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CHICAGO — Former Transportation Secretary Samuel Skinner defended current Secretary Ray LaHood, telling tank truck executives here that recent pushes to promote rail and other modes of transportation at the expense of trucking were likely foisted upon him by the White House.

A shipper may hire a truck for any of a variety of reasons: Perhaps there is a long distance to cover or the load requires more space than available in the trunk of a car.

Review of the 2007 generation of diesel engines has been a very hot topic this year. At the annual American Trucking Associations Technology & Maintenance Council meeting, I was one of the panelists asked to score the performance of the 2007 engines based on TransAm’s experiences.

Thank you to our readers for the many favorable comments we’ve received in response to the special report on CSA 2010 that Transport Topics produced as part of the April 26 issue.

CINCINNATI — Concern about driver safety compliance is pushing the purchase of new technology to help fleet managers to see and respond to data on driver performance, manufacturers of the equipment said.

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 Department of Transportation’s freight transportation services index for February fell 2% from a year earlier but rose from January, DOT said.

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.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration said last week it is pushing back the start of its new safety monitoring system, CSA 2010, until late this year, to give itself time to respond to criticisms and suggestions, and give fleets time to fix safety deficiencies.