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HENDERSON, Nev. — Daimler’s Western Star unit launched a new highway tractor offering improved fuel efficiency while maintaining the brand’s classic styling.

The Cass Freight Index, a measure of shipping activity in trucking and other transportation modes, rose in August but expenditures dipped, Cass Information Systems said.

Class 8 truck orders in August were unusually strong, rising about 30%, as freight volumes and rates improved and fleets rushed to fill available build slots, research firms and analysts said last week.

The secretaries of transportation and the treasury are scheduled to address business leaders and financiers Sept. 9 in Washington to encourage them to invest in state and local infrastructure projects.

Americans are driving more, the Federal Highway Administration reported, saying that cars, trucks and buses logged 1.47 trillion vehicle miles during the first half of this year, the highest level since 2008.

Linda Bauer Darr, a Washington transportation trade group executive, will become president of the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association when current leader Richard Timmons retires at the end of 2014.

The federal government is sending $2 million in emergency road funds to the California Department of Transportation and local governments to help begin immediate repairs to roads and bridges damaged by the earthquake Sunday in the Napa Valley.

Sen. Tom Carper said he will tour three transportation projects in Delaware on Aug. 28 to emphasize the importance of infrastructure in his state and what could be lost if a new surface funding plan is not passed soon.

The ranking Democrat on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee criticized the Obama administration for its handling of bridge safety reform, citing a DOT inspector general’s report for highlighting “shortcomings in federal oversight and management of highway bridge safety.”