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Wal-Mart Stores said it will test two types of diesel-electric hybrid trucks and two types of alternatively fueled trucks as part of a continuing effort by the world’s largest retailer to double the fuel efficiency of its 7,200-truck fleet by 2015.

Your newspaper this week shows just how difficult things are for carriers these days, as freight rates and volumes continue to nose dive while shippers push for lower fuel surcharges and better deals.

California environmental regulators said last week the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has granted the state a waiver that will allow enforcement of its regulation requiring emission-control retrofits on refrigerated trucks and trailers.

Wal-Mart Stores will test two types of hybrid trucks and two types of alternatively fueled trucks, the company announced Monday.

Paccar Inc.’s parts dealers are offering the company’s Engine Control Systems Purifilter, an aftermarket passively regenerating diesel particulate filter approved by the California Air Resources Board for installation and use in a wide variety of Class 8 trucks.

Rates for freight services bought on the spot market have nose dived to 1990s levels as shrinking fuel surcharges have sent prices falling further while the recession continues to ravage shipping demand.

After surviving a record run-up in fuel prices during 2008, shippers and carriers now face an even bigger supply chain challenge: coping with a sharp downturn in freight volume as businesses cut back on production in response to lower sales.

American Trucking Associations will exhaust all legal avenues to fight employee-only concession requirements contained in the Port of Los Angeles’ clean trucks plan, ATA President Bill Graves said.