A.M. Executive Briefing - June 8
This Morning's Headlines:
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Family-Owned Trucking Company Feels Pinch of Federal Estate Taxes
Edward Vander Pol's family-run trucking business in Auburn, Wash., has already paid $500,000 in estate taxes and doled out an additional $150,000 to hire accountants and lawyers, and buy life insurance, in hopes of taking some of the edge off of the taxite.
Most of the company's cash is tied up in its 1,000 trucks – Vander Pol's father began with just two in 1936 – and it is going to be difficult to give the IRS its 55%. The so-called death taxes are believed to be a heavy contributor to the shrinking number of family-owned trucking businesses. Christian Science Monitor (06/08/00) P. 1
Higher Fuel Prices in Wisconsin Driving Up Consumer Prices
According to James Buchen of Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, fuel prices are driving up expenses for businesses in the state, which in some cases translates into higher prices for consumers.According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, federal Energy Department representatives are coming to Milwaukee next week to see whether the prices are being driven up in part by a reformulated-gas shortage. At the beginning of May, the EPA began requiring a new type of reformulated gas for the Milwaukee area; prices began shooting up after that.
According to John Kreilkamp, the president of Kreilkamp Trucking, his company has had to increase each customer's bill by 5% to 7% since the price of a gallon of diesel passed $1.15. Associated Press (06/08/00); McCord, Melissa
Equipment Supplier Hayes Lemmerz Says Weakened Truck Market Offset Auto Parts Sales Gain
In yet another sign of how trucking activity slowed this spring, equipment supplier Hayes Lemmerz International of Northville, Mich. said today its earnings for the quarter that ended April 30 were unchanged from a year ago on a per-share basis. Lower sales to the North American heavy truck market offset sales gains in original-equipment parts to the automotive sector, the company explained.A weaker euro currency against the U.S. dollar also bit into earnings, but Ron Cucuz, Hayes Lemmerz' chairman and chief executive, noted in a press release that the company "saw a significant drop in orders for heavy truck wheel and brake components at the start of 2000." Hayes Lemmerz has annual sales of $2.3 billion, and is a leading supplier of automotive and commercial highway wheels, brakes, powertrain, suspension and other components.
In recent days, some large trucking companies also signaled they will report lower earnings for the past quarter than Wall Street analysts expected, as the trucking sector of the economy has cooled. Transport Topics staff
Intense Fog Led to Fatal Canadian Pile-Up, Officer Testifies
On the first day of a coroner's inquest into a Sept. 3, 1999, crash that killed eight and injured 45, Const. Kevin Armstrong of the Ontario Provincial Police testified that the fog that was suffocating Essex County on the morning of the 87-vehicle pile-up on Highway 401 was primarily to blame for the tragedy.Crown Attorney Denis Harrison said he expects to call over 20 witnesses during the course of the inquest, which will include testimony from victims and their families, the owners of the Ambassador Bridge, the Ontario Trucking Association, and others. Calgary Herald (06/08/00) P. A6
Truckers' Fuel Suit Against Truck Stops Sent Back to Lower Tenn. Court
Truckers hoping to end surcharges on credit-card fuel purchases at Tennessee truck stops have had their case sent back to a lower court by the Tennessee Court of Appeals.The suit was brought by four owner-operators, supported by the owner Operator Independent Driver's Association, against Flying J and Pilot. The Court of Appeals has refused to determine whether the practice of charging more for the use of credit cards was legally a surcharge or a discount for cash.
The case was sent back to the same lower court that had originally decided against the drivers. The court did rule that the truckers can sue truck stops over surcharges on credit card purchases that violate the contracts with the credit card companies. Commercial Carrier Journal (05/00) Vol. 157, No. 5; P. 11; Snyder, Charles A.
Compiled by Transport Topics staff and INFORMATION, INC. © 2000
