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ATA URGES THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION TO ACT TO REDUCE TRUCK SPEEDS American Trucking Associations leaders renewed their call for the Department of Transportation to move forward with a rule requiring the electronic speed limiter on all large trucks be set no higher than 65 miles per hour. "In 2006, as part of our longstanding commitment to highway safety, ATA petitioned the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to require the speed limiter on all large trucks be set in order to electronically limit their top speed to no more than 65 mph," ATA President and CEO Bill Graves said. "We waited patiently until the government finally said in January 2011 they would move ahead with a speed limiter mandate, but this commonsense regulation has been mired in bureaucracy for over four years now. It is long past time for NHTSA and FMCSA to move ahead with this rule." Federal data show that driving too fast for conditions or over the posted speed limit was the primary reason for 18% of all fatal crashes where a large truck was deemed at fault. A speed limiter rule won't prevent all of these crashes, but it will certainly help. "In addition to slowing truck speeds, ATA believes in slowing down all traf- fic," Graves said. "That's why we back a national speed limit for all vehicles of 65 mph and are disturbed by the recent trend of states raising their speed limits to 70, 75, 80 or in some areas even 85 miles per hour. These limits are reckless and are needlessly endangering millions of motorists." Nationally, speed is a cause or factor in nearly 30% of all fatal crashes. "We limit the speeds of our trucks to 65 mph," said ATA Chairman Duane Long, chairman of Longistics, Raleigh, N.C., "because it makes good safety sense, and as a bonus, it makes good economic sense. Our safety record is better because we limit speeds, we use less fuel because we limit speeds and we spend less on repairs and maintenance of our trucks because we limit our speeds." "Even though roughly 70% of truck- ing companies use electronic limiters, that is not enough," Graves said. "So we are again calling on NHTSA Administrator Mark Rosekind—who recently touted the benefits of speed limiters in the press, FMCSA General Counsel Scott Darling and Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx to move this important regulation forward. Further, I urge them to use their positions to push states to do the right thing—the safe thing—when it comes to speed limits for all vehicles and stem the dangerous tide of higher ones." API STUDY: OIL AND NATURAL GAS STOCKS OUTPERFORM OTHER ASSETS IN STATE PENSION FUNDS Returns on state pension funds from investments in oil and natural gas compa- nies continue to provide strong earnings for public pension retirees, including America's teachers, firefighters and police officers, according to a Sonecon study released today by API. On average, $1 invested in oil and natural gas stocks in 2005 was worth $2.30 in 2013. By con- trast, $1 invested in all other assets over the same period was worth $1.68. "During good economic times—or challenging ones—oil and natural gas investments far outperformed other public pension holdings," said API Vice President of Regulatory and Economic Policy Kyle Isakower in a conference call with reporters. "We already know that a healthy domestic oil and natural gas industry is good news for jobs and gov- ernment revenue, and we now know that it also provides stability to the nest eggs that millions of Americans are counting on for a secure retirement." While oil and natural gas stocks make up, on average, 4% of holdings in the top public pension funds, they accounted for, on average, 8% of the returns in these funds from 2005 to 2013, according to the Sonecon study. The owners of America's oil and natural gas companies are largely retirees and middle class Americans sav- ing for retirement, according to a separate report by Sonecon, Who Owns America's Oil and Natural Gas Companies. "Millions of Americans with a 401k, mutual fund, or pension also rely on the income and capital growth these com- panies provide for their retirement," Isakower said. America's oil and natu- ral gas companies are owned by tens of millions of Americans, according to a pre- vious Sonecon study. The report examines the top two public pension funds in 17 states, which collectively cover more than half (55%) of all workers in the United States who participate in state and local government pension plans. ALA RECOGNIZES CONTRIBUTIONS OF CLEAN DIESEL TO IMPROVING AIR QUALITY The Diesel Technology Forum issued the following statement regarding the release www.fueloilnews.com | FUEL OIL NEWS | JUNE 2015 3 FUELS/EIA - pg 11 • From Amerigreen Energy on its 10th Anniversary • Amthor International Introduces New Microsite for Refined Fuel Industry • Onspot Adds Eastern Canada Regional Manager • Biodiesel Industry Welcomes EPA RFS Announcement • U.S. Energy Demand Slows Except for Industrial, Commercial Sectors BUSINESS OPERATIONS - pg 16 • AREE and OESP Shows to Merge in 2016 • James Flaherty III Passes • Survey Finds a Vast Majority of Small Business Owners Want Tax Code Reform • PGANE Summer Meeting • Irving Oil Announces Partnership with The Boston Red Sox HVAC/HYDRONICS - pg 44 • ONTOR Ltd to Represent Aquamotion Product Line in Canada • WinWholesale Acquires Security Supply • OMA: DOE Changes to Oilfired Boiler and Furnace Efficiency Standards • Taco Announces Company Reorganization and Rebranding • Registration Open for ASHRAE 2015 Annual Conference, Atlanta • C85 EOS Long Life Combustion Analyzer Featured News DATELINE BREAKING NEWS