown, the Labor Department said Thursday.

Truck makers sold 24,297 heavy-duty trucks in April, a 19.2% increase over April 2005, marking the 30th-straight month of year-over-year expansion.

New home sales rose 4.9% in April to the highest levels recorded this year, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.

Crude oil fell Wednesday following a Department of Energy report that showed gasoline inventories rose last week, Bloomberg reported.

Durable goods orders fell 4.8% in April from March, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.

Executives with companies that manufacture driver-fatigue and other safety technologies said they are seeing growing interest from carriers as prices fall and the economic consequences of accidents become clearer.

Calculating the cost of insurance for motor carriers is not as simple as it once was. Insurance underwriters that traditionally have relied on claims data to assess risk are now also looking at financial strength, driver training procedures, motor vehicle records and a company’s “safety culture” to determine the amount of premium to be paid.

The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance said late Tuesday that federal, state and local law enforcement officers will cooperate to conduct vehicle inspections across North America as part of Roadcheck 2006, starting June 6.

As the former administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, I have watched with great interest the interplay between the railroads and commercial trucking. The dynamic between the two was evident early on when I realized my confirmation as administrator was being held over the truck size/weight issue.

Crude oil prices rose to more than $70 a barrel Tuesday on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after a fire at the biggest U.S. refiner raised concern over gasoline supplies, Bloomberg reported.