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FONTANA, Calif. — The financial case must be just as sound as the environmental argument if electric trucks are to succeed in the marketplace, stakeholders said.

The price of diesel fuel declined by 2 cents a gallon nationally Feb. 17, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Oil ended the session Feb. 18 flat after U.S. sanctions on Russia’s largest oil producer helped to erase losses driven by lingering concerns that coronavirus will cut demand.

Nikola Corp. announced a plan to build an electric pickup truck called the Nikola Badger with a maximum range of 600 miles at a yet-unnamed truck maker’s manufacturing facilities and with the other truck maker’s certified parts.

Truck tonnage on a seasonally adjusted basis rose 0.8% in January compared with year-ago levels, according to American Trucking Associations’ For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index, which was released Feb. 18.

Oil gained for a fourth session, the longest rising streak this year, amid signs that the worst impacts of the coronavirus outbreak may be easing.

A plan by California environmental regulators to get zero-emissions vehicles on the road as soon as possible is getting pushback from truckers and other concerned industry stakeholders.

The International Energy Agency expects demand for oil to fall in the first quarter as a result of the virus outbreak that emanated in China. Any fall would represent the first quarterly decline in a decade.

Independent engine maker Cummins Inc. supplied the most Class 8 diesel engines in 2019.

FONTANA, Calif. — Volvo Trucks North America provided the first rides in its forthcoming electric VNR model, and its partners in the Volvo LIGHTS project provided an update on efforts underway to accelerate adoption of electric trucks during a Feb. 11 media event.