Fuel

Airlines are starting to hedge against the risk that fuel prices could be driven higher by rules targeting another industry’s environmental performance.

Florida posted the biggest surge among states in the use of heavy-duty trucks with clean diesel engines in 2017, notching an 81% jump compared with a year earlier, according to data from IHS Markit. This increase came as fleet confidence in the technology took hold and more freight-hauling opportunities opened up in the nation’s fourth-largest state economy, other experts said.

Transforming the European Union’s truck fleet to electric and hydrogen vehicles from diesel-powered engines could cut oil use by as much as 11 billion barrels through 2050, or more than two years’ worth of imports.

The average fuel economy of trucking companies participating in an annual study conducted by the North American Council for Freight Efficiency improved 2% on a year-over-year basis, the group announced.

With plans to launch 20 new electric vehicles globally by 2023, General Motors CEO Mary Barra said the automaker will make “major enhancements” to its battery lab in Warren, Mich.

The national average retail price of diesel fuel increased by 2.6 cents, pushing the weekly average to $3.252 a gallon, according to the U.S. Energy Department’s weekly report released Sept. 4. Trucking’s main fuel now costs 49.4 cents a gallon more than it did a year ago, when it was $2.758 a gallon.

Officials at transportation service company Ruan got a chance to see Tesla Inc.’s prototype battery-electric heavy-duty truck, which toured the country recently, stopping at some carriers that have placed orders for the truck that is scheduled for fleet testing in 2019.

Umer Anwer stops on the street near Tesla Inc.’s Brooklyn showroom and grabs his smartphone. He’s looking for a spot to charge his electric car, and the Tesla charging plugs won’t work with the Nissan Leaf he’s driving. In fact, he would prefer not to bother with a plug at all.

The opportunity for easy overnight recharging may be one of the surest routes toward a wider adoption of electric vehicles in the United States.

TravelCenters of America announced a definitive agreement for the sale of its Minit Mart convenience store business to EG Group for $330.8 million as it intends to focus on commercial trucks and other vehicles traveling on interstates, and a new express travel center strategy.