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Tower Automotive Inc., which makes vehicle frames, said it will close plants in Maryland, Kentucky and Indiana and reduce jobs at an Illinois factory to cut costs as it tries to restructure under bankruptcy protection, Bloomberg reported.

Yellow Roadway Corp. and USF Corp. said Thursday that the U.S. Justice Department had cleared any antitrust concerns about Yellow Roadway’s pending acquisition of USF.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. reported record first-quarter earnings late Thursday, with a profit of $47 million or 57 cents a share, compared with $33 million or 40 cents a year earlier.

Navistar International Corp. reported it earned $20 million or 27 cents a share for its first quarter ended Jan. 31, compared with a loss of $14 million or 20 cents a year ago.

Truckload carrier Heartland Express Inc. said Thursday its first-quarter net income rose 15% over last year, rising to $15.1 million or 20 cents a share, compared with $13.1 million or 17 cents a year earlier.

Freightliner expects truck sales to rise 20% in 2005, outgoing chief executive officer Rainer Schmueckle told the German newspaper Handelsblatt Thursday, news reports said.

Truckload carrier Landstar System Inc. said Thursday that in the first quarter it earned a record $17.9 million or 29 cents a share, compared with $8.1 million or 13 cents a year earlier.

Vehicle parts maker Eaton Corp. said Thursday its first-quarter profit rose 40%, helped by acquisitions and sales of parts for heavy-duty trucks.

The House voted to repeal the estate tax on inherited wealth, which could cut as much as $290 billion in government revenue over the next 10 years, Bloomberg reported.

Business inventories rose 0.5% in February, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.