A.M. Executive Briefing - July 19
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Western Star Again Focus of Takeover Talk
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A newspaper report said the deal being discussed was worth C$500 million ($340 million), or $31 a share, Reuters noted, and Freightliner said in a news release it was calling a press conference for Wednesday afternoon to make an announcement. Transport Topics
Trade Data Shows Import Goods Flow Strong Despite Dip
In line with reports from truck companies and logistics providers who have seen some softening in domestic U.S. shipments but a still-robust import sector, The U.S. Commerce Dept. said Wednesday the nation's May trade gap widened to a record $31 billion as imports stayed strong despite a mild dip while exports of U.S. goods weakened more.
A 0.3% drop in imports was the first decline since May 1998, but the value of U.S. exports fell 1% to widen what is already a large monthly shortfall between the two categories. Transport Topics
Third-party Freight Handler Robinson Tops Earning Ideas
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While some U.S. truck lines have reported slower growth this year in domestic business, the international trade sector remains strong. Robinson's multi-modal operations involve a large amount of cross-border freight moves.
The company said it maintains the single largest network of motor carrier capacity in North America through contracts with more than 20,000 motor carriers, and is one of the largest U.S. third-party providers of intermodal services. Transport Topics
M.S. Carriers "Not Satisfied" With Second Quarter Performance
With earnings per diluted share down $.12 from the same time last year, M.S. Carriers CEO Mike Starnes said that he sees the company shaking off the effects of rising fuel costs for a better second half."While we're not satisfied with our second quarter performance, we are better positioned for the second half of the year," Starnes said in the company's earnings announcement. "We continue to make progress on getting the tractors fully seated. We've fully implemented our pricing actions to fund the driver pay increase effective in the first quarter. With these actions, we're ready to take advantage of the normal seasonal freight demand of the second half of the year."
M.S. Carriers' operating income suffered a 4% decrease and net income dropped 26%. Starnes attributed second quarter results to "persistently high fuel prices and lower equipment utilization." Transport Topics
Canada Offers Mediator to Help Air Canada Avoid Pilots Strike
Canada's Labor Minister has offered the services of a federal mediator to aid the ongoing negotiations between Air Canada, the nations largest airfreight and passenger carrier, and its 2,200 pilots in hopes of averting a strike that has shippers already scrambling to line up trucks if it happens.The airline accepted the offer Tuesday, Bloomberg reported, but the pilots planned to answer Wednesday. However, an analyst told the wire service the pilots would obviously participate in mediated talks.
Should a strike occur, large volumes of freight normally shipped by air on this carrier, through various U.S. and Canadian airports, would be pushed onto trucks after only the most time-sensitive cargo would make it on other air carriers, logistics sources have said. Transport Topics
Smithway Motor Xpress Announces Earnings In Line With Early Company Estimates
Smithway Motor Xpress Corp., a truckload carrier focusing mainly on the flatbed market, said that second quarter earnings were as expected in earlier announcements.Net earnings for the second quarter were $7,000, and the company had earlier estimated earnings near the break-even point.
The company said fewer operating tractors and less productivity per tractor, as well as increased fuel and wage expenses, were the factors affecting earnings. Transport Topics
Wrongful Death Suit Filed Over Lack Of Reflective Tape On Trailer
The widow of a man who died when his van hit the side of a tractor-trailer is suing the driver and his company, saying reflective tape on the flatbed would have saved her hus-band's life, The (Baltimore) Sun reported this week.Elizabeth Ashley is seeking $10 million in damages from driver Norris L. Dishon Sr. and trucking company Leo J. Umerley Inc. In the wrongful death suit, Ashley claims negligence on the part of both the driver and company, saying the 1988 tractor-trailer Dishon was driving should have had reflective tape on it to increase its visibility in the dark. Her husband, 72-year-old Robert Ashley, died on Sept. 23, 1998 when at 5 a.m. he ran into Dishon's trailer, which was taking up both eastbound lanes of U.S. 40, as Dishon waited to make a left turn.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates 11,000 cars crash into the rears and sides of tractor-trailers each year, causing approximately 540 fatalities. In March a federal regulation was enacted that requires reflective tape on trucks made after 1994. Older trucks must be retrofitted by June 1, 2001.
