Fuel

WASHINGTON — Legislation proposed last week could allow federal weight limits for trucks to rise to 97,000 pounds and for the first time set fuel-efficiency standards for trucks.

U.S. consumer confidence fell this month following fuel price increases and a hitch in the stock market, according to the University of Michigan’s monthly consumer sentiment index released Friday.

A funny thing happened just as some fleets were discussing reducing their fuel surcharges: Prices went flying again. Since Jan. 26, after five straight weekly increases, the average retail price of diesel is $2.626 a gallon, and climbing.

The average national price of diesel fuel gained another 5.9 cents from last week in rising to $2.685 a gallon, a sixth straight increase, the Department of Energy said Monday.

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Cascade Sierra Solutions, a nonprofit group that promotes the sale of products to help truck drivers save fuel and reduce emissions, said it has opened the first of what could be as many as eight “green truck technology” showrooms along the Interstate 5 corridor in Oregon, Washington and California.

The Environmental Protection Agency has proposed for the first time sharp cuts in exhaust emissions from railroad locomotive and marine engines in a plan a spokesman said would “follow exactly the same pattern” as environmental regulations for truck engines.

Air cargo shipments rose 2.1% in January from a year earlier, with about an even split in gains in domestic and international shipments, the Air Transport Association said.

The average national price of diesel fuel jumped 7.5 cents to $2.626 a gallon, while gasoline soared 12.2 cents from last week to $2.505, the Department of Energy said Monday.

The Environmental Protection Agency said it would soon issue its guidance for engine manufacturers on the conditions they must meet in order to sell engines that use selective catalytic reduction to meet emission regulations.