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California environmental regulators are considering several options to delay some requirements of the state’s diesel emissions regulation to provide “short-term relief” for truckers feeling the effects of the recession.

Aggressive fuel economy research and development funded by the federal government will reduce fuel consumption of long-haul trucks by 30%, Energy Secretary Steven Chu told a Senate committee Thursday.

Gasoline’s national average price fell 1.4 cents over the past two weeks to an average $2.72 a gallon, according to the latest Lundberg Survey of fuel prices released Sunday.

Stronger freight demand in the waning days of 2009 is fueling expectations that publicly traded carriers will report better performance when they begin disclosing fourth-quarter results this week, industry analysts said.

Trucking industry officials have filed comments opposing the California Air Resources Board’s plan to initiate a statewide cap-and-trade program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The national diesel average declined 0.9 cent to $2.87 last week as pump prices moderated after a sharp spike the prior three weeks, the Department of Energy reported.

In a legal maneuver designed to bolster its defense in a federal lawsuit filed by truck manufacturer Navistar Inc., the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has revised its 2010 engine selective catalytic reduction guidance to remove a specific requirement limiting the hours and miles a truck can operate after its urea tank runs dry.

Detroit Diesel Corp. said that its diesel engines have been certified by the Environmental Protection Agency for meeting the agency's 2010 emissions regulations.