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A new U.S. Department of Transportation study hints that the Obama administration’s recently announced plans to increase heavy truck fuel efficiency and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions likely will rely on a combination of existing aerodynamic design technologies and future diesel engine and drivetrain modifications that barely have left the laboratory or still are in development.

A new Department of Transportation study hints that the Obama administration’s ambitious plans to increase heavy truck fuel efficiency and reduce greenhouse gases emissions will likely rely on a combination of existing aerodynamic design technologies and future diesel engine modifications that have barely left the laboratory or are still under development.

The average price of retail diesel dipped 3.3 cents to $3.094 a gallon last week, the largest decline since Feb. 1, according to the Department of Energy.

The Obama administration was set last week to outline a path to national fuel-economy standards for large trucks, bringing industry and government officials to the White House to announce a plan that could aim at driving habits as well as equipment changes to reduce fuel use.

The Canadian Trucking Alliance is asking that its federal government abandon a plan to adopt a 2% biodiesel mandate for all diesel fuel sold in the country.

Agents of the California Air Resources Board have fanned out to ticket truck operators who fail to comply with the state’s complicated schedule for reducing emissions from the small diesel engines that power transport refrigeration.

Two U.S. senators last week unveiled a carbon emissions reduction bill observers said would significantly increase the cost of diesel fuel.

Two senators unveiled a long-awaited carbon emissions reductions bill Wednesday that could spur increases in the cost of diesel fuel for motor carriers.

The California Air Resources Board has directed its staff to come up with specific proposals by September to provide additional flexibility to help truckers ease the financial pain of complying with the state’s new truck regulations.

Review of the 2007 generation of diesel engines has been a very hot topic this year. At the annual American Trucking Associations Technology & Maintenance Council meeting, I was one of the panelists asked to score the performance of the 2007 engines based on TransAm’s experiences.