News Briefs - Aug. 1
The Latest Headlines:
- Wisconsin Road Gets Too Much Dough
- Conn. Officials Discussing Moving More Cargo by Rail
- Detroit Tunnel Corp. May Limit Trucks
- June Construction Spending Falls 2.2%
- Transport America Names Paxton Chairman
- Ohio Navistar Workers Vote Strike Authorization
- Wabash National Reports $21.7 Million Loss
- Jobless Claims Rise 20,000 in Latest Week
- UPS, Some Chicago Teamsters Agree on Labor Deal
- Bernanke, Kohn to Fill Fed Board
- Study Cites Benefits of Missouri Motor, Sales Tax Increase
- WTO Rules Against U.S. on Steel Duties
- Conn. Officials Discussing Moving More Cargo by Rail
Wisconsin Road Gets Too Much Dough
America's highways represent a lot of dough - but Highway 29 near Chippewa Falls, Wisc., had more than it needed Wednesday, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.Traffic was slowed for about three hours after a load of pizza dough in the trailer of an unrefrigerated truck rose in the 90-degree heat, burst through the back of the trailer and covered nearly 35 miles with yeasty blobs.
Some of the droppings were half the size of a car, a Wisconsin State Patrol spokesman told the Journal Sentinel. He said snowplows, shovels and pitchforks were used to clear the highway.
No accidents or injuries were reported as a result of incident. Transport Topics
Conn. Officials Discussing Moving More Cargo by Rail
A task force of Connecticut government officials and rail carriers met Tuesday to discuss ways to encourage businesses to move more goods by rail instead of trucks as a way to alleviate traffic on highways, the Associated Press reported.One drawback is that freight trains bound for Connecticut from the New York area are forced to take a long detour to the north, because the only place they can cross the Hudson River is near Albany, the story said.
Some state lawmakers are pushing for funding to finish studying a proposed tunnel across the Hudson River that would create a more direct route for rail freight coming from New Jersey into New York and New England.
U.S. Rep. Christopher Shays said that less than 3% of the freight in New England is carried by rail, AP reported. Transport Topics
Detroit Tunnel Corp. May Limit Trucks
The Detroit & Canada Tunnel Corp. wants to study to possibility of limiting or eliminating large trucks in an effort to relieve some the congestion in downtown Windsor, Ontario and in Detroit, the Windsor Star reported Thursday.In a report on the future of the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel, it is suggested that new tunnel plazas would only accommodate larger commercial vehicles on a limited basis, the paper said.
The report said that some of the benefits to limiting truck traffic would be improved efficiency for customs officials, reduced air, visual and noise pollution in downtown Windsor and Detroit and extended life for city roads, bringing reduced construction costs, the paper reported. Transport Topics
June Construction Spending Falls 2.2%
The amount of money spent on the construction of homes, offices, schools and streets fell 2.2% to $820.8 billion in June, the Commerce Department said Thursday.Construction spending is important to trucking, because a lot of that money goes into materials that are hauled by trucks to work sites.
The smallest drop was in construction of single-family homes, where spending fell only 0.2% in June. Public construction spending, including spending on schools, highways and streets, fell 3.1% in June. Road and highway construction fell 3.2% for the month and is down 14% from the same point last year, Commerce said. Transport Topics
Transport America Names Paxton Chairman
Transport Corp. of America, Inc. said Thursday that Michael Paxton, current president and chief executive officer of the company, will be the new chairman of the board of directors.He succeeds William Slattery, who has been interim chairman. Slattery will retain his seat on the company’s board of directors.
Eagan, Minn.-based Transport Corp. of America, Inc. is ranked No. 63 on the 2002 Transport Topics 100 list of the largest U.S. and Canadian trucking companies. Transport Topics
(Click here for the full press release.)
Ohio Navistar Workers Vote Strike Authorization
Workers at Navistar International Corp.'s two factories in Ohio authorized their labor leaders to call a strike if talks on a new contract are not fruitful, Bloomberg reported Wednesday.Navistar just recently settled a six-week strike at its plant in Chatham, Ontario.
United Auto Workers Local 402 Tuesday voted to authorize a strike by a 97% majority, Bloomberg said. The local represents 2,400 workers at a truck assembly plant and a truck customizing plant in Springfield, Ohio.
The union's contract with the world's No. 4 manufacturer of heavy trucks expires on Oct. 1. Company spokesman Roy Wiley said that strike-authorization votes are routine and they don't necessarily indicate that the union plans to walk out, Bloomberg reported.
