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USA Truck Wednesday announced the promotion of Jerry Orler to chief executive officer.

Crude oil prices surged more than $2 a barrel Tuesday after Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman said President Bush plans to double the size of the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve by 2027, Bloomberg reported.

Truckload carrier Werner Enterprises’ fourth-quarter profit fell 16% to $24 million or 31 cents a share, from $28.8 million or 36 cents a year earlier.

The average price of retail diesel fuel fell 3.3 cents to $2.43 a gallon, the Department of Energy said Monday.

Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp.’s fourth-quarter profit jumped 21% to $519 million or $1.42 a share, from $430 million or $1.13 a year earlier, the railroad said Tuesday.

Eastern freight railroad CSX Corp. reported fourth-quarter earnings of $347 million or 75 cents a share, up from $237 million or 52 cents a year earlier.

Analysts expect mostly lackluster fourth-quarter earnings from trucking companies, since the industry's annual peak season never materialized and demand further waned amid a general economic slowdown, the Associated Press reported.

Freight railroads Union Pacific Railroad and Norfolk Southern Railway said Tuesday that they will launch a new intermodal train service in February that will add rail capacity and expand intermodal rail service between Los Angeles and the Southeast.

Truckload carrier Covenant Transport said it expects to report a net loss between 5 cents and 10 cents a share for the fourth quarter.