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A sharp drop in intermodal business helped to drag down second-quarter earnings for the largest North American railroads.

Finance and leasing industry officials said a proposal to reclassify equipment leases as a form of debt or asset, rather than an expense, would be difficult and costly for most companies to comply with.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s decision to cut the maximum allowed stopping distance for large trucks by 30% will increase truck buyers’ costs somewhat, but will not force a widespread shift to new technology such as air disc brakes, industry groups and manufacturers said.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission last week began laying the groundwork for a stronger regulatory hand over oil traders and investors, with a series of hearings and a report on trading patterns that could lead to limits on some purchases of futures contracts.

American Trucking Associations’ tonnage index declined 13.6% in June from year-ago levels, the biggest such decline since early 1996.

Intermodal rail traffic in the United States fell 17.9% last week compared with the same week last year, the Association of American Railroads said.

Surface transportation trade among the United States, Canada and Mexico fell 35.4% in May from a year earlier, the largest year-to-year drop on record, the Department of Transportation said Thursday.

Substantial production cuts did not stop Germany-based truck maker MAN SE’s second-quarter profit from plummeting 95%, Bloomberg reported.

Navistar said that its exhaust gas recirculation technology will increase International truck prices by up to $8,000 for the 2010 model year.

Durable goods orders declined 2.5% in June, but orders excluding transportation equipment increased 1.1%, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.