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Rates for freight services bought on the spot market have nose dived to 1990s levels as shrinking fuel surcharges have sent prices falling further while the recession continues to ravage shipping demand.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has pulled back its formal proposal to require some carriers to use electronic onboard recorders, with indications the Obama administration may want to expand their use.

After surviving a record run-up in fuel prices during 2008, shippers and carriers now face an even bigger supply chain challenge: coping with a sharp downturn in freight volume as businesses cut back on production in response to lower sales.

American Trucking Associations will exhaust all legal avenues to fight employee-only concession requirements contained in the Port of Los Angeles’ clean trucks plan, ATA President Bill Graves said.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has permanently exempted more than 70 commercial idle-reduction devices from the 12% federal excise tax because the devices help trucks reduce idling time.

The U.S. Senate confirmed several key cabinet posts, including Ray LaHood as secretary of transportation, but the Obama administration has yet to announce the president’s choices to lead several key transportation agencies within DOT.

U.S. retail diesel prices continued to edge down last week, as the average dipped 2.8 cents to $2.268 a gallon, the Department of Energy reported.

The House of Representatives last week approved an $819 billion package of spending and tax cuts aimed at boosting the economy, but with less spending on such projects as roads and bridges than some key legislators wanted.

Eight publicly traded truckload fleets weathered the fourth quarter recession by lowering costs, including fuel, and posted earnings that either topped or came close to the year-earlier period.

Less-than-truckload carriers in the fourth quarter were hammered by sagging tonnage and fiercely competitive pricing, several of the largest publicly traded LTLs said last week.