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Executives with several software firms said their businesses are awash with inquiries from carriers seeking to streamline operations as they struggle with record fuel prices and sluggish freight demand.

Diesel continued to soar last week, jumping 22.6 cents to put the national average retail price at an unprecedented $4.723 a gallon, according to the Department of Energy.

U.S. diesel prices roared past gasoline in September, reversing the historic pattern because rising demand for diesel, coupled with the weak dollar, has led refiners to export the fuel even as their use of refinery capacity is at a four-year low, according to market experts.

Refrigerated truckload carrier Frozen Food Express Industries said Thursday it will lower the maximum speed of its trucks to 62 miles per hour, from 65 mph, in an effort to save money on fuel.

UPS Inc. said Wednesday it will provide air transportation in North America for competitor DHL Express, as DHL works to cut costs.

Ford Motor Co. plans to lay off up to 12% of its salaried employees by August as part of a restructuring in the face of slumping sales and high fuel prices, the Associated Press reported Wednesday.

In response to the Los Angeles Port Authority’s looming ban on owner-operators, it never ceases to amaze me that our governmental bodies believe they have autonomous authority over all things.

Thousands of U.S. truckers unable to make money because of rising fuel prices are selling their trucks, in what may be the biggest cut in the U.S. trucking fleet since trucking deregulation in 1980, the New York Times reported Tuesday.

As fuel prices have skyrocketed, trucking companies have been forced to look closer at other parts of their businesses to trim costs.