Ashley's lawyer, Jay Miller, said that while Dishon and his company were not in violation of federal safety codes, they could be considered negligent for not having reflective tape on the trailer. Transport Topics
Viking Freight Opens New Center Near Calif.-Mexico Border
Western less-than-truckload leader Viking Freight, a subsidiary of FedEx Corp., announced this week the opening of a new service center in Otay Mesa, Calif., near the Mexican border.The new service center will help Viking increase its service to Tijuana's maquiladora market, which accounts for 800 manufacturing plants in that region.
Along with standard domestic freight services, Viking will also have assembly and distri-bution, dock drop service and will call at the new center.
Viking is headquartered in San Jose, Calif., and has border operations in El Paso, Texas; Tucson, Ariz. and Calexico, Calif. The carrier works in conjunction with Transportes El Jefe to service the Tijuana region.
Transport Topics
KLLM Stock Acquisition Completed By High Road
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The deal was done through High Road Acquisition Subsidiary Corp., and was put together by KLLM Chief Executive Jack Liles and WorldCom Inc. President Bernard Ebbers. High Road announced Wednesday it will complete the acquisition by merging its subsidiary into KLLM, with KLLM being the surviving corporation. The Liles-Ebbers union beat a takeover bid by Prime Inc. president and KLLM shareholder Robert E. Low. Transport Topics
Maine Trucking Exec Pleads Guilty to Tax Evasion, Falsifying Records
Neal Cohen, owner of Neal B. Cohen Trucking Inc. in Oxford, Maine, pleaded guilty to five counts of tax evasion and one count of conspiring to create false medical records, the Associated Press reported.Cohen was sentenced to one year and one day in prison plus a year's probation, and must pay more than $90,000 in back taxes. His company also received a $15,000 fine after admitting to helping create false drivers' logs.
Prosecutors said Cohen created false logs, drug-testing reports and medical certificates for his company's drivers. He also paid $600,000 in "under-the-table" salaries during a four-year period, the article said. Neal B. Cohen Trucking is no longer in business due to backlash from the charges.
Warren Morrell and Jerome P. Lizotte Jr., former Cohen employees, had previously pleaded guilty to related charges in the case. Transport Topics
Pilot Sites Selected for Transportation Schools
The U.S. departments of Transportation and Education have teamed up to create the Transportation, Distribution and Logistics Building Linkages Career Cluster program, announcing this week the nine schools selected as pilot sites.The Career Cluster program is designed to guide students on the proper pathways to their chosen career interests.
"Through the Building Linkages Career Cluster pilot school sites, the education and transportation communities together will create curriculum materials to help ensure that America's transportation workforce will be ready for the challenges of the new century and the new millennium," said U.S. Secretary of Transportation Rodney Slater in the announcement.
The nine pilot schools are: Ballard High School, Seattle; Davis Aerospace Technical High School, Detroit; Gloucester County Institute of Technology, Sewell, N.J.; Great Oaks Institute of Technology, Cincinnati; Groveport Madison Senior High School, Groveport, Ohio; Mid South Community College, West Memphis, Ark.; Patterson High School, Baltimore; Superior Senior High School, Superior, Wis. and Trans Tech Academy, Washington, D.C. Transport Topics
Wives Claim Yellow Keeps Their Men On The Road Too Long
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The Atlanta Journal and Constitution reported Wednesday that the protesters claim the Overland, Kan.-based carrier routinely denies drivers' requests for time off and violates federal rules by quickly putting truckers back on the road after long hauls. The wives told the newspaper that their husbands had missed family reunions and graduations due to the heavy workload.
A company official denied the allegations made by the women and said Yellow Freight would not penalize their husbands for the protest. Transport Topics
