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LAS VEGAS — The low-growth U.S. economy remains durably in place and will probably continue plodding on as business leaders are hesitant to make the sort of investments that would boost gross domestic product, in general, and truck freight volumes, specifically.

More Americans in June saw the economy worsening than at any time in more than 2 1/2  years, and a weekly gauge of consumer comfort also declined, according to figures from the Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index released June 16.

For the third year in a row, the U.S. economy started the year with a dose of the blues as gross domestic product eked out a 0.5% annual gain, according to Commerce Department figures released April 28.

As the economy again started off the year on a sour note, the glass-half-full crowd pointed to the strength of the U.S. jobs market as a reason not to worry. As long as payrolls are racking up monthly gains of 200,000 or more, the economy remains in fine fettle, or so the optimists would have it.

Figures on retail sales and manufacturing Jan. 15 showed the world’s largest economy ended the year on a weak note, and the start of 2016 wasn’t better. The one saving grace was a pickup in consumer confidence, but that was mainly because households believed inflation will be low, making subdued wage gains look good by comparison.

Americans’ expectations for the economy sank to a four-month low in September as households fretted about financial markets and a global economic slowdown.

The economy continued to expand modestly from late February to early April in most of the country, and transportation generally strengthened in recent weeks, the Federal Reserve said.