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The California Air Resources Board said it is now enforcing the identification and reporting requirements for California-based transport refrigeration units on trucks, trailers, shipping containers and rail cars assigned to terminals in the state.

Rising costs for container fees, administrative expenses and environmental requirements in the midst of an economic downturn are causing shippers, importers and retailers to consider alternatives to the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach for shipping their goods, according to trade association officials.

Most Transport Topics readers have experienced the current downturn firsthand — dwindling freight demand, fluctuating fuel prices, clean-engine mandates and downward-spiraling leading indicators.

The U.S. diesel average inched up last week 0.7 cent a gallon to $2.228, following two weeks of major increases, while the gasoline price dipped, the Department of Energy reported.

Two senior House Democratic leaders last week introduced a sweeping greenhouse gas bill that includes a cap-and-trade program and would expand motor carriers’ use of SmartWay technologies.

U.S. retail diesel prices jumped sharply last week, a second straight bump that raised the national average a two-week total of 20.4 cents a gallon, or about 10%, as gasoline also rose, topping the $2 a gallon mark for the first time since November, according to the Department of Energy.

Democratic lawmakers announced legislation Tuesday that they say would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by one fifth, reduce dependence on foreign oil and create energy-related jobs, the Associated Press reported.

The Environmental Protection Agency has asked that an emissions control area be created along the United States’ coastline to reduce what officials say are harmful emissions from ships.