Fuel

A loosening of the tight capacity for freight hauling now makes the fuel-surcharge programs — upon which motor carriers depend to insulate them from fuel price spikes — vulnerable to demands for change by shippers.

The U.S. average retail price of diesel fuel dipped by 0.5 cent to $2.676 a gallon last week, its second straight tiny decline, the Department of Energy said.

Crude oil futures rose to more than $64 a barrel in early trading Wednesday on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the seventh straight trading day of increases, Bloomberg reported.

The average national price of retail diesel fuel fell for a second straight week, dipping 0.5 cent to $2.676 a gallon, the Department of Energy reported Monday.

Ethanol and biodiesel production is expected to surge in the next few years as government officials in Europe and the United States set higher targets for consumption and maintain subsidies for producers, a panel of experts predicted at a forum on biofuel policies and trade organized by the German Marshall Fund of the United States.

The trucking industry is willing to pay higher fuel taxes as long as the money is spent to improve the highway infrastructure, American Trucking Associations President Bill Graves said.

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. — The head of truck and engine maker Navistar International Corp. said its 2007 models are more fuel efficient and perform better than 2006 models, in addition to being cleaner burning.

Following six straight weekly increases, the average national price of retail diesel fuel dipped 0.4 cent to $2.681 a gallon, the Department of Energy reported Monday.

Truck maker Volvo AB said its sales for the first two months of the year fell 13%, as U.S. deliveries plunged following new emissions standards that boosted truck prices, Bloomberg reported Tuesday.