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The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration said it will implement a new online application process that will allow hazmat materials special permits to be reviewed in a timely manner, beginning May 1.

Trucking company failures leaped to 730 during the first quarter, the largest number since the third quarter of 2008, as the recession continued to take a toll on freight carriers, said Donald Broughton of Avondale Partners.

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 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.

Retail sales rose 1.6% in March, the biggest increase in four months, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.

Dan Murray, vice president of research for the American Transportation Research Institute, received the William K. Smith Distinguished Service Award from the University of Minnesota Center for Transportation Studies.

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.