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Housing starts rose 3.6% in October to the highest level in four years, the Commerce Department said Tuesday.

Transport Topics Online will be closed Thursday and Friday for the Thanksgiving holiday. Please check back on Monday, Nov. 26, for the latest trucking and freight transportation news.

Following is an ATA Summit on Natural Gas in Trucking agenda:

Wednesday

Registration kicks off from 4 - 7 p.m. and ATA’s welcome reception is from 5:30 - 7 p.m..

Thursday

Continental breakfast 7:30 - 8:15 a.m,, with ATA Chairman Michael Card’s opening remarks from 8:15 – 8:30 a.m.

Session I: Natural Gas 101: A Primer, 8:30– 9 a.m., will be followed by Session II: Fueling the Nation’s Energy Needs, 9 – 10 a.m.

Session III: Infrastructure Hurdles, 10:30 – 11:30 a.m., will be followed by lunch.

Session IV, The Transformation of America’s Energy Future, featuring Andrew Littlefair, CEO, Clean Energy, and  T. Boone Pickens, Chairman, BP Capital Management, 12:30 – 1:15 p.m.

The American Transportation Research Institute’s board appointed 17 new members to its Research Advisory Committee.

Existing home sales rose 2.1% in October, the National Association of Realtors said Monday.

The California Air Resources Board posted requirements for the use of electric standby and hybrid electric systems for refrigerated units to qualify as alternative technologies that comply with state regulations.

Daimler Trucks said it will supply Russian truck maker Kamaz with engines and axles.

Gasoline declined 7 cents in the past two weeks to $3.47 a gallon, continuing its recent downward trend, according to the latest Lundberg survey of filling stations released Sunday.

The American Transportation Research Institute is seeking input from carriers and drivers that travel North Carolina’s portion of Interstate 95 in connection with a study on how best to pay for improvements along the critical East Coast freight artery.