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A wave of new insurance companies vying for business from the trucking industry has created an unusual — and welcome — situation: Rates are dropping.

WASHINGTON — Representatives of trucking and shippers urged Congress to increase truck size and weight limits, but the chairman of the House transportation committee said he opposed longer combination vehicles and had doubts about raising weight limits.

The average retail price of diesel jumped 8.2 cents to $4.727 a gallon last week, more than wiping out the entire 7.8-cent drop in the price of trucking’s main fuel over the previous five weeks, the Department of Energy reported July 7.

American Trucking Associations asked Congress to implement a comprehensive plan to address the soaring price of diesel fuel and ensures an affordable fuel supply for the nation’s 3.5 million truck drivers.

The Department of Transportation said Friday it is making $1 million available immediately to Wisconsin to help pay for urgent repairs to roads and bridges damaged by recent floods.

The Bush administration rejected regulating greenhouse gases, saying it would cripple the U.S. economy, and effectively moved the issue to a future administration, the Associated Press reported Friday.

Missoula, Mont.-based Jim Palmer Trucking plans to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, following similar filings by two of its subsidiaries, the Associated Press reported Friday

U.S. consumer confidence gained slightly but remained near a 28-year low this month, according to the Reuters/University of Michigan monthly consumer sentiment index released Friday.

The price of goods imported to the United States jumped 2.6% in June, the Labor Department said Friday.