Safety

WASHINGTON — House transportation leaders appeared isolated last week, as several prominent senators endorsed a bid by the Obama administration to postpone working on a major surface transportation-funding bill until 2010.

Over-the-highway trucks and buses with 2007 engine technology ran nearly 90% cleaner than required by federal emission standards for diesel particulate matter, the key pollutant targeted that year, a recent study has found.

WASHINGTON — A key House subcommittee last week approved the framework for a new six-year surface transportation plan proposed by transportation committee leaders.

Ryder System said it has been certified as a third-party logistics provider in the Custom-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism program, an initiative that seeks to promote supply chain security and reduce border vulnerabilities.

At one time or another, every business finds itself undercapitalized. Unfortunately, in these tough economic times, qualifying for a line of credit can be extremely difficult. As a result, increasing numbers of transportation companies are looking into factoring, with many of them taking the plunge and selling their accounts receivable to a factor.

The American Transportation Research Institute has updated its listing of state and local idling regulations, noting that 41 states and localities now have idling regulations.

American Trucking Associations Monday called on Congress to increase the transparency of commodities futures markets and impose “reasonable aggregate position limits on energy commodities,” in an effort to stem the price spikes and record high prices of last summer.

The Department of Transportation is preparing to issue its long-delayed rule that would slice the stopping distance for large trucks by as much as 30%.