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Clean truck technology company representatives from the U.S. and China met for the first time last week with agencies from both governments, said event sponsor Calstart.

CINCINNATI — A Volvo Trucks executive described natural gas as a significant “windfall” for the United States, and a manufacturer of natural gas fuel systems said truck buyers must parse a host of fine details before purchasing a vehicle.

A number of trucking industry suppliers, led by engine maker Cummins Inc., all reported lower earnings in the third quarter due to falling demand for their products.

Navistar International Corp. last week announced plans to cut costs by closing its Garland, Texas, plant, a move that affects 900 workers but not the company’s overall manufacturing capacity.

The rapid growth of e-commerce is forcing all kinds of businesses — from retailers and wholesale distributors to manufacturers and import-export companies — to change the way they distribute goods.

CINCINNATI — Truck and engine makers said that meeting the federal government’s greenhouse-gas standards that take effect in 2017 while still complying with the 2010 emissions rule is a difficult challenge and could result in more “hard programming” of engine settings and fewer choices for fleets in their tractors.

U.S. average diesel prices dropped 8.6 cents last week, the largest decrease in almost four years, to $4.03 a gallon, the Department of Energy reported. Meanwhile, analysts said they were not expecting any lasting increases in prices as a result of Hurricane Sandy.

The trucking industry in the Northeast was scrambling last week in the wake of Hurricane Sandy to assess the damage to fleet facilities and roadways and to determine which customers were ready to accept deliveries.

The U.S. Department of Transportation released $10 million in emergency funds to New Jersey and $2 million to Connecticut to repair  roads damaged by Hurricane Sandy.