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Federal government and university researchers said they are on schedule to complete a congressionally mandated truck size and weight study by mid-November.

House appropriators unveiled a transportation bill May 6 that would provide more than $52 billion for infrastructure and housing programs in fiscal 2015, and fund a key federal highway account if congressional policy writers pass a new highway bill this year.

Senate tax writers will examine ways to keep the Highway Trust Fund’s road and transit programs funded before the account runs out of money later this summer.

For years, trucking has been pleading for government officials to take seriously the need for a well-funded, long-term surface transportation plan, not because it is convenient for the industry but because it is a demonstrated necessity for the nation’s long-term economic health.

WASHINGTON — Fleet executives told a National Research Council committee of their efforts to save on fuel consumption and what they would recommend to federal agencies that are writing the next rule on greenhouse-gas emissions.

The price of U.S. retail diesel rose by 0.4 cent to $3.975 a gallon, the second consecutive weekly increase after a five-week decline, the Department of Energy reported.

Transportation leaders and infrastructure advocates will again call on Congress to implement long-term financing structures, such as raising the federal fuel tax, to rehabilitate roads and bridges around the country.