Government

Six months after lawmakers hastily passed their first state budget in two years, transportation advocates are sounding the alarm on a little-noticed item that will take $300 million from road repairs to pay other expenses each year.

Several truckload carriers are currently negotiating with shippers to add new surcharges or otherwise raise rates to haul freight through California after state lawmakers raised fuel taxes and other fees as of Nov. 1, Transport Topics has learned.

A California lawmaker wants to put the state alongside China, France and the U.K. and have its legislature consider a ban on vehicles powered by fossil fuels.

With fossil fuel usage trending downward, Washington state officials are rethinking the taxation methods the state applies to road users.

Advances in connected, autonomous and truck platooning technologies are expected to dominate the discussions during a Dec. 7 House transportation policymakers roundtable scheduled with executives from the trucking industry.

Proposals for repairs to a major interchange in Duluth were open to public comment through Dec. 11 via an online survey from the Minnesota Department of Transportation.

An increase in federal taxes on fuel would significantly help fund repairs for highway infrastructure along Interstate 95 in Newark, N.J., Rep. Donald Payne Jr. (D) said amid Congress’ consideration of tax reform legislation.

Dozens of representatives for trucking trade associations, health and environmental nonprofits, private citizens, truck dealers and manufacturers on Dec. 4 urged the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency not to repeal a provision in the 2016 Obama administration Phase 2 greenhouse gas reduction rule to regulate emissions requirements for glider kits.

The U.S. average retail price of diesel dipped 0.4 cent to $2.922 a gallon as oil prices also slipped as domestic and foreign producers squared off over how to manage production.

It was meant to be the year of the trade war. Instead, it was the year of the trade boom.