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In a flurry of activity before its holiday recess, Congress approved more than $40 billion in new highway spending for 2010, moved toward adding another $27 billion, approved a truck-weight exemption and quietly dropped a prohibition on a federal pilot program allowing trucking across the U.S.-Mexico border.

One silver lining in the financial storm of the past year or so had been a steep decline in the price of oil generally and diesel fuel in particular.

Roadrunner Transportation Services Holdings Inc. said it bought less-than-truckload carrier Bullet Freight Systems Inc. on Dec. 14 to expand its services in the western United States.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has yet to announce the final fees for its Unified Carrier Registration Agreement, leaving states in financial limbo and some wondering if the program should be scrapped.

The Senate Commerce Committee, in a bid to foster more rail competition, unanimously approved the first comprehensive rail policy legislation changes in nearly three decades on Dec. 17.

U.S. retail diesel prices dipped for the sixth straight week as the national average declined 2.4 cents to $2.748 a gallon, the Department of Energy reported.

Biodiesel producers are threatening to shut down their operations if the Senate does not approve a bill that would extend the $1 per gallon biodiesel tax credit due to expire on Dec. 31.

WASHINGTON — Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said work on a regulation that would ban texting by commercial drivers will be finished in the near future.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has begun enforcing its New Entrant Safety Assurance Process rule, requiring stricter safety standards for newly registered truck and bus companies.