Afternoon Coffee: Inventories Help Boost GDP, Trucking Firms Raising Prices

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The U.S. economy grew by 3.5% in the third quarter — with boosts from government spending and inventories but a headwind from tariff-affected trade, according to Commerce Department figures released Friday.  “In two volatile categories, inventories provided the biggest contribution since early 2015, while the drag from trade was the largest in 33 years,” Bloomberg reports. “Government spending rose by the most since 2016.”

Trucking Costs Up

Trucking firms are raising prices because of a capacity challenge, The Wall Street Journal reports. And the costs are being passed on to businesses and are putting pressure on supply chains, the Journal reports. But the good run for trucking companies may be easing up, the it reports.

Turn Off the Switch?

And finally, an update on time: People in the European Union have distinct disdain for daylight saving time — with 80% surveyed not in favor of changing the clocks twice a year, according to a Quartz report. In Europe, that change happens Sunday. In the U.S., it happens Nov. 4.