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Utah Changes Law to Aid Trucking Students • Woman in Human-Smuggling Case Gets 17 Years • Northern Ohio Truckers to Be Spot-Searched for Weight • Missouri CDL Testing Is in Question

The House Wednesday approved criminal penalties and fines of up to $150 million on energy companies caught price gouging fuel, news services reported.

After several days of climbing toward the record high price set 12 days ago, crude oil futures dropped early Wednesday following a Department of Energy report showing higher-than-expected inventories last week, Bloomberg reported.

Transportation and third-party logistics firm Pacer International’s first-quarter net income rose 22% to $13.9 million or 36 cents a share, from $11.4 million or 30 cents a year ago.

The national average price of a gallon of diesel fuel edged up 2 cents to $2.896 as trucking’s main fuel continued to track toward the record highs set last fall, the Department of Energy said Monday.

Specialty truck maker Oshkosh Truck Corp. said Tuesday it earned $49.8 million or 67 cents a share for its second fiscal quarter ended March 31, up from $38.2 million or 52 cents a year ago.

Hundreds of thousands of immigrants and their supporters rallied around the country Monday, slowing or stopping work at some key trade ports, news services reported.

Private fleet operators are beginning to confront some of the same challenges facing for-hire carriers in terms of capacity, rising costs and a growing shortage of qualified truck drivers, according to industry officials and fleet managers.

American Trucking Associations late Monday unveiled a new Security Council it said “reflected the heightened importance of trucking industry security in a post 9-11 atmosphere.”

Ten states, led by California, filed suit Tuesday in San Francisco in an attempt to force the Bush administration to strengthen fuel-economy rules for light trucks, Bloomberg reported.