Executive Briefing - Nov. 5
- FedEx Employees Treated for Possible Anthrax Exposure
- Airport Security Workers Fired After Breach
- Economy ‘Quite Weak,' Chicago Fed Says
- Oklahoma City Takes on New Importance
- Western Star Workers Walk Off Job
- October Layoffs Down From Previous Month
- Terrorism Could Impact Border Trucking
- Fed Expected to Cut Rates Again Tuesday
- Smithway Motor Announces 3Q Loss
- Gasoline Price Continues to Fall
- Judge Overturns Local Truck Regulations
- Airport Security Workers Fired After Breach
FedEx Employees Treated for Possible Anthrax Exposure
More than 30 employees of FedEx Corp. are being treated for possible exposure to anthrax after handling potentially infected mail, the company said late Friday.The company, which recently began carrying U.S. mail on its cargo planes, said the majority of the handlers work in the Washington, D.C. area, and are only being treated as a precaution, according to Bloomberg.
In other news, nearly all of the Longworth House Office Building was reopened after being closed for more than a week. This means only the Hart Senate Office Building, where the infected letter to Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) was sent, remains closed, news services said.
Traces of the bacteria were also discovered in two mailboxes at the Pentagon over the weekend, Reuters reported. The mailboxes were decontaminated once the germ was discovered, Defense Department officials said. Transport Topics
Airport Security Workers Fired After Breach
Four passenger screeners at O'Hare Airport in Chicago were fired on Monday, after allowing a man to carry knives and a stun gun through a security checkpoint, news services said.The incident, which occurred over the weekend, added to questions surrounding the airport screening system.
The Chicago Department of Aviation said four workers were fired and five others were suspended. The former employees worked for Argenbright Security Inc., which operates the screening systems for United Airlines at O'Hare. Argenbright is the largest such company in the United States.
The Nepalese man carrying the weapons was stopped and stopped and arrested before he could board a plane, Reuters said. Transport Topics
our passenger screeners at O'Hare Airport in Chicago were fired on Monday, after allowing a man to carry knives and a stun gun through a security checkpoint, news services said.
The incident, which occurred over the weekend, added to questions surrounding the airport screening system.
The Chicago Department of Aviation said four workers were fired and five others were suspended. The former employees worked for Argenbright Security Inc., which operates the screening systems for United Airlines at O'Hare. Argenbright is the largest such company in the United States.
The Nepalese man carrying the weapons was stopped and stopped and arrested before he could board a plane, Reuters said. Transport Topics
Economy ‘Quite Weak,' Chicago Fed Says
The U.S. economy is “quite weak” and performed below trend for the 15th month in a row, according to a report by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.The report, released on Monday, showed that its National Activity Index rose to –1.28 in September from –1.30 the previous month. The three-month moving average for the index rose to –0.95.
The regional bank said that a three-month average below –0.70 increases the likelihood that the country was slipping into recession. Many economists have said a recession is already underway, Reuters reported.
The Chicago Fed index measures 85 different economic indicators across all areas of the economy. Of those, 68 showed below-average growth for the month. Transport Topics
Oklahoma City Takes on New Importance
Thanks to its central U.S. location and truck-friendly laws, Oklahoma City is becoming a crucial city for the trucking industry, the Sunday Oklahoman reported.Interstates 35, 40 and 44, three important highways leading to much of the country, meet in Oklahoma City. And that convergence has helped create jobs for locals. Throughout the 1990s, there was an explosion of truck companies, warehouses, distribution centers, truck stops, truck dealers and repair shops popping up in and around the city, the story said.
The Oklahoma Trucking Association said that about 107,000 people, or one out of every 11 people in Oklahoma City, worked in trucking occupations in 1999. Those 107,000 employees earn an estimated $3.3 billion from the trucking industry.
A state law instituted in 1987 that lowered fees for trucks has helped increase the number of tractor-trailers registered in the state to 210,000 in 2000 from 20,000, according to the state tax commission.
Oklahoma City is also home to McCorkle Truck Line. Its chairman is David G. McCorkle, who is also the newly elected chairman of the American Trucking Associations. Transport Topics
Western Star Workers Walk Off Job
Western Star truck plant workers walked off the job on Friday in Kelowna, British Columbia, to protest a severance package offer from parent company Freightliner, the Associated Press reported.Freightliner is offering one week's pay for each year of service to the members of the International Association of Machinists at Western Star. About 700 workers will lose their jobs when the plant is closed next fall.
