U.S. inventories of distillates and crude oil dropped this week – the latter to the lowest level in 24 years, according to the American Petroleum Institute.

Spokesmen for the two railroads that gobbled up Conrail last year — and almost choked on it — are convinced that the companies now have the situation under control as the peak freight transportation season approaches.

Mexican truck and bus manufacturer Consorcio G. Grupo Dina announced a major corporate shakeup last week, inspired in part by Freightliner’s plan to purchase Western Star Truck Holdings.

Navistar International Corp. said it is not planning to respond to demands from an investor group that it sell all or part of its holdings to counter the company’s flagging stock price.

Spokesmen for the two railroads that gobbled up Conrail last year — and almost choked on it — are convinced that the companies now have the situation under control as the peak freight transportation season approaches.

The national average retail price of diesel fuel dropped for the fourth consecutive week. But the stage appears to be set for the price to bounce back up in the next few weeks and a partial cause could be problems experienced by coal-fired electrical plants.

Navistar International Corp. said it is not planning to respond to demands from an investor group that it sell all or part of its holdings to counter the company’s flagging stock price.

The national average retail price of diesel fuel dropped for the fourth consecutive week, but the stage appears to be set for the price to bounce back up in the next few weeks.

A group representing investors who hold about 30% of Navistar International Corp.’s 59 million outstanding stock shares told the firm’s directors to sell the company if that is the only way to avoid ending up a wallflower in the current round of industry consolidations.

The chief executive officers of Burlington Northern Santa Fe and Canadian National railroads announced they are dropping their seven-month-old plans to create the biggest railroad on the continent. The announcement came after a federal court upheld the Surface Transportation Board’s moratorium on rail mergers.