Fuel

California has set up a loan program for truckers to meet looming stricter emissions requirements next year, but some carriers say the industry is in such a difficult state that they may not last long enough to get the loans, the Santa Cruz (Calif.) Sentinel reported Tuesday.

Onboard scale manufacturer Air-Weigh said that Kalyn Siebert, a subsidiary of Heil Trailer International, has made the Air-Weigh’s trailer scales standard on its heavy-haul trailers.

Before Congress recessed for its Memorial Day break, the House of Representatives passed legislation that could make it easier for employees of FedEx Corp.’s express unit to unionize, and the House energy committee approved a bill that would set up a cap-and-trade program to limit output of greenhouse gases.

Rising crude oil prices helped drive the average U.S. retail price of diesel fuel up 4.3 cents last week to $2.274 a gallon, while higher demand tied to increased summer driving pushed gasoline up nearly three times as much, the Energy Department reported.

Truck and engine manufacturer Navistar Inc. has challenged the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to certify heavy-duty diesel engines using selective catalytic reduction to meet the agency’s 2010 standards for emissions of nitrogen oxides.

Truckers who pull refrigerated trailers into and around California have less than two months to prep for a rule that requires the small diesel engines that power older reefers to meet a state emission standard.