DOW JONES NEWSWIRES 
 

Cummins Inc.'s (CMI) second-quarter earnings plunged 81% as the engine maker struggles in the face of weak North American and European trucking and construction markets.

Chairman and Chief Executive Tim Solso said Cummins is managing its business under the assumption that it "won't see any recovery" in its markets this year. In April, Cummins surprised investors by announcing it expected full-year sales to be off more than 30% from 2008 levels.

The company, which affirmed its 2009 forecast, has slashed thousands of jobs and other costs since late last year amid the demand slump.

Cummins' earnings tumbled to $56 million, or 28 cents a share, from $293 million, or $1.49 a share, a year earlier. Restructuring costs hurt the latest quarter by 2 cents a share. Net sales fell 38% to $2.43 billion.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of 26 cents a share on revenue of $2.47 billion.

Gross margin fell to 18.4% from 22.6%.

All of the company's businesses experienced sales decreases, with the largest in the engine and components segments, down 45% and 41%, respectively.

Shares closed Wednesday at $39.73 and haven't traded premarket Thursday. The stock is up 49% this year, but is still down 44% from a year earlier.

-By Mike Barris, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2330; mike.barris@dowjones.com;