Government

The national average retail price of diesel fell 11.5 cents to $4.603 a gallon last week, the largest one-week drop in nearly two years and the second consecutive weekly decline, the Department of Energy reported.

ExxonMobil Corp. broke its own record for the largest quarterly profit posted by a U.S. company, reporting net earnings of $11.7 billion, or $2.22 a share, up from $10.3 billion, or $1.83, a year ago.

Construction spending fell 0.4% in June, the Commerce Department said Friday.

U.S. manufacturing was stagnant in July, as factory orders plunged to the lowest level in almost seven years, the Institute for Supply Management said Friday.

Bridgestone Firestone North American Tire said Thursday that it will raise prices by up to 10% on all of its truck, bus, pickup and passenger tires because of higher raw materials costs and persistently high fuel prices.

The U.S. economy grew at a 1.9% annual rate in the second quarter, the Commerce Department said Thursday.

The U.S. Coast Guard has begun setting dates when truckers and others who enter ports in ports must have the government-issued Transportation Worker Identification Credential, or TWIC, that is meant to prevent terror attacks on the docks.

Senate Republicans voted Wednesday to continue debate on a measure that would have bolstered the Highway Trust Fund, effectively killing the bill.

Part of Iowa Highway 1 that had been severely damaged by heavy flooding last month has reopened, the state's transportation department said Wednesday.