Executive Briefing - June 20
- House Panel Backs Bush on Mexican Trucks
- Truck Driver Arrested in Fiery Atlanta Crash
- Greenspan Says Inflation Not Accelerating
- Hyundai, Daimler Will Join on Engine Project
- Trucking Slump Laid to Low Demand, Fuel Prices
- Defective Brakes Called Most Common Safety Violation
- 'Muni Meters' Decongest Midtown Manhattan
- Texas Road Check Shows 44% Improvement
- Ky. Judge OKs CDLs for Out-of-Staters
- 'Green' Diesel Fuel Finds Early Market
- Truck Driver Arrested in Fiery Atlanta Crash
House Panel Backs Bush on Mexican Trucks
As the House Appropriations Committee on Wednesday approved a $59.1 billion transportation bill for next year, it also turned back members who wanted to toughen plans for checking the safety of Mexican trucks driving into the United States, the Associated Press reported.Mexican trucks had been limited to a commercial zone stretching 20 miles north of the Mexican border, but President Bush has set January 2002 as the date when they will be able to travel on all U.S. highways.
Rep. Martin Sabo, D-Minn., had introduced an amendment that would have required inspections before Mexican trucks could travel into the United States. However, the committee instead voted for a provision that mostly restated the administration's proposed requirements.
Under those plans, Mexican truck operators will have to apply for permission to drive into the United States beginning in January. Those accepted will be allowed to do so for 18 months, during which time U.S. officials will review the operators' safety records and perform spot inspections along the border.
Truck Driver Arrested in Fiery Atlanta Crash
The Fulton County police said they have arrested a driver and charged him with speeding and driving on a suspended driver's license following a June 9 crash that caused a fire and still has several lanes of I-285 in Atlanta closed, the Journal-Constitution reported.Police said the gasoline tanker, traveling at an estimated 77 mph, hit a disabled car, flipped on one side and slid about 300 feet before hitting a concrete barrier. About 1,000 gallons of fuel spilled and ignited. Fire engulfed part of the I-285 bridge over Ga. 400.
Transportation officials said traffic has picked up around the accident site this week as the repairs continue. Motorists are still urged to take alternative routes. Transport Topics
Greenspan Says Inflation Not Accelerating
Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said Wednesday that higher labor costs aren't accelerating inflation, suggesting the Fed has leeway to lower interest rates further, Bloomberg reported.During his testimony to the Senate Banking Committee, Greenspan said that although labor costs have risen, there is no evidence the costs are affecting the final prices.
Also Wednesday, the Treasury Department reported a wider budget deficit in May than the same month last year, as revenue growth fell and spending picked up. The shortfall rose to $27.9 billion during the month from $3.6 billion in May 2000.
The wider deficit partly reflects slower economic growth on revenue and increased spending on government assistance programs, which may chip away at annual budget surpluses, Bloomberg noted. Transport Topics
Hyundai, Daimler Will Join on Engine Project
Hyundai and DaimlerChrysler will Thursday announce a joint venture to produce diesel engines at the Korean company’s plant in Chunju, Korea, Reuters reported.The two companies had been discussing a joint venture since September, when DaimlerChrysler, largest truck maker in the world, bought a stake in Hyundai that grew to 12.17%.
At the time, it was believed the two would combine to produce vehicles for the Asian market, but no agreement on that idea was brought forward. Transport Topics
Trucking Slump Laid to Low Demand, Fuel Prices
Rising fuel prices and decreasing demand from customers threw the trucking industry into a slump last year, and judging by the current economic climate, there are few signs of a speedy recovery, reported USA Today.The article said that trucking is a good barometer for the rest of the economy because trucks carry nearly 90% of the nation’s freight.
Trucking tonnage began to fall below year-earlier levels beginning last summer, and fell even further from those levels until early April 2001.
Fuel price increases from as low as 95 cents a gallon to almost $1.70 a gallon added to the losses, forcing many smaller companies, 1,155 in the first quarter alone, out of business.
Truck stops and truck manufacturers are facing decreased business as a result. However, some of the largest companies may actually benefit from the slump, gaining the market share of the bankrupt smaller companies. Transport Topics
Defective Brakes Called Most Common Safety Violation
According to U.S. government figures, defective brakes are the most common safety violation found on trucks, ahead of defective lights and tires, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported.The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration said it is a common problem because truckers must get under their vehicles to check the brakes. Unlike hydraulic brakes on cars, a truck driver cannot necessarily detect a problem during slow applications of the brakes, only during "panic stops."
A researcher with the FMCSA said that bad brakes were noted in about 3% of the 4,898 fatal crashes involving large trucks in 1999.
After 873,000 level-one inspections performed nationally on trucks in 1999, 242,182 vehicles were taken off the road for brake problems. Transport Topics
'Muni Meters' Decongest Midtown Manhattan
“Muni meters" charging trucks up to $9 for three hours of parking have been a successful solution to reducing some of the heaviest traffic congestion in midtown Manhattan, the New York Post reported.Following the installation of the meters, Transportation Department Commissioner Iris Weinshall noted that trucks have been parking for shorter periods of time and there is less double parking.
The department is now hoping to install these meters from 33rd Street to 59th Street and from Second to Ninth avenues.
Other vehicles can still park for 25 cents on nights and weekends for as many as six hours. Transport Topics
Texas Road Check Shows 44% Improvement
Trucks inspected on Texas highways racked up a 44% improvement in this year's Road Check, an annual statewide commercial truck safety inspection effort carried out by the Texas Motor Transportation Association.Sponsored by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance, Road Check is performed in all 50 states and U.S. territories, Canadian Provinces and Territories and Mexico.
The result in Texas was a total of 4,856 safety violations, compared to 6,994 in the previous year. Transport Topics
(Click here for the press release.)
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Ky. Judge OKs CDLs for Out-of-Staters
A Kentucky judge has ordered the state's Transportation Cabinet to resume giving commercial driver licenses to trucking school students, even if they live in the state for only a few days, the Associated Press reported.Most of the 15 truck driving schools in Kentucky provide three-week intensive programs. An estimated 2,100 students of the 3,000 enrolled in these schools in recent months were from outside Kentucky.
The standard practice at these schools is for a student to quickly earn a license and then return home and turn it in for a license from the resident state.
This practice has gone on for years, according to the cabinet, but only recently has it been questioned.
For that reason, the judge ruled that it can continue while existing state laws dealing with licenses and minimum residency requirements are reviewed further. Transport Topics
'Green' Diesel Fuel Finds Early Market
Diesel customers have started converting vehicles to ultra low sulfur, or "green" diesel, in anticipation of the ultra low diesel fuel standards that are scheduled to take effect in 2006, the Oil Price Information Service reported.The New York City Metropolitan Transit Authority was the first to convert vehicles to burn ultra low diesel at $5,000-$7,000 per vehicle, compared to $20,000-$30,000 per unit for compressed natural gas conversion.
Approximately 4,400 buses in New York have been using green fuel since September 2000, and the transit system plans for 3,500 of 4,400 buses to burn ultra low diesel with emission control equipment by the end of 2003.
Dana Lowell of the transit system also said that operating costs of CNG fueled buses are higher than those fueled by ultra low diesel. Transport Topics
