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An index of leading economic indicators declined 0.3% in March, the New York-based Conference Board said Monday.

A federal appeals court Monday dismissed a lawsuit by the Teamsters union and other groups who had challenged a cross-border trucking program with Mexico, saying the suit was moot because the Obama administration and Congress ended the program.

The California Air Resources Board said it is now enforcing the identification and reporting requirements for California-based transport refrigeration units on trucks, trailers, shipping containers and rail cars assigned to terminals in the state.

A federal judge ruled that Norfolk Southern Corp. can continue operating an ethanol-transfer station in Alexandria, Va., overruling a local ordinance, Bloomberg reported.

U.S. consumer confidence rose this month to the highest level since September, according to the Reuters/University of Michigan’s preliminary monthly consumer sentiment index released Friday.

Common wisdom has long maintained that truck dealers make more money from parts and service than from new vehicle sales. But the economic reality today is challenging even that old maxim.

Competition among construction firms is sharply reducing the cost of infrastructure projects, allowing states to build and repair more roads and bridges than originally anticipated under the federal stimulus legislation, President Obama said last week.

Standing beside Mexico President Felipe Calderon, U.S. President Obama said he was hopeful the two countries could agree on a cross-border trucking program that has spurred a growing trade dispute.

YRC Worldwide Inc. said it is negotiating with the Teamsters union and its pension fund representatives to postpone cash payments into the plan and replace them with real estate collateral as part of the company’s ongoing effort to conserve cash.