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The International Monetary Fund boosted its forecast for global economic growth this year, reflecting stronger U.S. output based on tax-cut extensions and higher growth in emerging economies, Bloomberg reported Tuesday.

LAS VEGAS — Two industry analysts differed over whether trucking will tread water this year or improve its financial performance even more than it has, and economists told heavy-duty executives the danger of a double-dip recession is gone.

The new year for trucking companies picks up right where 2010 left off, with optimism about an improving economy but also plenty of unknowns about which to worry.

Trucking companies finally gained some traction in 2010 as the economy stabilized and demand for freight hauling increased.

Federal regulators for the first time in more than 30 years are proposing a redesign of the fuel economy label that consumers see on the window of new passenger vehicles and light trucks.

Anyone who relies too much on the stock market for advice on where the economy is headed these days is bound to get seasick.

About the only silver lining that seems to be coming from the obvious slowdown of the U.S. economy is that it’s taking pressure off domestic fuel prices, in part by encouraging commodities speculators to find other places to ply their trade.

WASHINGTON — A week after President Obama announced that the federal government would be crafting the first-ever fuel economy standards for large trucks, observers said it was still unclear exactly what those standards would entail.

The good news continued to pour in last week, as a string of trucking-related companies reported improving bottom-line results during the year’s first quarter.

Several notices pointing toward recovery in trucking and the economy at large are one pleasant side of the news last week.