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The average price of retail diesel slipped below its record high last week, dipping 2.8 cents to $3.416 a gallon, the U.S. Department of Energy reported, citing a decline in demand for distillate fuels.

A storm with hurricane-force winds and torrential rainfall swept across the Pacific Northwest early last week, snarling transportation in Washington and Oregon and flooding a crucial freight-carrying highway.

The spot market for truckload services showed some signs of increased activity last week as executives with a major carrier and a brokers’ load-matching service said the market tightened in October and November, compared with earlier months.

American Trucking Associations has launched a campaign to protect the trucking industry’s use of independent contractors, a move officials said is needed to counter recent court decisions and an increasingly “hostile” legislative environment.

Secured Digital Applications, a provider of asset-tracking services, has unveiled its new pocket-size Bluetooth Global Positioning System receiver, saying it offers a cheaper alternative to comparable vehicle-mounted systems.

The California Air Resources Board is recommending that truckers with transport refrigeration units, also known as reefers, pay attention to upcoming deadlines to avoid penalties.

Fleet management software provider Cadec, Manchester, N.H., said it has joined the Envi-ronmental Protection Agency’s SmartWay Transport Partnership.

FedEx Ground and Parker Hannifin Corp. said Friday they have agreed to test a Class 6 vehicle employing hybrid hydraulic technology that seeks to improve fuel mileage by greater than 50% and significantly reduce engine emissions.

Financial firm Barclays Global Investors, which had been the largest shareholder in Ryder System, has reduced its stake in Ryder by more than 50%, Bloomberg reported.