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Rising fuel costs, weakening demand for freight hauling and the subprime lending crisis are making it tougher for drivers and trucking companies to qualify for financing to buy equipment.

Wall Street’s subprime mortgage crisis has chilled the market for private infrastructure funding by making it more expensive for investors to get financing, according to interviews with several executives.

Manufacturing levels in the Philadelphia region declined this month, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said.

An index of leading economic indicators rose 0.1% last month, the first increase in six months, the New York-based Conference Board said Thursday.

Oil prices hit yet another record high Friday, toping $116 a barrel on concerns that an earthquake centered in Illinois could affect refinery operations, Bloomberg reported.

Hino Motors Ltd. said it will halt assembly of trucks in California and shift the work to a West Virginia factory to consolidate U.S. production, Bloomberg reported.

Initial jobless claims rose by 17,000 last week, the Labor Department said Thursday.

Grocery chain Supervalu Inc. said Thursday its fiscal fourth-quarter sales and earnings reached records.

Truckload carrier USA Truck said Thursday it lost $1.9 million in the first quarter, due to “sluggish freight demand.”