News Briefing - Nov. 28

The Latest Headlines:

Hoffa Cites Dangers of Open Border

Teamsters President James P. Hoffa said that allowing Mexican trucks on U.S. highways could provide terrorist easy access to possible targets, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution said.

In a Capitol Hill news conference, Hoffa said that having control over U.S. borders is key to maintaining national security. He said that the idea of open borders is no longer being discussed, the paper said.

Sen. Phil Gramm, one of the chief supporters of the White House plan to open the U.S. border to Mexican trucks, called the Teamsters' warning protectionism. Transport Topics


Congress to Begin Talks on Stimulus

Representatives from both the House and Senate agreed to meet Wednesday evening to resolve their current impasse over a proposed economic stimulus package, Bloomberg reported.



Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee Bill Thomas (R-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) are scheduled to meet to talk about the their differences, a spokesman for Thomas said.

Thomas had previously opposed open negotiations on the package until the Senate passed its own version of the bill. The House passed a $100 million stimulus bill in October, while Senate versions of the bill have been bogged down by partisan differences.

Republicans in Congress favor tax breaks and are opposed to Democrat-endorsed spending initiatives. Transport Topics


European Group Predicts U.S. Growth Starting Mid-2002

Offering a counterpoint to recent gloomy reports from the Federal Reserve and the Conference Board, the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development is predicting that the U.S. economy will return to growth by the middle of next year, the Irish Times reported.

In its annual report on the U.S. economy, the OECD forecast a growth rate 2.75% by the end of 2002, and acceleration to the 3.5% to 4% range in 2003.

The OECD blamed the U.S. recession the bursting of the Nasdaq bubble, shrinkage in the manufacturing sector and the Sept. 11 attacks, the Irish Times said.

The group said stockbuilding after inventory cutbacks, along with fiscal stimulus and a sharply eased monetary policy, would lead to a pick-up in private sector demand and activity around midyear. Transport Topics


Cummins Westport Delivers Trucks With Natural Gas Engine

Cummins Westport Inc., a joint venture of Cummins Inc. and Westport Innovations Inc., said Wednesday that it has completed the first multiple-unit delivery order of heavy-duty trucks using the new ISX-G natural gas engine.

The delivery of 14 Peterbilt heavy-duty trucks to Sanitary Fill Company in San Francisco, brings the total to 17. Sanitary Fill has ordered an additional nine trucks that will be completed in the second half of next year.

Guff Muench, president of Cummins Westport, said that these engines improve oil change interval extensions. That could provide a savings of several thousands of dollars over the lifetime of a vehicle, he said.

"The drivers are happy with the pulling power of the new engines when going up hills," said Kenny Stewart, transportation manager for Sanitary Fill. Transport Topics

(Click here for the full press release.)


U.S. May Be at Risk for Mad Cow Disease

The U.S. Department of Agriculture and Harvard University on Friday will release a study expected to show that, although there's little chance of a mad cow disease epidemic in this country, there are flaws in the current safety net, the Wall Street Journal reported.

If mad cow disease were to spread throughout the United States, it would have a devastating impact on the economy and would significantly hurt the trucking and transport companies that move livestock or meat products. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has estimated the cost of mad cow disease would run into the billions of dollars.

Mad cow disease is a fatal disease that can jump from cows to humans. During the past five years, more than 100 people have succumbed to the disease, almost all of them in Britain.

Although there has never been a case of mad-cow disease in the United States, the FDA has revealed that many shipments of animal byproducts for use in animal feed came to the U.S. in recent years from nations that now have mad cow disease in their cattle herds.

The Journal also noted that another potential problem is "chicken litter," the mixture of excrement, excess feed and feathers that ends up on the floor of chicken houses and could end up as an ingredient in cattle feed. Transport Topics


Automakers Prepare 'Combatt' Ready Trucks

Automakers hope to soon begin marketing beefier versions of their conventional pick-up truck and sport-utility vehicle lines in hopes of selling them to the Pentagon, USA Today reported

A program, begun four years ago and christened "Combatt," an acronym for "commercially based tactical truck," has seen interest from the federal government soar since Sept. 11.

Originally, the project had been operated under the aegis of the National Automotive Center in Detroit, which acts as a liaison between the military and auto industry. Ford and Chrysler began the project independently and GM began its own efforts earlier this year.

Along with the Department of Defense, the U.S. Border Patrol and the Federal Emergency Management Agency are taking a look at the initiative.

