The cost advantage offered by shipping direct and avoiding paying for warehousing and inventory is dwindling, possibly forever, as the price of fuel rises. As a result, more carriers have started looking at warehousing to play a larger role in the logistics process.

The cost of retail diesel fell another 10.1 cents last week to $4.502 a gallon, the third-straight weekly decline in the national average that has cut 26.2 cents from trucking’s main fuel, the U.S. Department of Energy said.

Canadian firm Contrans Income Fund’s second-quarter income rose compared with a year ago, due largely to a big income tax charge in the previous second quarter.

The Columbia River Crossing between Portland, Ore., and Vancouver, Wash., has received national priority status from the White House to expedite the project, the U.S. Department of Transportation said late Tuesday.

Logistics firm Expeditors International of Washington said its second-quarter net income rose 9% to $71.3 million, or 32 cents a share, from $65.5 million, or 30 cents, a year ago.

Transportation and third-party logistics firm C.H. Robinson Worldwide said Monday it has acquired Transera International Holdings Ltd., a project forwarding company based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

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.

Trailer manufacturer Wabash National Corp. reported a net loss of $3.2 million, or 11 cents a share, for the second quarter of 2008, down from earnings of $5.9 million, or 18 cents, a year ago.