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The huge ash cloud hanging over Europe from last week’s volcano eruption in Iceland is hampering global air freight and causing a shift in European cargo from planes to trucks, news services reported.

The chairman of American Truck Dealers said the trade group will add more attention to medium-duty lines at its annual convention and exposition, scheduled for April 23-26 in Kissimmee, Fla.

The New York State Department of Transportation told a transportation task force that it will no longer pursue efforts to restrict trucks from using certain rural routes in the Finger Lakes area, American Trucking Associations said.

State and federal grants totaling $585,000 will help 15 trucking companies in Utah install auxiliary power units, the Associated Press reported.

Peterbilt Motors Co. recently introduced its new Model 587 Class 8 truck, available as a day cab or a twin sleeper, replacing its Model 387.

It’s wise not to get too giddy, but it definitely appears things are improving for the economy — and for trucking.

I recently had the opportunity to make an informal survey on in-cab distractions. I have been restoring an old Willys Utility Wagon, and I wanted to see if I could find a couple of leather bucket seats for it. I went to a local junkyard, and they told me to walk around and look in the vehicles and see if I could find a pair that I liked.

As the ongoing storm hovers over the trucking industry, some carriers are so busy hunkering down that they have forgotten to look for the silver lining in those clouds, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t there.

Bob Costello, American Trucking Associations’ chief economist, has been appointed by Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood to the Advisory Council on Transportation Statistics.