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WASHINGTON — Orders to U.S. factories for big-ticket manufactured goods showed a slight increase in August but a key sector that tracks business investment plans declined, likely reflecting fallout from President Donald Trump’s trade wars.

More than two months and 20,000 kilometers (12,000 miles) ago, the tanker Da Yuan Hu left Singapore and headed to Mexico to pick up a shipment of crude oil. On Sept. 26, with less than two weeks to go until it reaches its destination, its long quest could be in jeopardy.

In an 82-15 vote, the Senate cleared legislation for President Donald Trump’s signature to avert a shutdown of federal agencies.

WASHINGTON — The spot market is suffering a decline in activity this year, but contract business and the promise of improving trade negotiations between the United States and China are helping to keep the freight market on steady ground, said the chief economist of American Trucking Associations.

The Federal Highway Administration has issued a final rule that it said will provide greater flexibility for states to use proprietary or patented materials in federal-aid highway projects.

WASHINGTON — The transportation committee in the U.S. House of Representatives is likely to consider a long-awaited highway bill early next year, Rep. Peter DeFazio, the chamber’s top transportation policymaker, said in an exclusive interview with Transport Topics.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration announced more than $77 million in grants to states and training institutions to improve commercial motor vehicle safety.

The U.S. economy grew at a modest 2% annual rate in the second quarter, a pace sharply lower than the 3%-plus growth rates seen over the past year. Many analysts believe growth will slow further in coming quarters as global weakness and rising trade tensions exert a toll.

Cantor Fitzgerald LP is recommending bearish trades on the U.S. transportation sector amid a deteriorating global trade landscape and worsening economic numbers.

Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed into law a bill that directs the California Air Resources Board and other state agencies to develop and implement a new smog inspection program for heavy-duty diesel on-road trucks.