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Truck engine manufacturer Cummins Inc. announced that it has agreed to sell its light-duty filtration operations to an equity investment firm, Industrial Opportunity Partners. Terms were not disclosed.

NEW YORK — Shippers from the retail, building products and chemical industries said that demand has remained steady in recent weeks, a sign the second half of 2011 will not be as weak as some economists have suspected.

August orders for new Class 8 trucks jumped 68% this year from a year earlier as dramatic increases  in sales and orders continued. Despite a 31.5% gain in registrations in the second quarter, however, the total fleet size remained below previous years.

Truck maker Navistar International Corp. reported a jump in quarterly profits boosted mainly by a tax-related adjustment and said its sales have accelerated but are still held back by problems with components suppliers.

Truck maintenance executives will wrestle with corrosion, tire issues and other critical topics in Raleigh, N.C., later this month, while technicians compete for honors at an event sponsored by the Technology & Maintenance Council of American Trucking Associations.

The average price paid for a gallon of U.S. retail diesel rose 4.8 cents a gallon to $3.868 last week, the second straight increase, the Department of Energy reported.

Heartland Express announced that Russell Gerdin, founder of the truckload carrier, has retired due to health concerns and passed the chairman and CEO positions to his son, Michael.

The federal government’s latest hours-of-service proposal will result in reduced wages for hundreds of thousands of truck drivers, significant costs for trucking companies and billions of dollars in lost productivity, American Trucking Associations told the Obama administration.

While change, churn and modernization may have become the mantra for much of the freight transportation industry, for managers working in damage prevention and claims, the most basic truth endures: Don’t ruin your shippers’ freight.