Executive Briefing - June 18
- DHL, Northwest Form Air Alliance
- TMG Acquires Outbound in Truckside Ad Deal
- Springfield, Va., Construction Slows Traffic
- Court Rules Consolidated Freightways Employees Can Sue
- Coming Months Determine Continued Economic Expansion
- GM Opposes Increased Fuel Efficiency Standard
- CHP Issues 3,076 Truck Tickets
- Ethanol Producers Say Price Competitive
- TMG Acquires Outbound in Truckside Ad Deal
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DHL, Northwest Form Air Alliance
DHL Worldwide Express and Northwest Airlines Cargo said on Monday that they signed a deal to provide express services between Asia and Cincinnati.
The deal will cut transit times from Asia to many parts of the United States by as much as a day.
Beginning July 16, DHL will start new routes between its hubs in Cincinnati and Los Angeles, and its operations in Singapore, Tokyo, Osaka, Beijing and other areas in Asia. Northwest will provide guaranteed capacity to DHL on its freighter services from Asia to Cincinnati.
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TMG Acquires Outbound in Truckside Ad Deal
TransMedia Group, Inc., a national truckside advertising firm, said Monday that it has acquired Outbound Media, Inc.The combined Chicago-based company, TMG Media, has 9,600 city delivery trucks under exclusive contract and more than 50,000 delivery trucks under agreement to post third-party advertisements on side and rear doors.
Among the company’s clients are McDonald’s, Starbucks and Fila.
TMG President David Ludington said he is looking forward to combining his advertisers with Outbound’s contractors like Velocity Express, one of the largest express couriers. Transport Topics
Springfield, Va., Construction Slows Traffic
As the Virginia Department of Transportation progresses with its Springfield Interchange improvement project, road closures are becoming more frequent.Although Interstate-95 and the connecting roads are rarely ever completely shut down, the estimated 500,000 vehicles that pass through each day – including thousands of trucks – face potentially long delays.
Among this week’s closures are two northbound lanes on I-95 from Franconia Road to the Commerce Street Bridge on Monday-Thursday, 9:30 p.m. – 5 a.m., as well as the complete closure of the HOV lanes in the Springfield area during these same times.
Updated weekly information on closures and delays can be found at http://www.springfieldinterchange.com. Transport Topics
Court Rules Consolidated Freightways Employees Can Sue
A federal appeals court ruled that employees of Consolidated Freightways Corp. (CFWY) can bring invasion-of-privacy claims against the trucking company for putting surveillance devices in restrooms, news services reported.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a lower court decision and sent the two lawsuits back to be reheard in the state court at which they were filed.
The lawsuits claim the company put cameras and audio devices behind two-way mirrors in the restrooms at its terminal in Mira Loma, Calif., to detect drug use. Employees found the devices when the mirror fell off the bathroom wall.
Consolidated Freightways argued that a provision in the federal Labor Management Relations Act preempted the state-law privacy claim, but the court disagreed.
It is ranked number No. 7 in the Transport Topics 100 list of U.S. trucking companies, based on 1999 data. Transport Topics
Coming Months Determine Continued Economic Expansion
The next few months will provide the answer to whether the U.S. economic expansion – 10 years old in March, but beginning to wane – will continue, Reuters said.A recession is defined as two straight quarters of falling gross domestic product.
The trucking industry is extremely sensitive to fluctuations in the economy and would, typically, be the among the first industries adversely affected.
According to the news service, some forecasters believe the economy will get the benefit of a mild rebound when the full force of the Federal Reserve’s interest rate cuts kick in and consumers begin to cash tax refund checks.
However, with corporate profits sagging, factories in a deep slump and the job market getting worse, slippage in the pace of consumer spending could drop and spell the end of the expansion. Transport Topics
GM Opposes Increased Fuel Efficiency Standard
General Motors is opposing governmental efforts to increase fuel-efficiency standards and redefine a light truck, which would force manufacturers to increase gas mileage on minivans, pickups and sport-utility vehicles, the New York Times reported.
Currently, the average fuel efficiency of all cars sold by one automaker must be at least 27.5 miles per gallon, while light trucks must be only 20.7 miles per gallon.
Rick Wagoner, G.M.’s chief executive, says that Americans will not want fuel-efficient vehicles as long as fuel prices remain low by international standards, the Times said.
These vehicles are used in a wide variety of trucking applications, especially among utility fleets and other service-oriented businesses. Transport Topics
CHP Issues 3,076 Truck Tickets
The California Highway Patrol’s sweeping crackdown on commercial vehicles has resulted in 3,076 citations issued to truckers.Last Thursday, CHP announced a plan for a sweeping enforcement effort aimed at commercial vehicles, which it called “Road Share 2001.”
According to officers, the most frequent violation was speed, which led to 1,072 citations.
CHP officers also wrote 203 citations to drivers of passenger vehicles who were driving unsafely around trucks. Transport Topics
(Click here for the press release.)
Ethanol Producers Say Price Competitive
Producers of ethanol say California refiners are off-base with claims that a requirement to use their product will drive gasoline prices up.In a press release, the National Corn Growers Association said ethanol production is more cost-efficient and price-competitive than ever, asserting that prices in California will reflect midwest prices plus transportation.
And, according to NCGA, transportation shouldn't be a problem.
Filings required by California environmental laws indicate that virtually all refineries in Southern California are ready to use ethanol. They will get it by ship and take it to terminals for storage in tanks that once held MTBE. Transport Topics