Prior to Sept. 11, the auto companies had planned to roll out sample vehicles by 2003. Now, USA Today says that the Pentagon wants prototypes for the Combatt vehicles ready by March.

The vehicles are being built with such features as night-vision glass and a hybrid diesel/electric engine, which could provide quiet nighttime operations. They are expected to cost the government $50,000 per vehicle. The military's current standard light-duty vehicle, the Humvee, costs $70,000. The automakers' hope the Combatt's reduced cost and greater fuel efficiency will be a strong selling point to government buyers, the paper said. Transport Topics

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Fed Officials Speculate on Rebound, Rate Cut

One Federal Reserve official Tuesday predicted an economic rebound in the near future while another suggested that an 11th interest rate cut may be in order before the year is out, Reuters reported.

euters said William Poole, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, speaking to the St. Louis chapter of Financial Executives International, said it is uncertain when the U.S. may climb out of its recession, but that a rebound is probably not far off.

Meanwhile, Fed Governor Laurence Meyer fueled speculation about another rate cut when the central bank meets Dec. 11. by urging, in a talk before the National Association for Business Economics, that the Fed act aggressively when interest rates are low.

The Fed has cut interest rates 10 times in 2001, and three times since Sept. 11 -- leaving rates at 2.0%, their lowest level in 40 years, Reuters said. Transport Topics


Hyundai to Enter U.S. Truck Market

outh Korean automaker Hyundai Motor Co. announced plans late Tuesday to begin distribution of some of its commercial vehicle offerings in the United States.

The company will offer a range of light- and medium-duty Class 4 and Class 6 vehicles through an affiliated company's dealer network, sometime early in 2002.

The vehicles will be supported by parts, service and warranty arrangements through Hyundai, the company said. Former dealers for Bering Truck, which closed its doors in June, have been sent a letter inviting them to distribute the new Hyundai trucks. Bering had sold custom built trucks made by Hyundai before closing. Transport Topics

(Click here for the full press release.)


New Caspian Pipeline Opens

nergy officials from the United States, Russia, Kazakstan and Oman joined oil company executives on Tuesday for the opening of a pipeline connecting the Tengiz oil field in Kazakstan with a terminal in the Russian port of Anapa, the Associated Press reported.

Vicky Bailey, assistant U.S. energy secretary, said the $2.65 billion pipeline will strengthen international energy security because it will open the world up to the resources of the Caspian region.

Russia, the world's second largest petroleum producer, said that one-third of Russian oil exports would come through the terminal.

The Tengiz field is believed to be the sixth largest in the world. The pipeline has an initial capacity of 600,000 barrels a day and, if upgraded, it will ultimately have an annual capacity of 1.5 million barrels a day, said ChevronTexaco, which funded 30% of the project. Transport Topics

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Boyd Bros. Founder, Chairman to Retire

Dempsey Boyd, founder and chairman of Boyd Bros. Transportation Inc., announced Tuesday his intention to retire at the end of 2001.

Based in Clayton, Ala. the company is one of the largest flatbed carriers in the country, the Boyd Bros. press release said, serving most of the continental United States.

The company's board has elected Boyd Whigham to the post of non-executive chairman of the board beginning Jan. 1, 2002, the company said in a press release.

Dempsey Boyd began driving trucks in 1946, according to the release, and founded Boyd Bros. Transportation with his brothers Cecil and J. Hilly in 1956. While his brothers left the business in 1965, Boyd has remained with the company for the last 45 years.

"Dempsey Boyd has been a driving force behind the company's growth and prosperity for almost five decades," said Gail Cooper, chief executive officer.

higham has been a director of Boyd Bros. since 1989. He also holds the title of District Attorney for the Third Judicial Circuit, in Barbour and Bullock Counties, Ala.

Boyd Bros. ranks 91st in the 2000-2001 Transport Topics 100. Transport Topics

(Click here for the full press release.)


Airline Sues Man Accused of Security Breach

AirTran Airways is suing the man accused of breaching security at Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport on Nov. 16, leading to a temporary shutdown of the nation's busiest airport, the Associated Press reported.

The airline, which operates an Atlanta hub, filed a complaint against Michael Shane Lasseter. He was charged with disorderly conduct for running past security guards and down an up escalator. He said he did not see any guards and was not aware that he had caused the security alert.

Meanwhile, dozens of flights were delayed at Seattle's airport on Nov. 24 as a faulty metal detector forced officials to re-screen thousands of passengers that had already passed through security checkpoints, AP said. Transport Topics

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