°®¶¹´«Ã½

The U.S. trade deficit widened in November, reflecting a surge in the value of imports as domestic retailers made a final push to stock shelves for holiday shoppers and demand for foreign oil increased.

U.S. port authorities and ocean carriers, dealing with record import volumes, need to ensure that exports aren’t hindered amid the unprecedented supply chain logjams that aren’t showing clear signs of dissipating, President Joe Biden’s port envoy said.

The British International Freight Association is calling on the U.K. government to investigate the state of competition within the global container-shipping market, as transportation costs remain elevated heading into the third year of the pandemic.

U.S. companies in December added the most jobs in seven months, indicating that more Americans are returning to the labor force and helping employers to fill a near-record number of open positions.

A record 4.5 million American workers quit their jobs in November, a sign of confidence and more evidence that the U.S. job market is bouncing back strongly from last year’s coronavirus recession.

Electric trucks promise many potential rewards for the freight transportation industry. But the experiences of fleets that have begun to deploy these vehicles illustrate an elaborate set of challenges and considerations associated with electrification.

A measure of U.S. manufacturing fell short of expectations at the end of 2021, reflecting declines in gauges of delivery times and prices that belie an otherwise solid demand picture.

The U.S. merchandise-trade deficit widened to a record in November as imports surged to an all-time high. The gap increased to $97.8 billion last month from a revised $83.2 billion in October, according to Commerce Department data released Dec. 29.

The year ahead promises to be a busy one for the equipment sector, as key trends such as used truck pricing and availability, parts sales, freight rates, truck electrification and new, more robust engine oils intermingle with challenging supply and demand conditions — including rising costs for raw materials — that are affecting orders for new trucks and trailers.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is scheduled to deliver keynote remarks at the upcoming annual conference of the Transportation Research Board, which will be held Jan. 9-13.