Government
Transport Topics government and regulatory coverage keeps managers of a highly-regulated industry aware of the policy decisions that can shape their businesses. Covering both the legislative and regulatory aspects of policy-making, at both the state and national levels, the news in this category includes looks at infrastructure, hours of service, emissions rules, funding measures, leadership appointments, and more. Readers can follow what’s happening in Congress, at the Department of Transportation and the Federal Motor Carrier Administration, and in state and local governments.
Fed to Keep Low Rates Through 2014
The Federal Reserve said Wednesday it was not likely to raise the record low key interest rate until at least 2014.
January 26, 2012President Highlights Need for Infrastructure
President Obama in his State of the Union address Tuesday cited the need for more infrastructure, saying that “so much of American needs to be rebuilt.”
January 25, 2012‘Plenty on Plate’ for FMCSA This Year, Ferro Says
WASHINGTON — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration will move forward with a host of developing rules and regulations regarding trucking this year, Administrator Anne Ferro said Tuesday.
DOT Awards Grants for Transportation Research
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Research and Innovative Technology Administration has awarded $77 million in grants to 22 universities to conduct research on a range of issues, including shared rail corridors, innovations in multimodal freight and infrastructure, bridge inspection methods and reducing roadway fatalities and injuries.
January 23, 2012Ferro Defends Restart Change, Vows to Pursue 10-Hour Limit
The federal government’s chief truck overseer defended her agency’s controversial changes to the 34-hour restart provisions of the hours-of-service rule and vowed to continue efforts to cut the hours drivers may be behind the wheel.
January 23, 2012Industry Groups Split Over Changes to FMCSA Civil Penalties Regulation
Trucking groups are divided whether a proposal to restrict companies’ abilities to pay civil penalties to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration while denying guilt would increase safety or bog the agency down with unnecessary litigation.
January 23, 2012Diesel Rises 2.6¢ to $3.854 as Iran Threats Push Oil Up
Retail diesel prices increased for the second week in a row, rising 2.6 cents to $3.854 a gallon, the Department of Energy reported last week.
January 23, 2012Ferro Backs HOS Rule’s Restart Provision
A controversial 34-hour restart provision in the new hours-of-service rule will help ensure that truck drivers do not experience cumulative fatigue, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Administrator Anne Ferro told Transport Topics.
Editorial: Funding Infrastructure Repairs
The nation’s roads and bridges are still ailing, as Congress and the White House continue to fiddle while we await some concrete action on infrastructure funding.
January 16, 2012Consumer Confidence Hits Eight-Month High
Consumer confidence climbed this month to its highest level in eight months, according to the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index released Friday.
January 13, 2012