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Patrick Quinn, 65, a co-founder of the nation’s third-largest truckload carrier who rose from a small Nebraska farm to national positions of trucking industry leadership after opting out of a corporate legal career, died Dec. 13 at his home near Chattanooga, Tenn., succumbing to brain cancer.

FedEx Corp.’s net income climbed 76% in its fiscal 2012 second quarter, helped by a third consecutive profitable quarter at the freight unit and higher earnings at the ground and express businesses.

The overall size of the U.S. Class 8 fleet continued its downward slide since peaking in 2008, R.L. Polk & Co. said in its latest report, which showed the number of U.S. Class 8 vehicles in operation fell 4.2% in the third quarter.

Three new projects, featuring transloading between trucks and trains, are being developed to tap the growing demand to transport crude oil generated by recent energy development efforts, according to separate announcements.

Carriers are increasingly optimistic that 2012 will bring both higher volume and rates, a new survey by Transport Capital Partners found.

U.S. diesel prices slipped 3.7 cents to $3.894 a gallon last week, the third straight weekly drop, the Department of Energy reported.

The Department of Transportation is awarding $511 million to fund 46 transportation projects in 33 states and Puerto Rico, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said.

The consumer price index was unchanged in November as gas prices dropped, the Labor Department said Friday.