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WASHINGTON — Officials attending American Trucking Associations’ Winter Leadership Meeting here last week said they were more optimistic about the future than they were a year ago, because the economic fortunes and political winds appear to be changing.

Orders for new trailers rose 10% in January, compared with 2009, ACT Research Co. LLC reported last week, but the increase may not signal the start of a prolonged recovery, an ACT analyst said.

The U.S. Senate last week passed legislation that would extend current highway legislation and transfer $20 billion to the Highway Trust Fund, but a key legislator reportedly said the Senate bill would not pass the House of Representatives, which already has approved a broader, more expensive measure.

While U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson indicated last week that her agency was moving forward with plans to regulate greenhouse gas emissions, opposition to a Senate cap-and-trade bill seemed to be gaining enough momentum to block its passage.

Over the past decade, a growing number of fleets have begun outsourcing more of their tire maintenance needs as a way to save on machinery, equipment and training costs.

The average price of diesel around the nation jumped 7.6 cents a gallon to $2.832, as fuel reversed a five-week downward trend, the Department of Energy reported last week.

WASHINGTON — Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administrator Anne Ferro said she is committed to launching the agency’s new truck safety rating system in July, although she expects there will be problems at the start.