Executive Briefing - June 29
- Hoffa, Leedham Nominated for Teamsters President
- Oshkosh Acquires Geesink Norba for $127.5 Million
- Airborne, DHL Reportedly in Talks
- FedEx Express to Trim Jobs Through Attrition
- Greenspan: Price Declines Signal Economic Recovery
- Texas Hazmat Route Set Near Castle Hills
- Orlando Truck Convoy Sets Unofficial World Record
- N.Y. Gov. Pataki Signs Cell Phone Curb
- Rail Executives Not Expecting More Mergers
- Coalition Seeks Investment in Infrastructure
- Amerco Reports Larger 4Q Loss
- Police Hit Highways for Holiday Celebrations
- Rail Intermodal Down 3%, AAR Says
- Oshkosh Acquires Geesink Norba for $127.5 Million
Hoffa, Leedham Nominated for Teamsters President
Current Teamsters President James Hoffa and Tom Leedham were nominated to run for president on Friday at the Teamsters convention in Las Vegas.Hoffa, who will be seeking his second term, had 92% support while Leedham earned 8%. About 1.4 million Teamsters in the United States and Canada will choose between the two candidates in the October election.
On Thursday, Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao spoke to the convention and said that the department will soon begin a campaign to refocus on ergonomics, the Associated Press reported.
Hoffa, who introduced Chao, said he was working with the Bush administration to find common ground.
Oshkosh Acquires Geesink Norba for $127.5 Million
Oshkosh Truck Corp. (OTRKB) said it has agreed to purchase Powell Duffryn Ltd.’s Geesink Norba Group for about $127.5 million, making it a larger player in the international specialty vehicle industry.
Oshkosh manufactures refuse truck bodies, which it will bring to the European market under the McNeilus brand.
As well as gaining access to the growing European market for long-haul garbage trucks, the acquisition allows Oshkosh to broaden its refuse product lines and manufacturing operations.
Oshkosh said it plans to sell and service its brands through Geesink Norba’s distribution system throughout the continent. The purchase is expected to be completed next month. Transport Topics
(Click here for full press release.)
Airborne, DHL Reportedly in Talks
Airborne Inc. (ABF) has held talks with Germany's DHL Worldwide Express Inc. about DHL acquiring a minority stake in the Seattle-based company, Bloomberg noted from a report in Business Week magazine.
The article said that Airborne, which trails United Parcel Service and FedEx Corp. in the express delivery service, wants to expand by creating a ground-parcel unit in the United States once it receives governmental approval.
Although a foreign group is not allowed to buy a majority stake in a U.S. airline, DHL, which is owned in part by Deutsche Post, would be able to expand in North America with a minority stake in Airborne of up to 25%. Transport Topics
FedEx Express to Trim Jobs Through Attrition
FedEx Corp. is using attrition to trim the equivalent of 5% or 5,500 full-time jobs at FedEx Express, as it tries to cut costs in response to the slowing economy, Bloomberg reported.
Spokesman Greg Rossiter said the company previously cut about 4,500 jobs with similar methods, and it is not planning any layoffs. FedEx Express employs about 148,000 U.S. workers.
On Thursday, FedEx reported earnings of 38 cents per share for its fiscal fourth quarter ended May 31, down 55% from the same quarter in 2000.
FedEx is ranked number No. 2 in the Transport Topics 100 list of U.S. trucking companies, based on 1999 data. Transport Topics
Greenspan: Price Declines Signal Economic Recovery
Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said that national fuel and energy price declines signal the economy is on the rebound, and that could mean the end of interest rate cuts, the Associated Press reported.Immediate recovery is not guaranteed, Greenspan said in a speech Thursday night, as the summer’s peak energy demands still lie ahead in California, and will take an unpredictable toll on both the California and U.S. economy.
Falling gasoline prices has Greenspan optimistic because the high pump prices over the past two years has cut into corporate profits and hurt consumer confidence. Transport Topics
Texas Hazmat Route Set Near Castle Hills
Texas state officials decided Thursday that the best route for hazmat trucks is Loop 410 near Castle Hills rather than downtown San Antonio, KSAT-TV reported on its web site.San Antonio is a major truck corridor, lying on Route 35 between the Dallas/Fort Worth area and the Mexican border, and on Route 10 between El Paso and Houston.
Though hazmat routes are routinely determined on the local level, city officials of San Antonio and Castle Hills could not agree on which was the safer route.
