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ORLANDO, Fla. — With the United States in a recession, the federal government is commanding a larger presence, two business lobbyists said, and while that does bring with it the potential for trouble, many executives at a manufacturers’ conference here welcomed the potential for help.

California environmental regulators are drawing up plans to issue vouchers as early as this spring to small fleets to help them pay for replacing old trucks with units carrying a 2007 or newer diesel engine.

The average retail price of U.S. diesel declined for the fifth consecutive week, dipping another 3.3 cents a gallon, according to the Department of Energy.

With so much attention being placed on the economic stimulus legislation, trucking has not been able to uncover much about the Obama administration’s transportation policy, said Bill Graves, president of American Trucking Associations.

Technological glitches related to the launch of a container fee program are being blamed for congestion that jammed the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, Calif., on Feb. 18.

Some truckload fleets said they are selectively cutting driver pay for the first time in years to counter cost pressures as the recession dries up freight demand.

State truck registration fees would more than double under a proposal being prepared for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration under a two-year-old system Congress set up to reduce fees for for-hire carriers.

Prices paid to U.S. producers rose 0.8% in January, the largest gain in six months, the Labor Department said Thursday.

Prices paid to U.S. producers rose 0.8% in January, the largest gain in six months, the Labor Department said Thursday.

Trucking suffered the greatest loss of jobs in history during January, excluding the month of the national drivers’ strike in 1994.