Truck and component manufacturers who also build military products say they are confident they will be able to hold on to much of that business even as the U.S. armed forces face potential slashes in their future budgets.

HOMESTEAD, Fla. — Daimler Trucks North America wants a bigger piece of the aftermarket and is using stock car racing as a means to boost sales for its Alliance Truck Parts unit.

Manufacturing activity in the New York region expanded in November for the first time in six months, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said Tuesday.

KOPING, Sweden — The Volvo Group said it is moving ahead with a plan to shift the assembly of its I-shift automated mechanical transmission from its factory here to the United States and Brazil for trucks that its subsidiaries build in North and South America.

Vehicle manufacturer Volkswagen AG said last week that it completed the purchase of a majority stake of fellow German truck producer MAN SE, opening the way to becoming “a new top player on the global truck market.”

The trucking industry’s independent contractor model is being increasingly challenged in the courts, by regulatory authorities and in state legislatures, industry experts said.

Factory orders rose 0.3% in September, the Commerce Department said Thursday.

Cummins Inc. said Tuesday its third-quarter profit rose 60% from a year ago, but the engine maker trimmed its full-year revenue outlook due to “uncertainty around the macro-economic environment.”

Manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia region increased in October, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said Thursday.

Daimler AG has pledged to protect the jobs of its permanent employees through 2016, Bloomberg reported Wednesday.