Government

The House Energy and Commerce Committee approved legislation that would strip the Environmental Protection Agency of some of its authority but would not block a proposal to regulate heavy- and medium-duty truck greenhouse gas emissions.

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee voted last week to not support the Obama administration’s transportation budget proposals because administration officials have not identified revenue sources to fund multibillion dollar increases for existing and new programs.

Several truck makers and industry suppliers said their facilities sustained some damage from the March 11 earthquake in Japan, but they were not expecting it to result in significant supply disruptions to North America.

An index of leading economic indicators rose 0.8% in February, the eighth straight monthly increase, the New York-based Conference Board said.

Surface transportation trade among the United States, Canada and Mexico rose 24.3% last year from 2009, the Department of Transportation said Thursday.

The consumer price index increased 0.5% in Febuary, the Labor Department said Thursday.

The number of comments on the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Association’s proposed revised hours-of-service regulation has topped 20,000 — the most for any current rule being considered.

Manufacturing activity in the New York region expanded at the fastest rate in nine months in March, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said Tuesday.

The Truckload Carriers Association has voted to support the mandated use of “electronic logging devices” to ensure compliance with hours-of-service regulations.

American Trucking Associations has petitioned federal regulators to issue a new rule to clarify that hazardous material packages should normally be inspected at the point of loading or unloading, and not during roadside inspections.