Government

Consumer confidence fell in April to a three-month low, according to the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index.

Federal officials said Thursday they have shut down four Kansas trucking companies, alleging that three of them are reincarnations of the fourth and that they were created to avoid financial penalties and an out-of-service order.

A trucking executive told a House committee Wednesday that Congress needs to address the needs of the trucking industry by dedicating real funding to addressing freight transportation needs and by improving the efficiency and productivity of the industry.

The U.S. Department of Transportation is making $474 million available for a competitive grant program and is asking for applications from state and local agencies who want to use the money.

The federal government issued guidelines Tuesday to encourage automakers to limit the potential for driver distractions from electronic systems built into passenger cars, including those that connect to cellphones and the Internet.

A transportation funding proposal unveiled by Pennsylvania lawmakers last week would raise $2.5 billion by changing how the state collects transportation money, including eliminating the cap on the state’s wholesale fuel tax.

Vermont’s Senate cut back on a planned gasoline tax increase passed by the House, but proposed raising the state’s diesel tax, the Associated Press reported.

Now all we have to do is wait. American Trucking Associations made its best argument before the U.S. Supreme Court last week about why the Port of Los Angeles is violating a federal preemption law by trying to regulate motor carriers that serve the port.

President Obama has proposed dramatic cuts in the federal funding that helps truckers buy equipment to reduce diesel emissions, but called for significant increases for research into new vehicle technologies.