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Truckload carrier P.A.M. Transportation Services Wednesday reported its first-quarter net earnings jumped to $5.2 million or 50 cents a share, from $2.9 million or 26 cents a year ago.

Heavy-duty truck maker Paccar Inc. reported its first-quarter profit rose 25% to a record $342 million or $2.02 a share, from $274 million or $1.56 a year earlier.

New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine (D) has extended until Monday an emergency exemption to intrastate trucking regulations that allows truck drivers more on-duty hours in delivering fuel to service stations, the Associated Press reported.

Flatbed carrier Smithway Motor Xpress Corp. reported Tuesday its first-quarter net income more than doubled to $1.04 million or 21 cents a share, from $503,000 or 10 cents a year earlier.

Truckload carrier U.S. Xpress Enterprises said late Monday its first-quarter income rose to $734,000 or 5 cents a share, compared with a loss of $2.1 million or 13 cents a year earlier.

Refrigerated truckload carrier Marten Transport’s fourth-quarter income rose 4.9% to $5.1 million or 23 cents a share, from $4.8 million or 22 cents a year earlier.

The national average price of diesel fuel rose 11.1 cents, matching last week's gain, to $2.876 a gallon, as trucking's main fuel continued to soar following a week of record oil prices, the Energy Department said Monday.

Existing home sales rose 0.3% in March, the National Association of Realtors said Tuesday.

Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. late Monday reported first-quarter earnings of $410 million or a record $1.09 per share, up from $321 million or 83 cents a year ago.

President Bush Tuesday directed his administration to help investigate any potential price gouging and said the government would halt crude oil purchases for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve this summer, news services reported.