91ÊÓƵ

ORLANDO, Fla. — Despite a shortage of components and production bottlenecks, the chairman of the American Truck Dealers said he expected as much as 25% growth in heavy-duty truck sales in 2005 as fleet executives continue to replenish older equipment and buy trucks in advance of new diesel engine emission regulations in 2007.

The Senate took another step toward passing its version of multiyear transportation legislation as the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee approved its portion of the highway bill Thursday.

Mack Trucks Inc. is raising employment at its manufacturing plants due to strong demand for its heavy-duty trucks, the Associated Press reported Friday.

The University of Michigan's preliminary consumer sentiment index for April dropped to 88.7 from 92.6 last month, the lowest level since September 2003, Bloomberg reported Friday.

Prices of imported goods rose 1.8% in March, following a 0.8% jump in February, the Labor Department said Friday.

The United States can maintain tariffs on steel imports from Japan, Russia and Brazil, after an independent trade panel found that removing the duties would harm the U.S. steel industry, Bloomberg reported Friday.

Production at U.S. factories, mines and utilities rose 0.3% in March, though overall manufacturing dropped for the first time in seven months, the Federal Reserve said Friday.

Manufacturing in New York state grew at the slowest pace in two years in April as orders fell, according to a monthly survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York released Friday.

Hayes Lemmerz International Inc. said Friday it lost $62.3 million or $1.66 a share for 2004, compared with a loss of $46.5 million or $1.55 in 2003.

Intermodal volume rose 6.2% for the week ended April 9 compared to last year, bouncing back from a 0.1% drop the previous week, the Association of American Railroads reported.