News Briefs - April 7
The Latest Headlines:
- Rivals Reportedly Target DHL in War Funding Bill
- Survey Shows First Gas Price Decline in Four Months
- CF Seeks Bids on 10 More Terminals
- Crude Oil Prices Plummet on War News
- UPS Begins Mail Boxes Etc. Re-Branding
- U-Haul Parent Company Reaches Deal with Creditor
- Labor Dept., Swift to Partner on Recruiting Project
- Survey Shows First Gas Price Decline in Four Months
Rivals Reportedly Target DHL in War Funding Bill
FedEx Corp. and United Parcel Service Inc. are using legislation that Congress must pass to fund the U.S. war in Iraq to try to disrupt plans by German postal monopoly Deutsche Post AG to expand U.S. operations by buying Airborne Inc.'s ground-delivery network, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday.The newspaper said the two U.S. carriers succeeded in having a provision added to the $80 billion funding measure that would disqualify companies from carrying military cargo unless they are "effectively controlled by citizens of the United States."
The Journal said that measure was inserted last week by Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) and was meant to toughen regulatory enforcement of U.S. ownership rules against Deutsche Post, whose DHL Worldwide Express plans to buy the ground operations of U.S.-based Airborne.
The story said FedEx and UPS hope to at least stall the DHL-Airborne deal, which they say would leave Airborne’s air fleet -- ABX Air -- so dependent on DHL Worldwide that the German company would effectively control the American unit as it does U.S.-based cargo carrier DHL Airways. Transport Topics
Survey Shows First Gas Price Decline in Four Months
A survey of gasoline prices nationwide showed the first decline in four months as crude oil prices fell as the situation in the Middle East became more certain, the Associated Press reported.The survey, by fuel analyst Trilby Lundberg, said that over the past two weeks, gasoline prices have dropped 6 cents a gallon to $1.70, AP reported. The decline was the largest since October 2001, Lundberg said.
Lundberg surveys about 8,000 fuel stations across the country every other Friday to establish a snapshot of the average prices of gasoline, AP said.
In her report, Lundberg said that gas prices will likely continue to drop as crude oil supplies become more secure with the end of the Nigeria situation, the resumption of exports from Venezuela and a conclusion to the war in Iraq. Lundberg told CNBC that the price of gasoline could actually peak before the spring and summer driving seasons, resulting in an unprecedented price decline during that time. Transport Topics
CF Seeks Bids on 10 More Terminals
Bankrupt less-than-truckload carrier Consolidated Freightways said it would auction 10 more terminals on April 10 as part of its continuing efforts to liquidate assets and pay down debt.As of Monday, trucking and transportation-related companies had placed bids on each of the properties, which have a combined appraised value of about $15 million, according to CF’s auction Web site.
Additional properties could be added to the list before the auction date, CF spokesman Mike Brown said.
Appraisal values ranged from $5.3 million for a 223-door site on 33 acres in Indianapolis, Ind., to $150,000 for a 5-door terminal on 2.75 acres in Hutchinson, Minn.
Other terminals up for bid included a 142-door terminal valued at $2.6 million in St. Louis, Mo., and a 62-door facility in El Paso, Texas, appraised at $2.4 million.
Vancouver, Wash.-based CF has shed 59 terminals out of about 220 in recent months, netting $162.6 million in reve-nue.
CF declared bankruptcy Sept. 2 after battling a weak economy, declining freight rates and rising insurance costs. Brown said the company aims to raise more than $400 million by auctioning all the terminals to pay the company’s debts. Tiffany Wlazlowski
Crude Oil Prices Plummet on War News
The push by the U.S.-led coalition into the Iraqi capital of Baghdad prompted a decline in oil prices to near a 19-week low, Bloomberg and other news services said Monday.Victories by coalition forces and the push into Baghdad raised hopes that victory would be achieved soon and oil shipments would be resuming.
The price of oil fell as much as 3% from Friday’s close to $27.75 a barrel, Bloomberg said. CNBC said that this decline was close to a 19-week low. Transport Topics
UPS Begins Mail Boxes Etc. Re-Branding
United Parcel Service Inc. said Monday that it will begin re-branding more than 3,000 Mail Boxes Etc. retail locations under the new UPS Store nameplate.The program is slated to be finished by September, the company said. The first UPS Store location was opened in Seattle, UPS said.
The re-branding will also be accompanied by a 10-week television ad campaign, the company said. It comes just after UPS announced it was revising its logo and corporate image, the Atlanta-based company said.
UPS is ranked No. 1 on the 2002 Transport Topics 100 listing of the largest companies in the United States and Canada. Transport Topics
(Click here for the full press release.)
U-Haul Parent Company Strikes Suit Agreement with Creditor
Amerco, the parent company of truck leasing firm U-Haul, said Monday that it has reached a payment agreement with its one of its creditors in exchange for the dropping of a suit for payment.Amerco said that it would pay the interested on $100 million of notes held by Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co.
The Reno, Nev.-based company said previously that it is working with its creditors on restructuring its debts. Transport Topics
(Click here for the full press release.)
Labor Dept., Swift to Partner on Recruiting Project
A partnership between the Department of Labor and Swift Transportation will result in the hiring of 20,000 drivers by the Phoenix-based truckload carrier, the agency said.The announcement launched Swift’s “Drive to Your Future” recruiting event. This effort will end on April 11, the release said.
The partnership is part of the Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration, which created the Partnerships for Jobs Initiative. That initiative is designed to work with large companies on recruiting and job training programs, Labor said. Transport Topics
