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Highway safety advocates filed a lawsuit Friday challenging the hours-of-service rule published in December, saying it does not go far enough in addressing driver fatigue.

The price of retail diesel rose last week for the fourth consecutive time, edging up 1.7 cents a gallon to $3.96, the U.S. Department of Energy reported.

The Environmental Protection Agency has formally granted Navistar Inc. approval to pay up to a $1,900 penalty for each new heavy-duty engine it produces that is not compliant with 2010 federal emissions standards, the agency confirmed last week.

CORAL GABLES, Fla. — Freight rates will continue to rise by several percentage points this year, carriers and shippers said, which should open the door for further pay increases for drivers.

The U.S. House of Representatives has approved an energy bill that would require President Obama to approve the Keystone XL Pipeline to carry crude oil from Canada to Gulf Coast refineries.

UPS Inc. said late last week it was continuing talks to buy European package carrier TNT Express, after the Dutch company rebuffed a $6.5 billion bid, sparking speculation that a higher price and other bidders, such as FedEx Corp., could emerge.

The truckload industry, on the upswing as rates and freight rise, gathers for its annual meeting next week in Florida in a business environment that also includes unresolved questions such as the effects of more government regulation.

Trucking industry leaders, company associates and family members paid tribute to Don Schneider, the former president and CEO of Schneider National Inc., in a memorial service attended by an estimated 700 people at St. Norbert College in De Pere, Wis., on Feb. 15. Schneider died in January after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease.

The federal government defended its program allowing Mexican trucks into the United States, telling a court this month that the pilot program complies with all federal laws related to safety, environmental protection and driver licensing, in addition to the laws specific to the program itself.

TAMPA, Fla. — Lee Long, the maintenance director of Southeastern Freight Lines and new chairman of American Trucking Associations’ Technology & Maintenance Council, said his biggest interest is drawing more people into work as heavy-duty technicians.