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The implementation of last year’s $1 trillion infrastructure law, national elections in the fall and ongoing concerns regarding supply chain challenges and the omicron coronavirus variant will be front-and-center for policymakers heading into 2022.

The U.S. merchandise-trade deficit widened to a record in November as imports surged to an all-time high. The gap increased to $97.8 billion last month from a revised $83.2 billion in October, according to Commerce Department data released Dec. 29.

The year ahead promises to be a busy one for the equipment sector, as key trends such as used truck pricing and availability, parts sales, freight rates, truck electrification and new, more robust engine oils intermingle with challenging supply and demand conditions — including rising costs for raw materials — that are affecting orders for new trucks and trailers.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is scheduled to deliver keynote remarks at the upcoming annual conference of the Transportation Research Board, which will be held Jan. 9-13.

The national average price for a gallon of diesel continued on its downward trend as the end of the year approaches, dropping another 1.1 cents to $3.615 in the Dec. 27 weekly report provided by the Energy Information Administration.

At the Port of Tacoma, leaders hope a new project to build added storage capacity for containers will help operations run more smoothly as ports across the West Coast are now facing a surge with activity resuming.

The trucking industry experienced a surge in acquisitions during the past year, with more expected to occur in 2022.

The announcement that Meera Joshi would depart her post as acting administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration drew words of praise for her service to the transportation industry from American Trucking Associations.

Trucking is likely to continue to see a shortage of professional drivers with the underlying causes showing no signs of stopping in 2022.

Holiday sales rose at the fastest pace in 17 years, even as shoppers grappled with higher prices, product shortages and a raging new COVID-19 variant in the last few weeks of the season, according to one spending measure.