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Monthly sales totals for Class 8 trucks in the United States have been retreating all year — and, in the final months of the year, the retreat is turning into a rout.

Package-delivery giant FedEx Corp. said Wednesday it will hike rates that it charges for U.S. shipments by an average of 4.9%, effective Feb. 1.

In the news this morning: Mitsubishi/Volvo medium truck debut planned for 2004; southern ice storm spreads eastward; Trailer Bridge lands DaimlerChrysler shipping contract; and more.

The average U.S. diesel price fell again in the latest week, by 3 cents to 151.5 cents per gallon, the U.S. Energy Department reported. That is the fourth consecutive weekly decline and brings the average price of diesel at U.S. fueling stations to its lowest level since Aug. 21.

Today's Technology Headlines: Hong Kong terminal launches logistics-enhancing web site; VeriSign, Telcordia start test of data links to phones; Software firm Tradiant goes global with ship lines and Moving health information, supplies faster

This afternoon's headlines: Cars menace snow cleanup trucks in Chicago; FedEx fled Memphis weather early; truckload sector hit by third-quarter shakeout; and more.

Officials in Manitoba are considering stringent enforcement tools for repeat drugged and drunken offenders that could include forfeiture of commercial or private vehicles.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration plans a party Jan. 3 to celebrate its first anniversary, although its critics might prefer a roast to skewer the agency for its performance.

This morning's headlines: FedEx gets extra AF Corp. shares; Iran wants OPEC to cut 1 million barrels of oil per day; and more.

Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. and the United Steelworkers have reached tentative agreement on a new master contract covering about 12,600 employees at 12 tire and engineered products plants in the United States, Goodyear said.