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U.S. economic activity remained generally weak in late April and May, and some trucking companies reported having difficulty passing on high fuel costs to their customers, the Federal Reserve said Wednesday.

I joined the company where I work about three months ago, and one of my top-priority jobs has been fuel usage. We had to look at our idling time because all our trucks are sleepers and the drivers run in 48 states.

Police cleared striking truckers who were protesting high fuel prices from the Spanish-French border, and two striking drivers were killed in separate incidents in Spain and Portugal, the Associated Press reported Wednesday.

The International Energy Agency lowered its forecast for global oil demand this year, while thousands of European truckers protested high fuel prices, the Associated Press reported Tuesday.

Soaring fuel prices have driven trucking bankruptcies up 143% over the same time last year, and industry analysts said the market may need to consolidate more before it improves for those companies that survive, the Associated Press reported.

The U.S. trade deficit grew 7.8% in April to the highest level in more than a year, on surging energy costs, the Commerce Department said Tuesday.

Saudi Arabia plans to call for a summit between oil-producing and consuming nations to discuss soaring crude prices, the Associated Press reported Monday.

Two bills circulating in Congress would eliminate a loophole that permits foreign producers of biodiesel to get a tax credit if they “splash” their product with petroleum-based diesel in the United States and then sell it overseas.