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Layoffs and job eliminations among major truck manufacturers topped 11,900 this year as companies cut back production to try to match costs with falling orders.

While the federal government can't say how much it will spend to encourage retrofits with cleaner diesel engines, Sacramento, Calif., is spending $50 million to get as many as 6,000 older, dirtier engines off the road.

California, where the whole emissions thing started, is at it again. But this time, the state wants to retrofit older trucks and buses with particulate traps.

In the news this morning: Swift to buy Cardinal Freight Carriers; FedEx second-quarter earnings rise 18%; wind and snow expected to wallop northern Plains, Midwest; and more.

Today's technology headlines: Cell phone studies see o link to brain cancer; global positioning system monitors fleet health; Maryland county puts its snowplows on a fleet-tracking system; and more.

This afternoon's headlines: Bush taps O'Neill as Treasury secretary; Isuzu Motors to make more diesel engines at U.S. plant; Bush nominates Evans for Commerce secretary; and more.

The 106th Congress gave the trucking industry a reprieve by putting the hours-of-service rules on hold in September, but federal lawmakers were unable to reach a similar consensus on ergonomic regulations as their post-election session drew to a close.

The Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed standards for heavy-duty diesel engine emissions in 2007 have produced an argument that has bounced back and forth for months among engine manufacturers, the makers of antipollution devices and oil refiners.

In the news this morning: National diesel average continues to drop; Simon Transportation to buy Westway Express' assets; Cummins expects 4Q loss; and more.