A.M. Executive Briefing - July 26
This Morning's Headlines:
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Contract Approval Seen Likely
The International Longshore Workers Union will get better retiree pensions, higher wages and new medical benefits if members approve a new three-year contract with the Pacific Maritime Association. Details of which are available online at www.ilwu.com.The contract was supported by more than 99% of union caucus delegates. The union expects to announce the full vote results on Aug. 26.
The retrained longshoremen could replace the lower-paid owner-operators, who currently transport containers on public roads between terminals and port yards. However, PMA member companies would have to start their own truck lines for this to happen.
American Trucking Associations plans to file a lawsuit against both the PMA and ILWU if such an expansion is attempted.Journal of Commerce (07/26/99) P. 1; Mongelluzzo, Bill
CSX Says It Retains Most-Profitable Sectors
CSX Corp. says the Sea-Land domestic shipping services and four overseas Sea-Land terminals it is not selling to A.P. Moller are among its most profitable divisions. By contrast, the international container-ship division has had trouble recouping its capital costs.Total revenue from the retained divisions make up about $1 billion, while revenue from the divested division was close to $3 billion. However, the divested division’s overhead cut too far into the revenue.
The Jones Act has kept foreign competitors from interfering with Sea-Land’s domestic service.
CSX Chairman John W. Snow says the terminals that will remain with the company have better future prospects than the 24 terminals being sold. Sea-Land will continue to operate terminals in Asia, Australia, the Dominican Republic, Russia and Finland.
An unnamed Manalytics International consultant says the company's Asia Terminals Ltd. warehouse and container facilities in Hong Kong have particular value because of resources unavailable at many common-user terminals. Asia Terminals Ltd., in which Sea-Land Orient has a 50% stake, opened five years ago.
Sea-Land also operates a truck line and Sea-Land Orient Terminals in Hong Kong.Journal of Commerce (07/26/99) P. 1; Brennan, Terry; Watson, Rip
Big-Rig Crashes Blamed on Faulty Permits
Poor routing by the California state transportation department is at fault for three trucks crashing into overpasses in the state since June 8.Two trucks, following routes prepared by the same permit writer, crashed into an Interstate 5 overpass near Redding in June. Then, on July 19, a tank was knocked off the back of a truck on the Riverside Freeway in Anaheim and landed on a car, killing the vehicle's driver.
A department spokesman says the oversized-truck permits in the last fiscal year numbered 188,263.
State Sen. Joe Dunn (D-Garden Grove) is seeking the department’s cooperation as he investigates the problem of improper permitting.San Jose Mercury News Online (07/24/99); Carter, Chelsea J.
Business Beat: Certifications
The basic course for semi drivers at Northwest Career Training Center in Washington state has been certified by the Professional Truck Drivers Institute, an affiliate of the Truckload Carriers Association.Spokane Spokesman Review Online (07/24/99); Sallquist, BillTransportation Gets 4-year Deal with Union
A Teamsters strike at a Transportation Technologies Industries factory in Elkhart, Ind., ended July 25 after negotiators hammered out a four-year deal three days earlier. The company expects the strike to cut its earnings for the third quarter to $1.5 million, down from a potential $2.7 million. About 450 workers began striking the Gunite Corp. plant, which makes heavy-truck components, on June 27. Reuters (07/23/99)© copyright 1999 INFORMATION, INC. Terms of Service
