When back-to-back snowstorms dumped nearly 7 feet of snow on the New York State Thruway around Buffalo in November, hundreds of truckers were stranded for days — a situation some studies say cost the U.S. economy more than $1 million an hour.

MANALAPAN, Fla. — Trucking capacity is under great strain this winter due to a combination of improving demand and severe weather, creating hope among fleets there is enough underlying strength to carry into spring and beyond.

The record cold across the Midwest contributed to the cancellation of thousands of flights and stopped some trains in Chicago, Bloomberg News reported.

A heavy snowstorm that has closed highways in five states continued to move across the Southwest and Great Plains on Tuesday, the Associated Press reported.

The life expectancy of heavy-duty truck wheels depends primarily on where a truck runs, with regions where roads are subjected to chemicals that are used to reduce ice and snow creating the biggest problems, according to experts.

As winter approaches — and with some parts of the country already being subjected to an early taste of seasonal traffic problems — carrier executives and drivers have said experienced people behind the wheels of the tractor-trailers are the best defense against the hazards caused by the weather.

At Boyd Bros. Transportation Inc. in Birmingham, Ala., Chris Cooper, grandson of the founder, has been running the firm from the cab of his pickup truck since one of the most powerful tornadoes on record devastated Tuscaloosa April 27 before reaching Boyd’s office about 55 miles away.