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With fuel prices going down, including diesel, truckers are still shutting down and still saying they aren’t making money — proving my own view that the problem is other than fuel prices.

The world of trucking was turned upside down and shaken like a snow globe during 2008.

The California Air Resources Board has adopted two new rules requiring carriers to add expensive emission-control devices to their trucks and to use fuel-saving equipment endorsed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s SmartWay program.

U.S. fuel prices continued their steep three-month declines last week, even as the cartel of oil-producing nations announced a record cut in production in an attempt to lift global oil prices in 2009.

Diesel engine maker Cummins Inc.’s emissions subsidiary will lay off about 100 workers at a Wisconsin plant, effective immediately, because of the slumping North American truck market, the company said.

Consumer prices fell in November by a record 1.7%, led by steep declines in energy, the Labor Department said Tuesday.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has issued its final rule requiring heavy-truck manufacturers to install onboard diagnostic systems starting in 2010 to alert drivers when engine emission systems are malfunctioning or deteriorating.