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AUSTIN, Texas — Blockchain has been the subject of extensive hype and much confusion, but this distributed general ledger technology holds the potential to boost efficiency and visibility in the transportation sector as the initial excitement gives way to real business cases, according to trucking technology experts.

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder recently announced that longtime Michigan Department of Transportation employee Mark Van Port Fleet will serve as the agency’s new director.

AUSTIN, Texas — Over the past year Dave Manning, the immediate past chairman of American Trucking Associations, has walked in the White House Rose Garden, rubbed elbows with members of Congress, racked up a hefty airline travel-point balance, and even watched the Supreme Court in action. But his greatest memories, he said, were meeting with the trucking industry’s hard-working, passionate people who occupy offices, workshops and truck cabs nationwide.

Mary Peters, the country’s secretary of transportation during the second half of the George W. Bush administration, will be honored with a lifetime achievement award at the Transportation Research Board’s annual meeting in Washington in January.

WASHINGTON — Spending on U.S. construction projects essentially was unchanged in September, the weakest showing since June, as an increase in home construction was offset by a slide in spending on government projects.

WASHINGTON — American manufacturers grew at a slower pace in October as factories contended with supply disruptions caused by disputes with China, Europe and other trading partners.

U.S. productivity grew at an annual rate of 2.2% in the third quarter, a slowdown from the previous quarter but still better than the lackluster gains of the last decade. Labor costs accelerated but remained at a low level.

The European Union is revamping its plan to reform the World Trade Organization in an effort to win support from the U.S., according to two people briefed on the process.

The Federal Trade Commission is requiring Marathon to sell five New York convenience stores to settle charges that its proposed acquisition of Express Mart would violate federal antitrust laws.