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Bankrupt Flying J Inc. last week sketched out a plan to sell its truck-stop operations to Pilot Travel Centers, which would add to Pilot’s lead as the nation’s largest truck-stop network.

HOUSTON — During the second half of 2007, when the U.S. economy and stock market were at their respective peaks, a colleague of James Crane said he was — for a brief while — bitter and unhappy. But as gross domestic product and the value of stocks, housing and other assets fell dramatically, the smile returned to Crane’s face as he realized the comfort of cash — hundreds of millions of dollars of it.

Heavy-duty U.S. retail truck sales continued to sag in June, leading to the most anemic first-half sales record in at least 20 years, according to the latest monthly survey by WardsAuto.com.

The average cost of retail diesel in the United States dropped 5.2 cents a gallon last week to $2.542, the third consecutive decline and a level nearly 50% below the record highs of a year ago.

Democratic senators have decided to drop a provision that would have allowed workers to form a union if a majority of employees sign cards, the New York Times reported Friday.

Any trucking company that takes the leadership position in safety and in clean air is to be commended. But doing so through high-tech safety and Environmental Protection Agency ventures makes the outcome risky.

Now that we’ve had a week to digest the Transport Topics 100 ranking of the largest for-hire carriers in the United States and Canada, it’s clear that our coverage focused as much on the coming silver lining as on the bleak economic reality of 2008 and the first half of 2009.

Oil rose more than $1 Friday and $4 for the week, topping $63 a barrel, Bloomberg reported.