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High fuel prices are dampening demand for diesel and gasoline, and more Americans will stay home this Fourth of July holiday than last year, a truck stop trade group said Thursday.

The U.S. economy’s service sector contracted in June as prices reached a record high and employment reached a record low, the Institute for Supply Management said Thursday.

Two federal lawmakers joined the head of the Motor Transport Association of Connecticut in calling for action to help relieve soaring fuel prices that are driving trucking companies out of business, the Connecticut Post reported Thursday.

Heavy-duty components maker ArvinMeritor Inc. said it will buy Trucktechnic, a Belgium-based remanufacturer and distributor of commercial vehicle disc and foundation brakes and components.

U.S. payrolls declined in June but the unemployment rate held at 5.5%, the Labor Department said Thursday.

The average price of a gallon of retail diesel dipped 0.3 cent last week, to $4.645, making June only the second month so far in 2008 during which the average did not rise, the Department of Energy reported.

ArvinMeritor Inc. said Wednesday that its fiscal third-quarter sales will rise as much as 20% to $2 billion on higher demand in Asia and South America, and for military products in North America.

Factory orders jumped 0.6% in May, the third straight increase, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.

Truckers protested high fuel prices in London and in India Wednesday, blocking streets and parking rigs, Bloomberg reported.