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Volvo Trucks North America said Thursday that the company and the United Auto Workers had reached a tentative agreement on terms of new three-year agreements that would cover the 2,800 UAW members who work at the company's truck manufacturing plant in Dublin, Va.

Crude oil futures rose Thursday on reports of a potential "superspike" that could push prices to as high as $105 a barrel by 2007, news services reported.

Orders placed with factories rose 0.2% in February, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.

Manufacturing in the Chicago area increased in March, the National Association of Purchasing Management-Chicago said Thursday.

Personal spending increased for an eighth straight month in February, rising 0.5%, the Commerce Department said Thursday.

Trailer Bridge Inc., a provider of integrated trucking, intermodal and marine freight services, reported fourth-quarter net income of $1.3 million or 11 cents a share, compared with a net loss of $1.9 million or 19 cents a year earlier.

The number of U.S. workers filing for unemployment benefits for the first time rose by 20,000 in the week ended March 26, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

U.S. corporate profits rose 13.5% in the fourth quarter, buoyed by steady economic growth, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.

Transportation and logistics services company Segmentz Inc. reported late Wednesday it lost $2.2 million or 8 cents a share in the fourth quarter, compared with a profit of $51,000 or less than 1 cent a share a year earlier.

Stewart & Stevenson Services Inc. said Wednesday it was awarded a $316 million contract by the U.S. Army to continue truck and trailer deliveries.