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May 13, 2013
Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) has re-introduced legislation aimed at keeping larger and heavier commercial trucks off the road by extending the federal size and weight restrictions on commercial trucks to include the entire National Highway System (NHS). This marks the second piece of legislation in recent months to address the issue of larger commercial vehicles, making it increasingly likely that truck size and weight will be debated when Congress begins working to reauthorize surface transportation programs next year.
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May 6, 2013
The South Carolina Senate Finance Committee last week voted 13-5 to advance a plan that would index the state's 16-cents-per-gallon gas tax to inflation, increasing the tax by 4 cents in 10 years and generating $135 million yearly. The measure also increases truck registration fees by 16 percent.
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April 29, 2013
The U.S. Department of Transportation's Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration (PHMSA) issued two rulemakings last week of importance to fuel haulers.
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April 29, 2013
Rep. Michael Michaud (D-Maine) introduced the Safe and Efficient Transportation Act, which would give states the option of increasing the maximum interstate truck weight from 80,000 pounds to 97,000 pounds on a sixth axle.
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April 29, 2013
The American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI), the research arm of the American Trucking Associations, recently announced that it is working with several groups to develop a national truck parking reservation system that allows drivers and fleets to check on parking availability along an interstate corridor in real time using wireless devices.
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April 22, 2013
House Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) has tapped six committee members to help formulate a national intermodal freight plan that will tie together road, rail, air cargo, ports and inland waterways infrastructure planning and policy.
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April 15, 2013
U.S. diesel fuel prices dipped below $4 a gallon the past two consecutive weeks, putting diesel 17 cents below its price this time last year.
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April 15, 2013
Federal authorities in Ohio recently charged 28 individuals with stealing a total of $1.7 million from U.S. trucking companies through a wire fraud and money laundering scheme played out at truckstops.
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April 10, 2013
Diesel fuel will remain the primary fuel the trucking industry uses for decades to come, according to a two-year study on the future of alternative fuels conducted by the National Petroleum Council. The U.S. Secretary of Energy requested the study, which looked at a range of alternative-fuel options alongside traditional diesel and gasoline.
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April 8, 2013
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has issued new and simplified filing procedures for 2012 retroactive biodiesel blender claims. The new procedure allows claims for all four quarters of 2012 to be filed on IRS Form 8849 Schedule 3. Blenders are no longer required to file amended IRS Form 720X returns to obtain 2012 biodiesel blending credits provided the claim is filed by July 1, 2013.
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April 8, 2013
Suppliers of natural gas fuel tanks promoting their products at the Mid-America Trucking Show said interest in alternative fuels continues to grow at a slow but steady pace and that new tanks and conversion kits could reduce fuel costs by as much as 30 percent by allowing heavy trucks to run on a mixture of diesel and natural gas, according to Transport Topics.
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April 1, 2013
The national average diesel fuel price decreased four cents for the third consecutive week, to $4.01 per gallon, 14 cents lower than last year at this time.
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April 1, 2013
Significant infrastructure costs coupled with low consumer demand has many gasoline retailers hesitant to invest in natural gas.
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March 25, 2013
House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bill Shuster (R.-Pa.) and ranking member Nick Rahall II (D.-W.Va.) joined with Representatives Tom Petri (R.-Wisc.) and Peter DeFazio (D.-Ore.) in asking Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood to stay the implementation of the new Hours-of-Service rule until after the U.S. Court of Appeals rules on pending challenges.
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March 18, 2013
The Governor’s Biofuels Coalition last week sent a letter to members of Congress in support of the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS).
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March 18, 2013
ENN Group Co Ltd, one of China's largest private companies, is rolling out plans to establish a network of natural gas fueling stations for trucks along U.S. highways.
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March 11, 2013
Automakers tasked with meeting new federal fuel-efficiency standards of 54.5 miles a gallon by 2025 plan to trim fuel consumption by reducing automobile weights as well focusing on electric vehicles.
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March 4, 2013
The Keystone XL (KXL) pipeline cleared another hurdle last week after a draft report by the State Department concluded that building the pipeline would have little impact on the environment. The report quickly fueled renewed GOP pressure on President Obama to approve the pipeline.
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March 4, 2013
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) denied a request from the American Trucking Associations (ATA) to delay enforcement of the latest changes to the hours-of-service (HOS) rule for truck drivers, which takes effect July 1, saying ATA did not demonstrate enough harm to the industry and law enforcement to merit a delay.
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March 4, 2013
Representatives Michael Michaud (D-Maine) and Reid Ribble (R-Wisc.) recently introduced H.R. 612 the Safe and Efficient Transportation Act of 2013, which would allow longer and heavier trucks on the National Highway System.
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