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The Department of ºÚÁϳԹÏÍøland Security said it will extend until 2011 the Jan. 1 deadline for implementing toughened drivers’ licenses and identification card security standards mandated by the REAL ID Act of 2005.

The U.S. economy expanded at a lower rate than previously reported in the third quarter, growing at a 2.2% annual rate versus the 2.8% reported last month, the Commerce Department said Tuesday.

Attorneys for American Trucking Associations said that on Jan. 11 they will ask a federal judge to forego a trial in their clean trucks lawsuit against the Port of Los Angeles and instead issue a summary judgment in the trade association’s favor.

The Intermodal Association of North America’s Web-based equipment registry, designed to simplify compliance with new container safety rules, has begun operations, the group said.

Due to the weekend snow storm in the Mid-Atlantic, Transport Topics Online will be closed on Monday, Dec. 21. Please check back later this week for the latest trucking and freight transportation news.

Beginning Jan. 1, officials at the Southern California sister ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach will face yet another challenge as they begin the second phase of their clean trucks plans: fewer trucks.

Trucking fleets focused on survival in 2009 as freight haulers battled a widespread economic downturn and confronted the prospect of significant new safety and environmental regulations from the Obama administration.

In a flurry of activity before its holiday recess, Congress approved more than $40 billion in new highway spending for 2010, moved toward adding another $27 billion, approved a truck-weight exemption and quietly dropped a prohibition on a federal pilot program allowing trucking across the U.S.-Mexico border.