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Manufacturing growth in New York state contracted this month at the fastest pace on record, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said Tuesday.

RENTON, Wash. — In the struggle to squeeze a few more miles out of each tank of fuel, truck makers are designing tractors with the aid of computer models and wind tunnels more generally used to tweak race cars or airplanes.

The Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association and Original Equipment Suppliers Associations are discussing the plight of the automobile industry with President Obama’s administration, the Treasury Department and members of Congress as the federal government advances plans to disburse funds from emergency financial relief legislation approved last year.

Two key safety indicators improved to their best-ever levels during 2007, according to data just released by the Department of Transportation and analyzed by Transport Topics.

Congress late last week was poised to pass a $789 billion economic stimulus package, which included less guaranteed funding for roads and bridges than industry officials had hoped for, but it also contained money for diesel engine retrofits and a tax break for buying new equipment.

Driven by a freight-scarce economy, abundant fuel inventories and predictions of continuing economic distress, the average price of U.S. retail diesel drifted down another 2.7 cents a gallon to $2.219 last week, its fourth straight decline and the 28th in the past 30 weeks.

ARLINGTON, Va. — A top Navistar Inc. official said the company is pursuing its own solution to meet the 2010 U.S. emission standards, because it doesn’t believe the fuel savings claimed by competitors will justify the higher costs and more complicated systems associated with the new engines.

ORLANDO, Fla. — Fleet executives complained bluntly about what they said were padded bills for repair services, unreliable estimates and failures by service operators to offer realistic completion times.

Less-than-truckload pricing dwindled during the fourth quarter, contributing to an increase in operating ratios toward the break-even point, according to a survey of results from publicly traded companies.

ORLANDO, Fla. — Kevin Knight, chief executive officer of Knight Transportation, touted trucking’s efforts in recent years to become more environmentally friendly, and said the industry should work to improve its green message to the public.