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New orders for U.S. factory goods fell in February and business spending on capital goods was much weaker than initially thought, the latest indications that economic growth slowed further in the first quarter.

Manufacturing expanded in March for the first time in seven months, fueled by a surge in orders that signals American factories are emerging from their worst slump since the last recession.

COLUMBUS, Ind. — Small- and medium-size trucking fleets continue to wrestle with the federal electronic logging device mandate, with some finding pleasant surprises and others driven to despair and resignation, according to discussion here at an industry conference.

COLUMBUS, Ind. — Regulation of greenhouse-gas emissions could increase the cost of a tractor-trailer combination by about $14,250 through 2027 and cause another pre-buy cycle of trucks similar to 2006-2007, participants at an industry conference said here.

Goldman Sachs projects that the ISM Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index will break above 50, the level that separates contraction and expansion, in its March reading that is due out on April 1.

Factory production rose in February for a second month, boosted by demand for business equipment and indicating U.S. manufacturing may be starting to stabilize.

Factory activity in February shrank less than forecast as gains in new orders and production provided signs that the beleaguered industry soon could stabilize.

WASHINGTON — Congressional and state transportation leaders were patting one another’s back at a briefing here for their work twisting arms and shepherding passage of a $305 billion “historic” long-term highway bill known as the FAST Act.