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The average price of U.S. retail diesel rose another 3.7 cents last week to $3.331 a gallon, the Department of Energy reported, or 26.4 cents higher than it was two months ago.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s new proposed hours-of-service rule, which would impose complex restrictions on commercial drivers’ work schedules, was panned by officials on all sides of the issue.

The global economy and transportation funding challenges will be among the main focus areas during the Transportation Research Board’s 90th annual meeting, scheduled for Jan. 23-27 in Washington, D.C.

A federal court granted an extension to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration for its overdue regulation on documents truckers use to verify hours-of-service records. The regulation also will expand the mandate for the use of electronic onboard recorders.

Auctions are getting another look from truck buyers as good used equipment becomes scarce and prices are rising, according to dealers and industry watchers.

Orders for new Class 8 trucks in North America more than doubled in December from the same month in 2009 and totaled more than 25,000 units, two research organizations reported.

The Obama administration last week took the first step toward reinstituting commercial truck traffic between the United States and Mexico, although it said details would not be released for several months.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it will abide by trucking industry requests and formally consider a proposed rule to require manufacturers to install devices to limit heavy trucks to 68 miles per hour, possibly as soon as 2012.

The U.S. unemployment rate fell to 9.4% in December, the lowest in a year and a half, the Labor Department said Friday.