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California environmental regulators have approved a slate of amendments to fine-tune the state’s transport refrigerated unit rule, but denied a request by industry stakeholders to push back compliance deadlines by extending the useful life of the units from seven to nine years.

UPS Freight and ABF Freight System, two of the nation’s largest less-than-truckload carriers, recently announced general rate increases of 6.9% each, a move analysts said heralds an industry push to higher rates.

Federal Reserve officials lowered their forecasts for growth and employment this year and into 2012, saying the U.S. economy “is continuing at a moderate pace, though somewhat more slowly” than previously projected.

While all fleet managers are waging a battle with soaring diesel prices, refrigerated carriers are facing a second front in terms of collecting fuel surcharges to cover the cost of buying the red-dyed diesel that powers the engines of their reefer units.

The U.S. unemployment rate fell to 9% in January, the lowest in almost two years, from 9.4% in December, the Labor Department said Friday.

The Federal Reserve voted Wednesday to keep a key U.S. interest rate at a record low rate of zero to 0.25%.

California environmental regulators have pledged to cut truckers some slack early next year while enforcing the state’s amended transport refrigeration unit rule that will require all refrigerated trucks and trailers be equipped with low emission TRU retrofits or engines on their 2003 trucks and trailers by Dec. 31.