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The average retail price of regular gasoline fell 4.46 cents between April 8 and Friday to $2.24 a gallon, according to the latest Lundberg Survey of filling stations nationwide.

Oil filter manufacturers, whose replacement products generate some of the highest brand loyalty among truck operators, said they are making dramatic changes to manage the additional soot expected to be produced by new diesel engines coming in 2007.

The Environmental Protection Agency said representatives from trucking companies and associations would meet with state and local environmental agencies May 6 in Baltimore for the first in a series of meetings to develop a model idling law governing heavy-duty trucks and buses.

FedEx Corp., working with Eaton Corp., said Friday it planned to add up to 75 diesel-electric hybrid trucks to its service fleet in the next 12 months, contingent on pricing and availability.

Sales of existing homes rose 1% in March to an annual rate of 6.89 million, and prices surged to a record, the National Association of Realtors said Wednesday.

Less-than-truckload carrier Yellow Roadway Corp. reported late Thursday that its first-quarter net income was $49.9 million or 96 cents a share, compared with $18.1 million or 38 cents a year earlier.

USF Corp. reported a net loss of $5.8 million or 20 cents a share for its first quarter ended April 2, compared with income of $7.1 million or 26 cents a year earlier.

Old Dominion Freight Line Inc. reported Friday it earned $9.3 million or 38 cents a share in the first quarter, up from $5.7 million or 24 cents a year ago.

The House Thursday approved a new energy bill that includes everything from new oil-drilling rights to billions in energy tax breaks, the Associated Press reported.

Highway deaths involving large trucks rose for the second year in a row in 2004, increasing 3.7% and topping 5,000 for the first time since 2002, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.