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.