New Jobless Claims Show Surprise Jump to 637,000
from AFP via Yahoo! News
New jobless claims by American workers rose to 637,000 in the past week, the Labor Department reported Thursday, in a sign of continued caution by U.S. business in the face of a weak economy. The agency said new claims in the week to May 9 rose by 32,000 from the revised level of 605,000 in the previous week. More

Intermodal Traffic Sees Record Quarterly Drops
from Transport Topics
Intermodal international container volume fell 22.7 percent in the first quarter, the eighth straight quarterly decline, the Intermodal Association of North America reported. More

DOT Freight Index Falls 6.5 Percent in March
from Transport Topics
The Department of Transportation said its freight transportation services index fell 6.5 percent in March from a year earlier to its lowest level in more than six years. More

U.S. Producer Prices Up 0.3 Percent in April
from Reuters via Yahoo! News
U.S. producer prices rose faster than expected in April, government data showed on Thursday, driven by a surge in food costs. The Labor Department said the Producer Price Index climbed 0.3 percent after declining 1.2 percent in March. Food prices rose 1.5 percent in April, the biggest increase since January 2008. Food costs rose on a record jump in egg prices, along with soaring prices for vegetables and meat. More

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Import Prices Rise 1.6 Percent on Higher Oil
from Transport Topics
The price of goods imported to the United States rose for a second straight month in April as oil prices increased, the Labor Department said Wednesday. More

Chrysler Aims To Eliminate 789 Dealerships
from WDIV Detroit
Chrysler LLC has told a bankruptcy court it plans to eliminate 789 of its dealers -- or about 25 percent of them -- across the country as part of its restructuring process. The automaker has about 3,200 dealers but says that's too many. It wants to have stronger, more profitable dealers with better facilities. More

Gas Prices Jump 16 Cents Last Week to a 6-month High
from USA TODAY
Gasoline prices soared 16 cents a gallon over the last week to the highest level in more than six months as more expensive crude oil was passed on to consumers at the pump, the Energy Department said. More