Controversy arose over the truck route after a December 1999 accident in downtown San Antonio where spilled hazardous materials closed schools and businesses. Transport Topics
Orlando Truck Convoy Sets Unofficial World Record
The first running of a truck convoy on Wednesday in Orlando, Fla., raised more than $15,000 for the Special Olympics, and unofficially set a new world record, the Orlando Sentinel reported.A total of 97 trucks were involved in the 3-mile-long convoy, which traveled 15 miles across the East-West Expressway in Orlando.
Even though the convoy was for charity, it did anger some motorists because the road was completely closed, causing 40-minute delays in some places.
A spokesman from the Guinness World Records book said they will decide later this year whether to create a new category in the book for the convoy. Transport Topics
N.Y. Gov. Pataki Signs Cell Phone Curb
Gov. George Pataki signed a bill on Thursday making New York the first state to ban the use of handheld cellular telephones while driving, news services reported.Pataki called the practice of driving with one hand on the wheel and the other on the phone a threat to public safety. The state Assembly easily passed the bill earlier this week (See story, June 26.)
The ban will go into effect on Nov. 1, but police officers will only issue warnings the first month. Beginning Dec. 1, drivers will receive a $100 fine and a traffic ticket. Transport Topics
Rail Executives Not Expecting More Mergers
Despite the expected lifting of a temptorary ban on railway mergers next month, top executives of Canadian National Railway Co. and CSX Corp., two of the largest North American railroads, said they do not anticipate a new round of combinations, Bloomberg reported.The Senate Surface Transportation Subcommittee is currently reviewing the decision to end the 15-month ban on rail mergers as it replaces 20-year-old regulations that governed past mergers.
Since the ban was put in place, companies have turned to shipping alliances instead of mergers, and rail executives said they have proved to be more lucrative.
Winning approval for mergers will be more difficult under the new legislation, since companies will be required to take steps to enhance competition. Transport Topics
Coalition Seeks Investment in Infrastructure
In an attempt to bring attention to the need to invest in expanding intermodal freight transportation infrastructure, a group of transportation associations and state and local government officials have formed the "Coalition for America's Gateways and Trade Corridors."The group said that if trade infrastructure does not keep pace with growth, it will hold back expansion and prosperity in the coming years.
Jim McCarville, executive director of the Port of Pittsburgh, said this is an important issue because trade makes up about 25% of the U.S. gross domestic product.
And because the reliability, efficiency and cost of freight movement in the United States depends on the capacity of ports, transfer facilities and highway and rail connectors, the United States must update them before it is too late, he said.
(Click here for the full press release.)
Amerco Reports Larger 4Q Loss
Amerco, the holding company of truck rental giant U-Haul International, reported a net loss of $2.34 per share for its fiscal fourth quarter ended March 31, compared with a loss of 60 cents last year, due to extreme weather problems and costs associated with adding new storage centers.The company said that its truck fleet grew to 100,400 during the fiscal year and anticipates it will remain at a constant level throughout next year. A total of 6,013 used trucks were sold at a gain and replaced with newer trucks during the fiscal year.
Amerco has also increased its truck fleet to support its expansion in the Canadian self-storage market.
Revenue from the moving and storage business unit grew 4.5% during the quarter, but expenses grew as well.
(Click here for the full press release.)
 |
(TT File Photo) |
Police Hit Highways for Holiday Celebrations
As the Fourth of July holiday approaches, Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta has launched a nationwide law enforcement mobilization and education campaign to combat impaired driving.Mineta said that state and local law enforcement officials will be out on the highways from June 29 through July 8, conducting sobriety checkpoints and saturation controls.
In 1999, there were 506 fatalities during the three-day holiday weekend -- nearly half alcohol-related -- and officials worry that this year’s extra-long holiday period may cause those numbers to rise. Transport Topics
(Click here for the full press release.)
Rail Intermodal Down 3%, AAR Says
Railroad intermodal loadings for the week ended June 23 totaled 174,522, which was 3.1% below the total during the same week in 2000, the Association of American Railroads reported.Like commercial trucking, railroading is considered an important economic indicator. Intermodal traffic, which tends to be merchandise rather than bulk commodities, is more directly competitive with trucking and more reflective of the state of the economy.
Through the first 25 weeks of 2001, trailer and container loadings totaled 4,198,345, down 3.0% from last year’s pace. Railroads reporting to AAR account for 97% of rail intermodal traffic.
The AAR also said that intermodal traffic in Canada was up 6.6% last week. Transport Topics
7484
