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Vitran Corp. said Wednesday its second-quarter profit fell 16% to $4.6 million, or 34 cents a share, from $5.5 million, or 41 cents, a year earlier.

Truckload carrier Knight Transportation’s second-quarter profit fell to $12.7 million, or 15 cents a share, from $18.2 million, or 21 cents, a year ago.

Canada’s two biggest freight railroads reported downturns in their second-quarter profits, Bloomberg reported.

Heavy equipment and diesel engine maker Caterpillar Inc. said Tuesday its second-quarter profit rose 34%, led by international demand.

Transportation and third-party logistics firm C.H. Robinson Worldwide said its second-quarter profit rose to $90.4 million, or 52 cents a share, from $82.3 million, or 47 cents, a year ago.

The EPA has mandated equipment on our trucks, which adds weight. Why not allow the carriers the chance to recoup the payload?

The Senate Appropriations Committee approved an amendment to the Department of Transportation’s fiscal 2009 budget aimed at halting the U.S.-Mexico trucking pilot program.

The Environmental Protection Agency issued a nearly 600-page request for public comment on whether it should use existing law to regulate greenhouse gas emissions, a decision one trucking official said was a way to further delay any new regulations until after President Bush leaves office.

The U.S. retail diesel average rose 3.7 cents last week to another record, $4.764 a gallon, the Department of Energy reported, while the price of crude oil posted its largest single-day drop in 17 years on July 15.

Heavy-duty U.S. retail truck sales grew by 9.5% in June, compared with year-ago levels, and ended a streak of 17 consecutive months of contraction, according to the latest survey by WardsAuto.com.