News Briefs - April 29
The Latest Headlines:
- Oil Cos. Manipulate Supply, Senate Panel Charges
- Turnpike Reopens After Truck Crash
- Company Plans Dedicated International Truck Bridge
- Oil Price Falls As Mideast Crisis Cools
- Economic Growth May Slow in Months Ahead
- Soup, Tacos Seen Dangerous Foods for Drivers
- Airborne Express Posts Improved 1Q Earnings
- Northwest Extends Pilots' Contract
- Turnpike Reopens After Truck Crash
Oil Cos. Manipulate Supply, Senate Panel Charges
An investigation by the Senate Permanent Investigations Subcommittee has found that some oil companies reduce supplies when markets are tight to force up profits, the Associated Press reported Monday.Diesel fuel and gasoline are both major cost factors for commercial trucking.
Although the industry tends to blame price spikes on market-driven shortages, the subcommittee reportedly found manipulation of gasoline supplies exacerbated tight fuel markets, especially in the Midwest, and forced prices up.
A hearing on the report is planned for Tuesday, and will include testimony from oil industry representatives. An industry spokesman said the report was still being reviewed, AP said. Transport Topics
Turnpike Reopens After Truck Crash
The Pennsylvania Turnpike reopened Friday evening after having been closed for more than 12 hours due to an accident at Tuscarora Tunnel, the Associated Press reported.The AP said a tractor-trailer truck, headed eastbound from Indiana, crossed a grassy median at the tunnel entrance crashed into a maintenance room causing a fire and knocking out power.
The driver was killed.
Some 65 miles of the turnpike were closed in both directions while work crews removed the wreckage, inspected the tunnel for structural damage and restored power.
The tunnel, which is near Fannettsburg, Pa., was reopened about 7:30 p.m. Transport Topics
Company Plans Dedicated International Truck Bridge
An international freight transportation route dedicated to heavy-duty trucks moved closed to reality on Monday as Whirlpool International Truck Bridge Inc. purchased the former Niagara River railway bridge between Ontario and New York state.The company is planning a $220-million redevelopment of the bridge that is expected to take five years. The bridge originally opened for rail traffic in 1925.
"Looking ahead five years, we see the day when a dedicated three-lane roadway over the former railway bridge will expedite truck traffic and alleviate growing congestion at this key border crossing," said William Truesdale, president of Whirlpool. Transport Topics
(Click here for the full press release.)
Oil Price Falls As Mideast Crisis Cools
A lessening of Middle East tensions held the price of crude oil down, despite in a drop in the amount of oil exported by the world's largest producers, mostly due to a production halt by Iraq, Bloomberg reported Monday.Crude oil is distilled down to diesel fuel and gasoline, which makes the cost of oil important to price of trucking's major fuels.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, excluding Iraq, exported 22.65 million barrels of oil per day in April, Petrologistics Ltd., a Geneva-based watchdog said, noting that the other OPEC nations decline to make up the shortfall.
etrologisitics said that Iraq's oil output fell to 1.28 million barrels per day, from 2.55 million per day in March. That oil is being used in Iraq, stored or being smuggled out through another country like Syria, Bloomberg reported.
Iraq said April 8 that it would halt its oil exports for 30 days to protest Israel's actions in Palestinian areas.
While Bloomberg cited concerns that Iraq's protest, coupled with OPEC's reluctance to fill the gap, might push the price of oil up, news that Israel had agreed to end the siege at the Palestinian Authority's Ramallah headquarters resulted in a downward slide in the price.
In trading on the International Petroleum Exchange in London, the crude oil prices slipped 1.3%, or 34 cents a barrel, to $25.85, Bloomberg said. Transport Topics
Economic Growth May Slow in Months Ahead
Although the U.S. economy grew at a 5.8% pace in the first quarter of 2002, depressed profits, higher oil prices and slow capital spending are signs the recovery will not remain as strong in the quarters ahead, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday.The trucking industry is extremely sensitive to economic conditions.
The strength of a long-term recovery depends on a rebound in business spending on equipment, software and buildings, the Journal said, which fell at a 5.7% clip in the first quarter.
The economy is expected to grow about 3% in the second quarter, but several analysts said that the recent Wall Street slump is forcing them to rethink that prediction. Transport Topics
(Click here for related coverage.)
Soup, Tacos Seen Dangerous Foods for Drivers
Coffee, hot soup and tacos are among the 10 most-dangerous foods to eat while driving, according to a study by Hagerty Classic Insurance.Chocolate and jelly- and cream-filled doughnuts also made the list, USA Today reported Monday, because it has a tendency to smear. When foods spill or smear, the driver's instinctive reaction is to clean it off immediately, rather than only focus on driving.
The study also concluded that most food accidents happen in the morning because drivers traveling to work are concerned about staining their clothes.
Chili-covered food, juicy hamburgers, barbecue, fried chicken and soft drinks all made the list, the article said. Transport Topics
Airborne Express Posts Improved 1Q Earnings
Airborne Inc., parent company of package delivery outfit Airborne Express, said Monday that it posted earnings of $5.3 million, or 11 cents per share in the first quarter of 2002, which is an improvement of $22.3 million from the same quarter last year.In 2001, Airborne reported a loss of $17 million, or 35 cents per share.
Airborne said that its first-quarter quarter revenue was down 4.3% in 2002 from the previous year, slipping to $789 million.
"This quarter was our fourth consecutive quarter of improved operating earnings and net income, as we continue to focus on our growth initiatives while diligently managing productivity and controlling costs," said Carl Donaway, president and chief executive officer. Transport Topics
(Click here for the full press release.)
Northwest Extends Pilots' Contract
Northwest Airlines tentatively agreed Saturday to extend its contract with the Air Line Pilots Association, which would have expired Sept. 13, the Associated Press reported.The one-year extension assures that air cargo schedules, in which trucks participate, will not be disrupted.
The union had asked for an extension five weeks ago, the AP said, in order to put off further negotiations until industry conditions improve.
As a part of the tentative interim agreement, Northwest is to give pilots a 4.5% pay increase in September and a 5.5% increase in September 2003. New talks would begin in January 2002. Transport Topics
