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PITTSBURGH — Like many other champion truck drivers, Dale Duncan first took the wheel in childhood, on a family farm in Indiana, where his father supplemented the family income by driving a truck.

American Trucking Associations’ tonnage index fell 10.4% in July from a year ago, the slowest rate of decline since February, offering another sign that the sick U.S. economy may be starting to heal.

YRC Worldwide said its board has elected Richard Williamson to be the company’s first chief strategy officer to “coordinate and oversee” the less-than-truckload carrier’s recovery process.

The U.S. economy contracted at an annual rate of 1% in the second quarter, matching an earlier estimate, the Commerce Department said Thursday.

New home sales rose 9.6% in July, on the heels of a big jump in June, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.

Durable goods orders jumped 4.9% in July, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.

Truckload carriers C.R. England and Knight Transportation each recently announced they were investing in new software aimed at making its routing and fuel purchasing more efficient.

Maersk Line’s move to start charging truckers for use of its container chassis is being watched closely by the biggest ocean carrier’s competitors, although none of them have yet followed suit.

Will today’s slow-paying customer be tomorrow’s bankruptcy? To get a proper grip on this very real possibility, let’s look at some staggering statistics.