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The federal government will provide $4 million in emergency relief funds to Louisiana and Mississippi to help repair roads and bridges damaged by floods caused by Hurricane Gustav, U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters said Friday.

The New Jersey Turnpike Authority asked Gov. Jon Corzine (D) to approve a series of toll increases on two of the state’s major toll roads to pay for infrastructure improvements, the Associated Press reported.

The average price of retail diesel in the United States dipped 2.4 cents a gallon last week to $4.121, the seventh straight decline, even as Hurricane Gustav reached the Gulf Coast, the Department of Energy reported.

As the two primary U.S. political parties concluded their presidential nominating conventions and formally began the fall campaign, trucking executives said each candidate offered pluses and minuses for the industry.

The color for 2009 medium- and light-duty trucks is green, as in environmentally friendly. There are no major changes to designs for the 2009 model year; like heavy-duty trucks, the next major changes will occur with the 2010 model year as manufacturers adapt to the next round of diesel emission standards.

The U.S. economy’s service sector expanded in August following two straight months of contraction, the Institute for Supply Management said Thursday.

Second-quarter U.S. worker productivity rose at a 4.3% annual rate, more than previously estimated, the Labor Department said Thursday.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has sent a final rule linking the driver certification to the commercial license, and a proposed rule creating a national registry of doctors qualified to certify drivers to the White House Office of Management and Budget.