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ATLANTA — UPS Inc.’s incoming chief financial officer told shippers here what freight carriers have long heard: The U.S. transportation network is so clogged — and getting worse — that Congress must create an infrastructure improvement plan and pay for it with dedicated taxes on the system’s users.

Heavy-duty retail truck sales in the United States fell 53.1% in October, the sixth straight month in which sales fell 50% or more below 2006 levels, according to WardsAuto.com.

U.S. diesel fuel prices rose another 12.2 cents last week to $3.425 a gallon, the second consecutive record high and the eighth increase in the past nine weeks, the Department of Energy said.

For almost 30 years, we have had parking areas in mile-zone 262 near Elk Mountain in Wyoming. In 2006, the westbound parking area was removed during road repair. In 2007, the east-bound parking area was removed during road repair. Apparently, Wyoming does not intend to replace these two parking areas.

Contract Freighters Inc., Joplin, Mo., said it will raise pay for all drivers by 1 cent per mile.

A federal appeals court ruled that Department of Transportation failed to take into account the value of reducing carbon emissions in setting the rules for 2008-2011 model light trucks and sport utility vehicles, Bloomberg News reported Thursday.

The Department of Transportation’s freight transportation services index for September fell 1.6% compared with a year ago, DOT said Wednesday.

The Texas Department of Transportation said that existing highways could be incorporated into the proposed Trans-Texas Corridor, a planned 4,000 mile superhighway that would incorporate tolling and truck-only lanes.

When I think about driver safety, retention, recruiting and productivity, the actions of four groups come to mind: shippers, receivers, carriers and government. Each plays an integral part in developing efficient truckload capacity in America.