91ÊÓƵ

Goodyear North American Tire said it would raise the price of Goodyear, Dunlop and Kelly commercial tires by up to 6%, effective May 15.

The average national price of retail diesel fuel dropped 5.7 cents to $2.259 a gallon, the Department of Energy said Monday. Gasoline prices also tumbled from four weeks of records, dropping 4.3 cents to $2.237 a gallon, DOE said.

Auto hauler Allied Holdings Inc. reported a net fourth-quarter loss of $33.4 million or $3.75 per share, compared with a loss of $4.3 million or 51 cents per share for the same quarter the previous year.

Celadon Group Inc. reported it earned $2.7 million or 27 cents a share in the first quarter, up from $1.4 million or 18 cents in last year’s first quarter.

Rush Enterprises Inc., the nation’s largest dealer of Peterbilt Motors Co. trucks, reported first-quarter net income of $7.7 million or 31 cents a share, up from $2.2 million or 14 cents last year.

Truckload carrier Werner Enterprises Inc. said late Monday its net income for the first quarter was $19.9 million or 25 cents a share, up from $15.6 million or 19 cents a year earlier.

General Motors Corp. reported Tuesday it lost $1.1 billion in the first quarter, its biggest quarterly loss since 1992, which it blamed on falling sales and reduced market share.

Housing starts fell 17.6% in March, the biggest drop in 14 years, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday.

The Labor Department said Tuesday its producer price index rose 0.7% in March, and prices excluding food and energy rose just 0.1%.

Food retailer and wholesaler Supervalu Inc. reported Tuesday it earned $92.9 million or 65 cents a share for its 2005 fourth quarter ended Feb. 26, down from $95.6 million or 67 cents a share a year earlier.