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The Defense Department is slated to approve a new regime for paying fuel surcharges in late January that will then go into effect April 1, according to an official of the Military Traffic Management Command.

With both the manufacturing and retail sectors signaling a crunch in December, and with more trucking and other transportation companies warning in January about rising losses as their customers retrench, the Federal Reserve should cut interest rates another half-point at the end of this month.

In the news this morning: Truck rams Calif. Capitol, killing driver; Delphi 4Q earnings beat forecasts; OPEC to cut oil production by 1.5 million barrels; and more.

Today's technology headlines: Satellite firm Globalstar halts payment on its debts; Cisco faces delay in shipping switches; satellite rivals TMI, Motient to merge; and more.

This afternoon's headlines: OPEC to cut production by 1.5 million barrels; trucking opinions vary on NY toll proposal; Williams Controls says its truck parts business 'sound' despite losses;

Penske Truck Leasing has agreed to acquire another leader in the field, Rollins Truck Leasing, for $754 million.

The leadership shuffle in Congress puts Rep. Hal Rogers of Kentucky - a lawmaker with a short record on transportation issues - as chairman of a key House Appropriations subcommittee in place of Rep. Frank Wolf - a lawmaker with extensive transportation experience.

With a new, almost evenly divided Congress about to begin work, members of the Distribution and LTL Carriers Association are taking a fresh look at several key legislative issues at its 2001 annual meeting at the Sheraton Maui in Hawaii this week.

In the news this morning: Marten Transport to report better-than-expected 4Q earnings; USF announces new president for Glen Moore subsidiary; Yellow to fold two regional subsidiaries into Saia; and more.

The U.S. average pump price for diesel fuel fell 1.1 cents this week to $1.509 per gallon as of Jan. 15, compared with $1.520 Jan. 8, the Energy Department reported Tuesday afternoon.