News Briefs - April 23
The Latest Headlines:
- Price of Crude Oil Falls Ahead of OPEC Meeting
- Ryder's Earnings, Revenues Rise
- ArvinMeritor Sees Growth in Truck Parts Sales
- Truckload Carrier Covenant Posts 1Q Profit
- Intermodal Revenues Increase for Norfolk Southern
- C.H. Robinson's Results Improve
- Ryder's Earnings, Revenues Rise
Price of Crude Oil Falls Ahead of OPEC Meeting
The price of crude oil fell again in New York on Wednesday, as OPEC members publicly shared views on what the cartel should do at its Thursday meeting, Bloomberg News reported.Crude oil for June delivery was down nearly 1% to $27.75 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Saudi Arabia oil minister Ali al-Naimi said Wednesday excess oil supplies are rising and may hurt prices in as little as two months, Bloomberg said. He said that the oil cartel needs to cut production in order to prevent prices from plunging.
In other news, oil from Iraq's southern fields began flowing through pipelines on Wednesday for the first time since the war, the Associated Press reported. Transport Topics
Ryder's Earnings, Revenues Rise
Ryder System Inc., the largest commercial truck-leasing firm, said Wednesday its net earnings for the first quarter was $19.8 million or 31 cents per share, compared with a loss of $2.1 million, or 3 cents in the same period last year.The Miami-based company said in a release revenues for the quarter were $1.19 billion, up 4% from $1.15 billion in the comparable period last year. Higher fuel prices, as well as increases in international operations, freight under management and commercial rental drove the revenue increase, the company said.
Looking ahead, Ryder said it was maintaining its previously announced full-year forecast of $1.95 to $2.00 per share.
Ryder is ranked No. 3 on the Transport Topics 100 list of the largest U.S. and Canadian trucking companies. Transport Topics
(Click here for the full press release.)
ArvinMeritor Sees Growth in Truck Parts Sales
Despite benefiting from stronger North American truck and trailer volumes, vehicle parts maker ArvinMeritor Inc. said Wednesday its fiscal second-quarter earnings declined to $24 million or 36 cents per share, from $35 million or 52 cents.The quarter ended March 31 included previously announced restructuring costs of $11 million, the Troy, Mich.-based company said in a release.
The commercial vehicle systems unit totaled sales of $589 million, up 11% from 2002.
ArvinMeritor said its current outlook for Class 8 truck production in North America is 166,000 units for fiscal year 2003, up 3% from its previous forecast. Transport Topics
(Click here for the full press release.)
Truckload Carrier Covenant Posts 1Q Profit
Truckload carrier Covenant Transport, Chattanooga, Tenn., said late Tuesday that first-quarter net income increased to $839,000 or 6 cents per share, compared with a net loss of $1.7 million or 12 cents per share in the year-earlier period.Total revenue increased about 4% to $137.9 million, while freight revenue, before fuel surcharges, decreased 1% to $128 million.
The company said in a release it paid down approximately $16 million of balance sheet debt during the quarter.
Covenant is ranked No. 32 on the Transport Topics 100 list of the largest U.S. and Canadian trucking companies. Transport Topics
(Click here for the full press release.)
Intermodal Revenues Increase for Norfolk Southern
Freight railroad Norfolk Southern Corp. said on Wednesday first-quarter net income was $209 million or 54 cents per share, compared with $86 million or 22 cents for the same period a year earlier.The company also said intermodal revenues increased 7% to $289 million during the quarter, and container volume increased by more than 31,000 units.
The 2003 net income results included a $114 million gain due to a required change in accounting for the cost of removing railroad crossties, and a $10 million gain from discontinued operations resulting from the 1998 sale of a former subsidiary.
Norfolk also said total revenues were $1.56 billion, an increase of 4%. Transport Topics
(Click here for the full press release.)
C.H. Robinson's Results Improve
Logistics firm C.H. Robinson Worldwide Inc. said late Tuesday its net income for the first quarter increased to $26.8 million or 31 cents per share, compared with $20.8 million or 24 cents per share in the first quarter of 2002.John Wiehoff, chief executive officer of the Minneapolis-based company, said in a release the company saw growth in its North American truckload and less-than-truckload business, despite high fuel prices and fluctuations in freight volumes.
For the quarter, truck transportation business grew 17%, the company said.
.H. Robinson also said intermodal gross profit rose 30.4% and combined air and ocean gross profits increased 22.4%.
Looking ahead, Wiehoff said, "revenue comparisons will grow tougher throughout 2003." Transport Topics
(Click here for the full press release.)
