ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø

Several trade groups told federal regulators that requiring more detailed information on applications for special permits to haul hazardous materials will not increase hazmat safety and will increase the paperwork burden on applicants.

Several trucking industry officials met with the Obama administration Sept. 1 to push for incentives for fleets to buy new equipment, arguing that sales are lagging because of high truck prices caused by federal emissions rules.

Intermodal fleets expect a tough financial and operational transition period as ocean carriers move the responsibility for chassis onto carriers that make international cargo deliveries, according to several carrier officials.

Intermodal freight continued to surge during August, topping pre-recession levels and reaching the highest point this year, driven by a combination of domestic and international growth, experts said.

Trucking executives, fuel vendors and manufacturers of aftermarket engine technology said it is easier to get an alternative-fuel vehicle onto a motor carrier’s lot than it is to get a viable alternative fuel into a truck’s tank.

Trailer manufacturers say they are having problems finding enough tires to meet the surge in equipment orders, forcing them to take stiff price increases and offer customers less familiar tire brands.

The U.S. retail diesel and gasoline price averages both declined for the third straight week, the Department of Energy said Aug. 30, with diesel dipping 1.9 cents a gallon to $2.938 and gasoline shedding 2.2 cents to $2.682, the lowest level in six months.

The Port of Los Angeles said it would delay enforcement of a ban on independent drayage operators despite a federal judge’s ruling upholding the legality of that ban as part of the port’s controversial clean-trucks plan.