There was a similar protest Oct. 18 in Woodstock, Ontario, where more than 100 workers took to the streets outside a plant after Freightliner said it would close as well. Transport Topics
October Layoffs Down From Previous Month
The number of announced layoffs in October dropped from September’s high, but were still the second-highest this year, according to a survey by Challenger, Gray & Christmas.The outplacement firm said that U.S. employers announced 242,192 layoffs in October, down from September’s total of 248,332, according to Reuters. October’s total was 453% higher than the same month last year.
Job-cut announcements are not the same as firings because many reductions will be carried out through attrition or early retirement.
The report said that telecommunications was the industry hardest hit by the announced layoffs. Others including automotive, industrial goods and computer firms all lost more than 10,000 jobs in the month, the report said.
However, some industries, like defense, health care, insurance, energy and social services saw some growth in the otherwise gloomy month. Transport Topics
Terrorism Could Impact Border Trucking
President Bush’s desire to open the U.S.-Mexico border may have been derailed by the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 and subsequent tightening of security, the Associated Press reported.Groups like the Teamsters and law enforcement agencies say that the attacks underscore the need to thoroughly check and monitor any trucks entering the country to ensure they meet U.S. safety requirements.
Even prior to the attacks, Bush faced an uphill battle on the issue. Earlier this year, the U.S. House voted to effectively block Mexican truck access, while the Senate approved tougher provisions for Mexican trucks than Bush had proposed, the AP said.
The House and Senate are expected to begin working on a compromise bill in the coming weeks, but Bush has threatened a veto. Transport Topics
Fed Expected to Cut Rates Again Tuesday
The Federal Reserve is expected to cut interest rates for the 10th time this year on Tuesday in its ongoing attempt to spark the U.S. economy.Reuters reported that many analysts believe things are looking so grim, they expect a half-percentage point cut, the third such move since Sept. 11.
If a rate cut leads to more spending by businesses and consumers, it will force manufacturers to increase production. That, in turn, pushes up the demand for the services of trucking companies.
The Fed's decision is expected at approximately 2:15 p.m. EDT on Tuesday. Transport Topics
Smithway Motor Announces 3Q Loss
Truckload carrier Smithway Motor Xpress Corp. said late Friday that it had a net loss of $1.2 million, or 25 cents per share for the third quarter of 2001. This compares with net earnings of $21,000 for the same quarter in 2000.The Fort Dodge, Iowa-based company, ranked No. 70 in the 2000-2001 Transport Topics 100 list, also said that its operating revenue declined by 3.3% to $48.6 million from the same period last year. For the year-to-date, the company's operating revenue is off by 2.9% to $147.7 million, and it has posted a net loss of $2.9 million, or 59 cents per share.
"During the quarter, Smithway continued to feel the effects of several challenges that face the trucking industry," said Chairman and Chief Executive Officer William G. Smith. "An economy in recession, a depressed market for used trucks, and rising insurance costs for nearly all carriers have contributed to a very difficult operating environment." Transport Topics
(Click here for the full press release.)
Gasoline Price Continues to Fall
The price of gasoline fell 6.61 cents nationwide in the past two weeks, according to the Lundberg Survey of about 8,000 stations nationwide.The average retail price of a gallon of gasoline, including all grades and taxes, was $1.28 on Friday. Since Sept. 7, the price has dropped more than 28 cents per gallon.
Roughly a third of trucking-related freight hauls require gasoline for local pickup and delivery operations, so a price decline has a significant effect on trucking.
The falling prices were the result of lower crude oil prices, plentiful supply and weak demand, analyst Trilby Lundberg said.
She also said prices could stay low through the end of the year if the economy continues to worsen and driving is curtailed, the Associated Press reported. Transport Topics
Judge Overturns Local Truck Regulations
A federal judge in Sacramento, Calif., last week overturned California's practice of allowing local governments to enact their own safety regulations concerning trucks, the Sacramento Bee reported.The judge, citing the preemption clause of the 1994 Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act, said that only states have the power to make safety-related regulations, the newspaper said.
The state has not decided whether to appeal the decision, which would go to the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
The judge's decision resolved a lawsuit brought earlier this year by the California Dump Truck Owners Association and the Southern California Contractors Association, against California Gov. Gray Davis and Attorney General Bill Lockyer. Transport Topics
