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The price of crude oil neared $50 a barrel in New York, and hit a new record in New York and in London on Monday amid concern rebel attacks in Nigeria would reduce production as U.S. refiners continue to struggle to replenish supplies disrupted by Hurricane Ivan, Bloomberg reported..

Total orders for durable goods declined 0.5% in August to $195.4 billion, but rose 2.3% when excluding transportation equipment, the Commerce Department reported Friday.

The head of heavy-duty truck maker Volvo Trucks North America said the company’s Class 8 assembly lines are operating at capacity amid booming sales, forcing the manufacturer to extend delivery times for new equipment.

A congressional source said the U.S. Department of Energy would approve loans of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve once the exact details were worked out with the refineries, Reuters reported Friday.

91ÊÓƵ Resales Slow in August • Fed Says 'Significant' Rate Increases May Be Needed • Hurricane Jeanne Heads for Florida; Ivan Strikes Texas • Kansas School Honors ATA President

In a letter to Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham, American Trucking Associations President Bill Graves said trucking "remains concerned" about record diesel fuel prices, and asked Abraham to "consider loaning U.S. refineries much-needed crude oil from the [Strategic Petroleum Reserve]..

The House of Representatives on Wednesday approved a measure on Wednesday that would require foreign truckers operating in the United States to meet the same safety, certification and labeling standards as domestic carriers, news services reported..

Three senators said it was unlikely a new six-year highway and mass transit bill would be passed before the upcoming elections and proposed Congress accept a six-month extension of federal funding at current levels, news services reported.

ATLANTA — Tightened capacity, outdated infrastructure and driver shortages will be key issues hampering less-than-truckload carriers in the coming year, analysts and less-than-truckload industry executives said at a shippers’ conference here.

Study Finds 861 Truckers Died on the Job in 2003 • LEI Falls 0.3% in August • Business Group to Study Highway Funds • Rise in Jobless Claims Blamed on Hurricanes • And more...