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The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee has approved legislation that would open more of the eastern Gulf of Mexico to oil and gas drilling, Bloomberg reported.

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.

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.

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%.

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.

WASHINGTON — The cost of moving and storing goods nationwide fell 3.5% last year, the first decline in logistics-related ex-penses in six years, despite 2% higher transportation expenses. Manufacturers and retailers slashed inventories and excess capacity limited the ability of freight carriers to raise prices, according to a new report.