On-highway diesel prices declined again for the 10th week in a row, according to figures released May 19. The national, average, at-the-pump diesel price decreased 0.1 cent to $1.443 a gallon, the Energy Information Administration reported May 19.

Three areas still retain the dollar-fifty mark: New England, where the prices is $1.581; the Central Atlantic, where the prices is $1.590; and California, where the prices is $1.522.

The remaining regions' prices per gallon are as follows: the Midwest at $1.434; the Lower Atlantic states at $1.419; the West Coast, where the prices is $1.484; in the Rocky Mountain region, where the prices is $1.483; and in New England, where the price averages $1.477.

Meanwhile, two International Truck and Engine Corp. leaders said May 19 it’s important for trucking companies to take the right steps when diesel hits the $1.40 benchmark.

In a teleconference, John Feiger, vice president and general manager, and John Whitnell, director of the company’s Heavy Vehicle Center, said there was a strong correlation between trucking company failure and rising diesel prices.

Feiger said Class 8 truck orders will historically rise when the price falls below $1.40, but orders tend to stall when prices rise above that mark.