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Freight carriers are preparing for a relatively weak peak shipping season this year as major retailers react to sluggish economic growth by cutting back on imports and reducing the volume of goods that typically move by truck and rail during what is usually the busiest shipping period in the third and fourth quarters.

Whether the product is laundry detergent or basketballs or almost anything else, changing the way things are packaged to make the most out of a trailer’s space is introducing a little-noticed structural change to the trucking industry.

The U.S. retail diesel average fell another 14.6 cents to $4.207 a gallon last week, extending the most pronounced drop in two years to a fifth consecutive week, the Department of Energy reported.

American Trucking Associations said it supports a bipartisan comprehensive energy bill that calls for domestic oil drilling, tax incentives and alternative energy research to lower the price of fuel.

The Teamsters union said it negotiated a deal between investor Ripplewood Holdings and Interstate Bakeries Corp.’s creditors to save the company from liquidation and protect union jobs.

An index of leading economic indicators fell 0.7% in July, the New York-based Conference Board said Thursday.

Manufacturing levels in the Philadelphia region improved, but continued to show contraction in August, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said Thursday.

Transportation Secretary Mary Peters said the Bush administration’s plan to encourage more local and private involvement in transportation funding hinges on support from business leaders and state officials, Bloomberg reported Wednesday.