���ϳԹ���

President Bush Tuesday nominated U.S. Trade Representative Rob Portman to be the new White House budget director, the Associated Press reported.

U.S. new housing starts fell 7.8% in March to the lowest level in a year, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday.

Truckload carrier Heartland Express said Monday that its first-quarter profit rose to $19.7 million or 27 cents a share, from $15.1 million or 20 cents in the previous first quarter.

The producer price index rose 0.5% in March, the Labor Department said Tuesday.

Grocery chain Supervalu Inc.’s net income dropped more than 93% for its fourth quarter ended Feb. 25 to $6 million or 4 cents a share, from $92.9 million, or 65 cents a year earlier.

Rush Enterprises, the nation’s largest dealer of Peterbilt trucks, said late Tuesday its first-quarter net income jumped to $11.6 million or 46 cents a share, from $7.7 million or 31 cents a year earlier.

Crude oil futures hit a new record closing price Tuesday of $71.35 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, Bloomberg reported.

The Federal Reserve said the end of their interest-rate hikes “was likely to be near,” while citing the need to keep guard against inflation, according to the minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee’s March 27-28 meeting, released Tuesday.

Beginning June 1, trucking companies that use in-house central refueling facilities will be required to label their diesel pumps as either ultra-low-sulfur diesel or low-sulfur diesel, said the Environmental Protection Agency.

Truckload carrier J.B. Hunt Transport Services earned a record $49 million or 31 cents a share, up from $47 million or 29 cents a year ago.