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American Trucking Associations last week announced two initiatives aimed at helping address the shortage of qualified drivers.

New fuel economy standards unveiled Wednesday for light trucks will save 10.7 billions of gallons of fuel and include the largest sport utility vehicles for the first time, the Department of Transportation said.

U.S. and Canadian border inspectors at the Ambassador Bridge crossing in Detroit and elsewhere routinely allow vehicles to pass through border checkpoints without adequate scrutiny, in order to keep commercial traffic moving, the Detroit Free Press reported Wednesday.

ATA Supports Hazmat Rule Uniformity • Agents Smuggle ‘Dirty Bombs’ in Port Test • Conn. Trucking Firm’s Assets Auctioned Off • EU to Set Single License to Boost Safety, Security

Air and ocean freight forwarder UTi Worldwide reported net income of $22.3 million or 23 cents a share for its fiscal 2006 fourth-quarter ended Jan. 31, compared with $18.6 million or 19 cents in the same quarter a year earlier.

Truck stop chain Petro Stopping Centers said late Tuesday it earned $16.1 million last year, compared with $4.9 million a year earlier.

The American Chemistry Council last week asked a federal appeals court to overturn a Department of Transportation regulation governing the loading and unloading of hazardous materials, saying it could lead to a layer of inconsistent and burdensome rules.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration said it will consider allowing drivers with insulin-treated diabetes to operate large trucks. Most people with diabetes have been barred from driving trucks for 35 years.

Southern California's ports should be able to handle another record year of cargo imports without major disruptions, but infrastructure improvements will likely be needed in coming years to keep up, the Associated Press reported Wednesday.

Crude oil prices jumped for a second day Wednesday, rising 33 cents to $66.40 a barrel following a Department of Energy report that showed drops in gasoline and distillate inventories, Bloomberg reported.