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Express-1 Expedited Solutions said its first-quarter profit climbed 34% to $1.1 million, or 3 cents per share, from $834,000, or 3 cents, a year ago.

Nearly two years after Maersk Line, the world’s largest ocean carrier, shook up the system for delivering freight containers from U.S. ports by requiring drayage truckers for the first time to pay rental fees for chassis, three trade groups are trying to foster an orderly transition to a new intermodal reality.

The Obama administration last week officially distanced itself from any talk of instituting a national tax based on the number of miles vehicles travel, saying it is not considering such a levy on American drivers.

The news from the Obama White House that it has no intention of pursuing a new tax regime based on the number of miles vehicles travel is most welcome for the trucking industry.

The average price for a gallon of U.S. retail diesel declined last week for only the third time this year, dipping 2 cents to $4.104, the Department of Energy reported.

Heavy-duty U.S. truck sales leaped 41.1% in April, compared with the same month in 2010, marking the 16th straight month of expansion, and outpacing the in-dustry’s 35.9% growth for the first four months of this year.

Consumer confidence improved in May, according to the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index released Friday.

Business inventories rose 1% in March, the Commerce Department said Thursday.

Prices paid to U.S. producers rose 0.8% in April, the Labor Department said Thursday.

Diesel engine maker Cummins Inc. said it expects significant sales and profit growth in 2011 and in future years.