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KISSIMMEE, Fla. — Dealer executives bubbled with optimism as they exited their respective truck-brand meetings here at the American Truck Dealers conference.

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.

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.

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.