LONDON — British oil giant BP said Jan. 17 its interim chief executive, Murray Auchincloss, will be given the job on a permanent basis to replace Bernard Looney.

The CEOs of two leading freight carriers said they expect Red Sea threats to disrupt shipping for weeks or months longer.

The global LNG tanker fleets appear to have stopped using the Red Sea and Suez Canal, as continued Houthi attacks on ships reroute flows of the power-station and heating fuel.

U.S. retail sales for medium-duty trucks rose 9.1% year-over-year in December while finishing 2023 some 8.4% higher than 2022’s full-year total, according to data from Wards Intelligence.

The national average diesel price rose for the first time in 2024, climbing 3.5 cents to $3.863 a gallon, according to Energy Information Administration data for the week ending Jan. 15.

The U.S. launched a new strike against the Yemen-based Houthis on Jan. 16, hitting anti-ship missiles in the third assault on the Iranian-backed group in recent days, the U.S. military said.

Trucking’s lingering freight recession, combined with a steep decline in spot market rates for carriers over the last 18 months, is tightening capacity, according to FMCSA data and FTR Intel.

Classes 5-8 electric truck maker Xos obtained a $48.5 million capital infusion from serial e-mobility investor ElectraMeccanica, the companies said.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy is again pushing back on New York’s plan to charge motorists driving into Manhattan’s central business district, saying it violates the U.S. Constitution.

SEATTLE — Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson on Jan. 15 sued to block the proposed merger of Kroger and Albertsons, two of the nation’s largest grocery chains.

BALTIMORE — Maryland will use its share of $623 million in federal funding to develop 58 EV charging stations, some of which would be located in disadvantaged communities.

Cummins Inc. plans to spend $580 million on its Rocky Mount Engine Plant in North Carolina, much of it as part of the company’s decarbonization push, it said.

Here's the solution to the crossword puzzle found in the January 15, 2024 print edition.

Proposed fees for Unified Carrier Registration Plan participants in 2025 will be raised by about 25% compared with 2024 fees, FMCSA announced Jan. 9.

LG Electronics Inc. on Jan. 12 opened its first EV charger factory outside of South Korea — in Forth Worth, Texas — as the company targets the North American market.

California drivers will experience worse highway and road conditions due to lost diesel and gasoline tax revenue in state coffers, according to legislative analysts.

Some 1,500 unionized employees at Allison Transmission Holdings are set to vote Jan. 16 on ratifying a revised labor agreement, the United Auto Workers union Local 933 said.

The attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea by Houthi rebels have rerouted most of the trade normally flowing through the crucial maritime artery for consumer goods and energy supplies.

Class 8 retail truck sales in December fell year-over-year for a fifth consecutive month, Wards Intelligence data showed, but full-year 2023 sales ended 4.9% higher compared with 2022.

With billions of federal, state and local dollars being spent at the nation’s ports, these critical economic engines are poised to accelerate efforts toward low- and zero-carbon emissions.