Fuel

The California Air Resources Board has directed its staff to come up with specific proposals by September to provide additional flexibility to help truckers ease the financial pain of complying with the state’s new truck regulations.

Review of the 2007 generation of diesel engines has been a very hot topic this year. At the annual American Trucking Associations Technology & Maintenance Council meeting, I was one of the panelists asked to score the performance of the 2007 engines based on TransAm’s experiences.

The U.S. average price of diesel inched higher last week, rising 0.4 cent to $3.078 a gallon and keeping trucking’s primary fuel at over $3 a gallon for the fourth week in a row, the Energy Department reported.

The average price of retail diesel in the United States rose a half-cent last week to $3.074 a gallon, the Department of Energy reported, slowing a two-month run-up that has sent diesel over $3 for the first time since November 2008.

Forward Air Corp. reported a first-quarter profit of $3.4 million, or 12 cents per share, compared with a loss of $3.1 million, or 11 cents, a year ago.

The huge ash cloud hanging over Europe from last week’s volcano eruption in Iceland is hampering global air freight and causing a shift in European cargo from planes to trucks, news services reported.

The U.S. average retail diesel price rose another 5.4 cents a gallon last week to $3.069, raising concern among fleet executives and analysts alike that the steady rise could dampen economic growth.