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The Massachusetts Senate has approved a transportation reform bill that would avoid a planned toll increase in tolls and would abolish the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority by the end of the year, the Associated Press reported.

I know we’re in a national recession, money and credit are very tight and the banks are hogging all the money and have put wicked restrictions on everyone’s cash flow. But despite these money problems, third-party people seem to expect the trucks they hire to run for nearly free — especially when it comes to hauling overdimensional freight.

The use of diesel fuel has fallen sharply as freight levels have nose-dived during the global recession. The home-heating oil season has ended, so there is no competition for the distillate both heating oil and diesel are made from.

The Truck Manufacturers Association elected Volvo Trucks North America’s Skip Yeakel as TMA’s new chairman.

YRC Worldwide last week said it has reached an agreement with the largest pension fund that pays benefits to YRC’s unionized employees. The agreement allows the company to defer $83 million in second-quarter pension payments while it provides real estate as collateral.

Several truck and engine manufacturers who plan to use selective catalytic reduction technology to meet 2010 emission standards have denied allegations by Navistar Inc. and have asked a federal appeals court to give them standing to argue against Navistar’s lawsuit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The Department of Transportation is preparing to issue its long-delayed rule that would slice the stopping distance for large trucks by as much as 30%.

FedEx Corp. last week reported a quarterly loss of $876 million linked to one-time charges, but company leaders forecast better economic conditions that could improve results in the months ahead.

Wyoming legislators are considering a highway funding plan that could cost trucks more than $100 in tolls to run the full 400 miles across the state on Interstate 80.

A requirement that tank trucks carrying gasoline and other flammable materials be retrofitted with equipment to purge wetlines would kill and injure far more repair shop workers than it would save motorists lives, the head of a tank truck carriers industry group told Congress.