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WASHINGTON — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration will soon take comments on its proposal for safety fitness determination.

President Obama’s much-anticipated State of the Union Address on Jan. 12 focused little on infrastructure and freight transportation concerns, surprising stakeholders still praising last month’s enactment of a five-year highway law that had been six years in the making.

WASHINGTON — Policymakers, regulators and industry leaders need to adopt programs designed to reduce fatigue among truckers on the roads and other commercial operators to boost safety, the National Transportation Safety Board announced Jan. 13.

Figures on retail sales and manufacturing Jan. 15 showed the world’s largest economy ended the year on a weak note, and the start of 2016 wasn’t better. The one saving grace was a pickup in consumer confidence, but that was mainly because households believed inflation will be low, making subdued wage gains look good by comparison.

Wholesale prices in the United States declined in December from the prior month, showing inflation remains well-contained as Federal Reserve officials weigh further increases in the benchmark interest rate.

President Obama’s fiscal 2017 budget request will include nearly $4 billion over a decade for the development of automated vehicles, Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said Jan. 14.

Twin 33-foot trailers would be authorized nationwide under legislation Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.) introduced this month.

Transportation activity varied throughout the country at the end of 2015, but general economic conditions improved in much of the country, the Federal Reserve reported.