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In his first State of the Union address, President Obama called on Congress to pass legislation to create jobs through infrastructure spending and tax cuts, but his proposed freeze in nondefense spending starting in 2011 could complicate the passage of a new highway bill, observers said last week.

Although the overall credit market appears to be returning to some semblance of normalcy, trucking executives said they still face higher borrowing costs as many commercial banks remain cautious about lending and uncertainty persists about the U.S. economic recovery.

The U.S. retail diesel average price fell 3.7 cents a gallon to $2.833 last week, the largest one-week decline since July, the Department of Energy reported.

WASHINGTON — Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood last week issued an order immediately forbidding commercial drivers from texting on handheld mobile devices and instituting steep fines for violators.

Truck tonnage rose in December for the first time in 15 months, year-over-year, as the U.S. economy picked up steam, American Trucking Associations reported.

U.S. intermodal rail traffic rose 2.9% last week compared with the same week last year, the Association of American Railroads said.

Truck maker Paccar Inc.’s fourth-quarter profit fell to $46.1 million, or 13 cents a share, from $113.1 million, or 31 cents, a year ago.

A winter storm heading eastward across Tennessee into the Carolinas Friday is causing havoc on roads due to ice and snow, news services reported.

The U.S. economy expanded at a 5.7% annual rate in the fourth quarter of last year, the fastest pace since the third quarter of 2003, the Commerce Department said Friday.