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The Obama administration said it plans to begin a multimillion-dollar push to crack down on employers who misclassify employees as independent contractors.

TAMPA, Fla. — Less-than-truckload carriers can realize substantial savings if they manage to end the prevailing industry practice of preparing freight bills on paper and convert the process to electronic transmissions, industry officials and experts said.

A unanimous ruling by the Supreme Court clarifies how companies with “far-flung” business operations should establish a home base for litigation purposes, and will probably move some civil suits to federal venues rather than state courts in the future, said lawyers familiar with the case.

Transportation leaders said last week they hoped to complete a long-term surface transportation reauthorization before the end of the year, although paying for the legislation’s increased infrastructure spending remains a major obstacle.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration said last week that even though it hasn’t set 2010 fees for the Unified Carrier Registration, states may begin collecting some revenue from carriers using last year’s fee levels.

The drive by trucking companies to become more efficient is reshaping the trailer manufacturing industry.

A sharp decline in the export of U.S. frozen processed potatoes to Mexico — primarily driven by retaliatory Mexican tariffs — has resulted in a corresponding loss of business for U.S. refrigerated motor carriers that service the Mexican market.

The average retail price of U.S. diesel rose 2.9 cents last week, the second consecutive increase, pushing the cost of trucking’s main fuel to $2.861 a gallon, according to the Department of Energy.

LAS VEGAS — Already expected to eliminate several thousand truckers from the driving pool, the federal government’s new truck safety rating system is likely to threaten the career of thousands more, as well the fortunes of many fleets, carrier executives and others familiar with the program said.

Logistics and delivery firm Dynamex Inc.’s fiscal second-quarter profit fell slightly to $2.22 million, or 23 cents a share, from $2.3 million, or 24 cents, a year ago.