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Ford Motor Co. reported its first-quarter earnings fell 38.5% to $1.2 billion or 60 cents a share, compared with $1.95 billion or 94 cents for the same period last year.

Heavy equipment and engine maker Caterpillar Inc. said its first-quarter income rose to $581 million or $1.63 a share, from $420 million or $1.19 a year earlier.

Heavy-duty component supplier Dana Corp. said Wednesday it earned $18 million or 12 cents a share in the first quarter, down 72% from last year’s $65 million or 43 cents a share.

Prices paid by consumers rose 0.6% in March, with the so-called “core” consumer price index, which excludes food and energy, rising 0.4%, the Labor Department reported Wednesday.

Truckload and logistics firm XRG Inc. said Wednesday its board appointed Richard Francis the company’s new chief executive officer, effective immediately.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has again postponed its revised heavy-duty truck stopping-distance rule, saying it needed to spend more time on a cost-benefit analysis of the proposal.

A bill requiring motorists on Florida highways to stay out of the far left lane, except when passing another vehicle, was approved by both branches of the state Legislature April 7 and expected shortly at the governor’s office, an official with the state’s Office of Policy and Budget said.

Frozen Food Express Industries Inc. said Wednesday it agreed to sell AirPro, its remaining non-freight business, to a newly created limited partnership company.

President Bush Wants Review of New Border Rules • Airport Screening Needs Improvement, DHS Says • Schwarzenegger Urges Tighter Border Enforcement

A federal appeals court delayed implementation of a pending Washington, D.C., city law banning hazardous materials shipments, the court said in documents filed Tuesday.