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Second-quarter net income at UPS Inc. fell 49%, compared with a year earlier, but all three main divisions remained profitable despite the ongoing recession and a 16.7% decline in global revenue.

WASHINGTON — Congressional Democrats continued to spar over how best to address the nation’s road transportation needs, as the Senate and House moved on opposing paths.

Concern about the possibility of legislative threats to the use of owner-operators has led American Trucking Associations to join a Washington, D.C., lobbying group.

House Transportation Committee Chairman James Oberstar (D-Minn.) said he was “deeply troubled” over a claim by truck safety inspectors that proposed legislation requiring the purging of flammable materials from tanker wetlines would be “difficult, if not impossible,” to enforce.

The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee advanced the nominations of several other key administration officials to the full Senate on July 21, including the nomination of Deborah Hersman to lead the National Transportation Safety Board.

Harbor commissioners at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, Calif., are expected to approve a plan next month to spend $46.5 million in new grant funding from the state to fast-track the purchase of up to 500 new liquefied natural gas trucks, officials with both ports said.

Trucking groups hailed the decision by the National Conference on Weights and Measures not to proceed with proposals to regulate the temperature of retail fuel at the pump.

Wal-Mart Stores and UPS Inc. have separately pledged to support enterprise-wide reporting of greenhouse gas emissions, underscoring the emerging relevance of the carbon accounting field to motor carriers.

U.S. retail diesel prices dropped 4.6 cents last week to $2.496 a gallon, the Department of Energy reported — the fourth straight decline — but rising crude oil costs will soon lead to a reversal of that trend, a department analyst predicted.

Grocery store chain Safeway Inc. said its second-quarter profit inched up 1.8% to $238.6 million, or 57 cents a share, from $234.3 million, or 53 cents, last year.