Navistar has been pushing its plants to cut production in an effort to cut its costs, Bloomberg said. The company expects to report a loss of as much as 30 cents per share for the quarter ending today, mostly due to the Canadian strike, a shortage of engines from its supplier and a product recall, Bloomberg reported. Transport Topics
Wabash National Reports $21.7 Million Loss
Trailer manufacturer Wabash National Corp. Wednesday reported a second-quarter net loss of $21.7 million or 96 cents per share, compared with losses of $18.1 million or 81 cents per share in the same period last year.For the first six months of the year, the net loss was $36.3 million or $1.61 per share, up from a loss of $35.8 million or $1.60 per share.
Net sales also dropped during the first six months, falling from $454.8 million in 2001 to $372.2 million. Comparing second-quarter sales, the drop was from $212.2 million in 2001 to $210.3 million in 2002.
William Greubel, president and chief executive officer, said the quarterly results include $22.7 million of charges associated with the company's exit from the captive finance business, used trailer charges associated with certain legacy trade agreements, debt restructuring and refinancing fees and severance costs.
Greubel said the Lafayette, Ind.-based company is "poised to show progressive improvement on a quarterly basis." Transport Topics
(Click here for the press release.)
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Jobless Claims Rise 20,000 in Latest Week
The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for unemployment benefits rose by 20,000 last week to 387,000, the first increase in three weeks, the Labor Department said Thursday.Trucking is sensitive to changes in the economy.
The four-week moving average of claims, a less-volatile measure, rose to 386,000 from 385,750.
Bloomberg reported economists had expected jobless claims to rise only to 374,000 last week from a previously reported 362,000. Analysts told the news service the higher-than-expected increase was probably due to seasonal problems, so claims should continue a downward trend.
Labor said four states and territories reported an increase in new claims during the week that ended July 20, while 49 reported a decrease. More specific state details are reported with a one-week lag, Bloomberg said. Transport Topics
UPS, Some Chicago Teamsters Agree on Labor Deal
One of two Teamsters locals in Chicago not covered by the national master contract signed earlier this month agreed to a new contract with United Parcel Service Wednesday, the Journal of Commerce reported.Teamsters Local 705, which represents about 13,000 workers, reached an agreement with UPS just as its existing contract was about to expire. Local 710, the other Chicago-area Teamsters chapter, is continuing to negotiate with UPS, JoC said.
The new contract provides the employees of Local 705 with the same pay raises the Teamsters won in its national negotiations -- $5 per hour over the next six years for full-time employees, and $1 an hour each year for part-timers. Also, UPS will hire 1,000 new people for Teamsters positions and will make at least 450 part-time positions full-time ones, the JoC reported.
The contract also includes several provisions boosting health coverage and pension benefits, the JoC reported.
A union spokesman said that ballots and explanations of the contract would be mailed to members for ratification soon, JoC said. Ballots for the national contract will be mailed to Teamsters working for UPS on Aug. 6 and are due back Aug. 27. Transport Topics
Bernanke, Kohn to Fill Fed Board
The Senate gave its approval Wednesday for Ben Bernanke and Donald Kohn to fill the two vacancies on the seven-member Federal Reserve Board, Reuters reported Thursday.Bernanke, currently chairman of Princeton University’s economics department, is an academic expert on monetary policy, the story said. Kohn is the Fed’s top staff member and lieutenant to Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan, Reuters reported, and he is also currently secretary to the Federal Open Market Committee.
Bernanke and Kohn now await their official swearing-in by President Bush, which may take place in time for them to participate in the FOMC’s next scheduled meeting on Aug. 13, Reuters said.
Bush nominated Bernanke and Kohn in May, the story said. Transport Topics
Study Cites Benefits of Missouri Motor, Sales Tax Increase
A study has found that raising Missouri's fuel and sales taxes would have a positive effect on the state's economy because of the investment in road construction and secondary spending it encourages, the Associated Press reported Tuesday.Voters will decide the fate of Proposition B, which would raise the motor fuel tax by 4 cents per gallon to 21 cents, on Aug. 6. If it passes, it will increase the cost of doing business in the state for trucking companies.
The study, conducted by the University of Missouri-Columbia's Community Policy Analysis Center, found raising taxes would have a short-term net economic effect of $295 million annually for the state. Transport Topics
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WTO Rules Against U.S. on Steel Duties
The World Trade Organization ruled Wednesday that duties the United States imposed on steel imported from European Union members violated global trade laws, Bloomberg reported.The ruling, if enforced, could boost business for trucking companies that haul steel from ports inland to U.S. factories.
The international trade oversight group said that the United States violated international trade laws by instituting tariffs on formerly state-owned steel makers within the European Union, Bloomberg said.
The WTO did not immediately ask that the United States repay the $5 million in duties it has collected to specific companies, saying instead that the individual companies must petition the United States themselves for a repayment, Bloomberg reported. Transport Topics
