Business

The Environmental Protection Agency last week launched a program that could give fleet owners up to 25% of a new vehicle’s cost for every diesel truck it replaces with a diesel-electric hybrid, liquefied natural gas or other alternate-fueled engine.

Just days after Congress and the Obama administration shut down the controversial cross-border trucking pilot program with Mexico, government officials there struck back last week, imposing new tariffs on about 90 U.S. products valued at about $2.4 billion.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Cummins Inc. said it is confident the Environmental Protection Agency will approve the company’s use of copper zeolite in engines de-signed to meet 2010 emission rules, removing any potential roadblock for the new models.

FedEx Corp.’s freight unit last week posted its first-ever operating loss, falling victim to the recession that cut both rates and freight volumes. It announced cost-cutting moves that included job reductions and the closing of its California general office.

The ability to track the location and contents of trailers, in theory, can help carriers haul more goods in fewer trailers.

The worst U.S. traffic bottleneck is on the south edge of Chicago, according to a pioneering study that uses electronic data from trucks — a research method that could influence future transportation spending debates.

Transportation officials in Colorado said initial feedback from commercial drivers who have used the AutoSock, a heavy-duty cloth covering for tires, has been positive, and it could become an accepted alternative to metal snow chains.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Truck and engine makers took advantage of one of the last major marketing forums before the onset of new federal emission rules to starkly set the stage for buyers of heavy-duty vehicles in choosing between SCR and EGR for their diesel engines.

Chris Patterson will step down as president of Daimler Trucks North America on June 1, some four years after taking the reins of the nation’s largest heavy-duty truck maker.