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NEW YORK — Railroads large and small gave investors two consistent messages — economic growth will be slow but steady, and they will continue their commitment to investing in new projects such as freight corridors.

New orders for Class 8 trucks in North America climbed sharply in August, two commercial vehicle research companies said in preliminary reports.

Truck and engine maker Navistar Inc. has begun shipping 2010-compliant heavy-duty engines, including more than 225 tractors with its 13-liter MaxxForce engines, the company said.

Mexico has continued its side of the cross-border trucking pilot program begun in 2007, although the United States ended its participation and has denied Mexican trucks authority to deliver to U.S. destinations, a Mexican official said.

RICHMOND, Va. — People in trucking have long viewed themselves as a collection of hardworking individuals — and there are plenty of stories to support that belief. But who among them has worked harder and longer than J. Harwood Cochrane, founder of the highly successful Overnite Transportation Co. at age 22 and the more middling Highway Express at age 78?

President Obama proposed a transportation infrastructure plan last week, including a call for a one-time $50 billion federal investment and the creation of an infrastructure bank.

Diesel prices dipped for the fourth consecutive week, as the U.S. retail price average slipped 0.7 cent a gallon to $2.931 from the week before, the Department of Energy reported.

WASHINGTON — Highway crash deaths involving large trucks plummeted 20% in 2009 to 3,380, the third straight year it has set a record low, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Wholesale inventories rose in July by the most in two years, the Commerce Department said Friday.

Descartes Systems Group said it earned $2 million, or 3 cents a share, in its second fiscal quarter, compared with $800,000, or 2 cents, a year ago.