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The Federal Reserve said Wednesday that growth in the U.S. economy was "sluggish" between mid-November and January.

Sales at U.S. retailers rose just 1.2% in December, but were flat after factoring out sales of automobiles, the government reported Tuesday, capping a disappointing holiday season, analysts said.

Canadian Business Leaders Urge Use of 'Smart Cards' at Border • A.G. Ashcroft Praises Border Program • Mineta Announces New Security Grants • TSA: No Collective Bargaining for Screeners •

West Coast ports remained choked with traffic that still had not improved much since the dockworkers' work stoppage three months ago, truckers reported last week. But others said they thought the problems could be improving.

Canary Shows Support for Bush Plan • New Jersey Considers Lowering Truck Speeds, Paper Reports • Volvo Sells Euro Bonds After Borrowing Costs Dip • North Sea Shutdown Forces Oil Prices Higher • And more ...

WASHINGTON — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration said it will revisit approximately 1,500 hazardous material carriers, beginning this spring, to advise them to take certain security steps to prevent the threat of turning a cargo into a weapon of mass destruction, said William A. Quade, chief of the agency’s hazardous materials division.

Reversing a three-week trend, diesel fuel prices slipped 2.3 cents to fall back below $1.50 per gallon. With the decline, the Department of Energy said, the national average price of diesel fuel fell to $1.478 a gallon.

WASHINGTON — Annette Sandberg, acting administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, said the trucking safety agency doesn’t have a deadline in mind to make public a new plan to reform federal regulations for commercial drivers’ hours.

ATA Teams With Other Trucking Groups on Recorder Issue • Hydrogenics to Debut Fuel Cell Units in GM Trucks • XM Satellite Boasts 360,000 Subscribers •

FedEx Custom Unit Changes Name to Air Expedite • OPEC Agrees to 6.5% Boost in Output • War Fears Have Customers Holding Off on Purchases, Volvo Says • Oshkosh Wins $250 Million U.K. Truck Contract • And more ...