Government

Daimler AG’s Mercedes Benz has agreed to pay as much as $20 million in penalties for violations of how it operated its vehicle recall program.

Teams of researchers based at three state universities will spend the next three years developing ways to help North Carolina prepare for autonomous vehicles and other new transportation technologies.

The golden age of U.S. shale is far from over, with an expected slowdown in the Permian Basin likely to be temporary, according to new U.S. Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette.

BERLIN — A global shipping industry organization is proposing a research and development program to help cut carbon dioxide emissions, funded by about $5 billion from shipping companies over a decade.

Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao is launching an award for transportation industry representatives to incentivize increased awareness and prevention of human trafficking.

The board of Italian-American automaker Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV approved a merger with PSA Group of France to create the world’s fourth-biggest auto manufacturer, people familiar with the situation said.

Funding for freight safety programs would be increased and infrastructure grants would receive $1 billion under fiscal 2020 legislation the U.S. House of Representatives advanced Dec. 17.

JEFFERSON CITY — An additional lane on Interstate 70 in O’Fallon, Mo., and a new roadway for a long-sought riverside development in St. Charles are on tap as part of an outlay of state and local transportation dollars announced Dec. 16.

Celadon Group has been authorized by a bankruptcy court to spend $1.2 million before Jan. 3, 2020, to maintain operations for Hope Mills, N.C.-based Taylor Express Inc. — the last of its operating units that is still in business — while it pursues a sale of the company.

The U.S. average retail price of diesel dropped 0.3 cent to $3.046 a gallon, the Department of Energy reported Dec. 16.