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Consumer personal spending fell in March after two months of growth, the Commerce Department said Thursday.

Oil closed the trading day Wednesday near $51 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange following an Energy Department report that showed gasoline inventories declined last week, Bloomberg reported.

Canadian transportation firm Mullen Group Income Fund said its first-quarter profit dropped 37.8% to C$31 million or 38 cents per unit, from C$49.8 million, or 62 cents per unit, a year ago.

The U.S. economy contracted at an annual rate of 6.1% rate in the first quarter, following the 6.3% downturn in the fourth quarter of last year, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.

Consumer confidence jumped in April to the highest level since November, the Conference Board said Tuesday.

Daimler AG said Tuesday it lost $1.68 billion in the first quarter, compared with a profit of $1.73 billion a year ago, the Associated Press reported.

Covenant Transportation Group said Tuesday it lost $5.5 million, or 39 cents per share, in the first quarter, compared with a loss of $7.8 million, or 56 cents, a year ago.

OXON HILL, Md. — The sale of used North American trucks to overseas markets may once again become a useful technique for maximizing revenue for sellers, industry executives said, but for now the recession has caused even that market to decline.

Cargo theft continues to be a problem for the freight transportation industry and could cause insurance premiums to increase, two experts said.