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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. — 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.

CORAL GABLES, Fla. — YRC Worldwide Inc.’s chief financial officer said here Feb. 11 that the company expects to announce agreements “in the next several days” with lenders that will produce a waiver from debt covenant restrictions.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The trucking industry lost nearly 25,000 jobs in January, the highest monthly total ever except during a national strike in 1994, according to data from the Department of Labor.

Retail sales rose 1% in January, halting a six-month slide, the Commerce Department said Thursday.