A.M. Executive Briefing - June 29
This Morning's Headlines:
ul>
GM Sets 2010 as High-Volume Fuel Cell Output Goal, But Small Van Fleets Could be 3 Years Away
General Motors says it hopes to be producing hundreds of thousands of efficient fuel-cell-powered vehicles by 2010, Bloomberg reported, but the world's largest automaker said it is testing small vans with the new technology that could pave the way for fleets of such vehicles to be sold in just three years.The trucking industry largely depends on diesel fuel, but a significant component of trucking, including local light trucks and delivery vans, use gasoline and could benefit from cost savings generated by fuel cells. Fuel cells can get more miles per fuel gallon and burn cleaner than gasoline-based power systems. Transport Topics staff
Trucking Company Owner Says Fuel Prices Are Ruining Owner-Operators
At a House Government Reform and Oversight Committee hearing Wednesday, trucking-company owner Mark Hrobuchak called on the panel to cut the high price of fuel and to prosecute those companies he says are profiting unfairly.Hrobuchak, owner of Pittston, Pa.-based MPH Transportation and Logistics, said most of his company's owner-operators had seen their pay drop 52% as a result and the company's first-quarter profits dropped over 90%. Between January and March, he said, 20 out of the 150-plus owner-operators he employs filed for bankruptcy. Morning Call (Allentown, Pa.) Online (06/29/00); Marx, Claude R.
Port of Miami Works to Curtail Cargo Theft
The Port of Miami, formerly a hotbed of cargo crime and smuggling, has improved a great deal due to tougher Customs inspections, X-rays looking for contraband in containers, and other crackdown measures.According to FBI Special Agent Tracy Reinhold, drug smugglers have been turning to cargo theft, which is just as lucrative as trafficking but carries far smaller penalties. Cargo theft has become more sophisticated, with operations penetrating trucking companies to falsify documentation or use warehouses to fill cargo containers.
The cargo-crime crackdown is not limited to Miami; the FBI has been running Operation Sudden Stop across the country since last year. That year, eight people were arrested on allegations that they ran a computer-parts theft ring in Miami, shipping the stolen goods to Latin America.
However, Miami still has problems with cargo crime, and truckers are complaining that the stepped-up enforcement is increasing congestion at the port. The port is looking for solutions to the congestion problem, including paying trucking companies back for revenue or time eaten up by long waits. St. Louis Post-Dispatch Online (06/28/00)
Celadon Board Approves Shareholders Rights Plan
Celadon Group Wednesday announced a shareholders' rights plan that would guard against any acquisition of Celadon at a below-value price or terms that would violate Celadon's and shareholders' best interests. The acquisition would have to be at least 15% of Celadon's common stock in order for the plan to go into effect. Reuters (06/28/00)Air Canada, Pilots Keep Talking So No Strike Notice
A possible strike by pilots of the dominant Canadian airline, Air Canada, was put off for at least another day this weekend because the pilots union has continued to negotiate with the company over wage and pension issues and has not yet issued the required 72-hour strike notice, various wire services are reporting.That means a strike that could cause air freight dislocations at many connecting US airports and for cross-border trucking is still threatening but could still be averted. Although mainly a passenger line, Air Canada like other major airlines carries a significant amount of cargo in its plane bellies, and a strike would not only delay shipments or divert them to other carriers but would porbably put more air freight onto over-the-road trucks that cross congested borders between the two giant trading partners – Canada and the United States. Transport Topics staff
River Oaks Relatives, Trucking Company Settle Suit
The family of a woman who died in a chain-reaction accident in Fort Worth, Texas, last year has settled with Refrigerated Transport, which leased the truck involved in the wreck. The family's lawsuit claimed that the accident, which took place after a tractor-trailer hit a row of cars, was caused in part by driver fatigue. The company's insurer will pay the $24 million settlement. Fort Worth Star-Telegram Online (06/28/00); Campbell, Linda P.Compiled by Transport Topics staff and INFORMATION, INC. © 2000
