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Everyone is putting a lot of stock in the economic stimulus provided by a government package of tax rebates and incentives, and eagle-eyed economists and accountants are combing the legislative text for opportunities.

U.S. retail diesel prices soared 11.6 cents last week to a national average of $3.396 a gallon, the highest level since early December, the Department of Energy reported.

Two years after it was first announced, the federal government has begun a full rollout of its plan to provide high-tech, secure identification for workers in and around America’s ports.

Long Beach officials last week put finishing touches on a sweeping, unprecedented set of rules aimed at dramatically cutting emissions from the 17,000 drayage trucks working at the huge California container port, rejecting the plan’s most controversial feature that would have forced independent owner-operators to work for larger carriers.

Growth of the U.S. heavy-duty truck fleet decelerated in the fourth quarter, as freight carriers, led by large fleets, continued to put off buying new equipment in the face of a possible recession, according to truck registration data from market research firm R.L. Polk & Co.

Universal Truckload Services, Warren, Mich., said it earned about $4.8 million, or 30 cents a share in the fourth quarter of 2007, down from $5.3 million, or 33 cents, in the previous quarter.

Initial jobless claims fell by 9,000 for the week ended Saturday, the Labor Department said Thursday.

The index of leading economic indicators January fell for the fourth consecutive month, driven down by deterioration in the stock and housing markets, the New York-based Conference Board said Thursday.

Manufacturing levels in the Philadelphia region this month fell by the most since February 2001, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said Thursday.

Canadian transportation firm Contrans Income Fund said it plans to consolidate certain operations of its dry van and flatbed businesses in eastern Canada.