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LAS VEGAS — Leading heavy-duty truck components manufacturers said technology exists today to build a safer, environmentally friendly and low-cost heavy-duty “world truck,” but major obstacles are consumer acceptance and the lack of a single global standard for emissions and safety technology.

The Surface Transportation Board ruled that freight railroads not calculate their fuel surcharges as a percentage of their base rates.

FedEx Corp. said Wednesday it completed its previously announced acquisition of Indian firm Prakash Air Freight Pvt. Ltd. Terms were not disclosed.

The average retail price of diesel fuel fell 1.7 cents to $2.413 a gallon, the Energy Department reported Monday.

Crude oil futures posted their biggest one-day gain Tuesday since September 2005, rising on forecasts of continuing cold weather and expectations of a stronger U.S. economy, Bloomberg reported.

President Bush outlined an energy plan Tuesday that would boost the use of alternate fuels such as ethanol and biodiesel, and would seek a 20% reduction in gasoline use in the next 10 years, news services reported.

The average price of retail diesel fuel fell 3.3 cents to $2.43 a gallon, the Department of Energy said Monday.

Crude oil prices surged more than $2 a barrel Tuesday after Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman said President Bush plans to double the size of the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve by 2027, Bloomberg reported.

Trucks operating in California would be required to meet tighter emission standards under a plan proposed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) to spend $3.1 billion in bond money to improve four key freight corridors.

Crude oil prices plunged to below $50 a barrel Thursday following a Department of Energy report that showed stronger inventories of crude oil, gasoline and distillates, which include diesel.