News Briefs - Aug. 5
The Latest Headlines:
- Mineta Names Capka New Deputy FHWA Administrator
- Dealer Sues Mack, Claims Unfair Competition
- Service Economy Growth Slows in July
- New Federal Rules Could Cost Cities Money
- Detroit Diesel Says Engines Will Be Certified
- Algeria Asks for Higher Oil Output Quota
- Alabama, Trucking Cos. in Battle Over Registrations
- Railroads, Train-Crew Workers Reach Contract Deal
- St. Louis Fed Chief Doubts Double-Dip Recession
- VDOT Chief Returns Highway Proposals for Revision
- Dealer Sues Mack, Claims Unfair Competition
Mineta Names Capka New Deputy FHWA Administrator
Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta said Monday that J. Richard Capka has been named deputy administrator for the Federal Highway Administration.As part of his new duties, Capka will help the Bush administration prepare the "transportation reauthorization proposal, shape the management of highway mega-projects across the country and develop other programs and initiatives for the FHWA," the Department of Transportation said in a press release.
Capka was the executive director and chief executive officer of the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority, where he oversaw the Central Artery/Tunnel, or "Big Dig" project in Boston.
Capka graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and holds a post-graduate degree in engineering from the University of California at Berkley and a master's in business administration from Chaminade University in Honolulu. Transport Topics
Dealer Sues Mack, Claims Unfair Competition
Mack Trucks Inc. is the target of a suit by one of its dealers, Toledo Mack Sales and Services Inc., which claims the manufacturer tried to destroy its business through unfair competition, price discrimination and customer allocation.A press release issued by the dealer's attorney, Wayne Mack, of the law firm of Duane Morris, alleges that Mack improperly sold trucks directly to Toledo Mack's competitors and potential customers on more favorable terms than were made available to Toledo Mack.
Toledo Mack, based in Toledo, Ohio, is seeking damages in excess of $1 million.
In addition, the release accuses Mack of entering into agreements to divide markets and allocate customers in an attempt to eliminate competition from Toledo Mack and other deep discount Mack truck dealers.
Bob Martin, manager of communications for the Allentown, Pa.-based company, told Transport Topics that Mack will not comment on the details of pending litigation.
However, he said, "We believe the suit to be without merit and we believe we will prevail." Transport Topics
Service Economy Growth Slows in July
The Institute for Supply Management's non-manufacturing index slipped in July, Bloomberg reported Monday, indicating that growth in the powerful services sector of the economy may be slowing.Trucking companies are a part of the services sector, which accounts for five-sixths of the nation's economic output. The report follows several signs last week that the economic recovery may be on tenuous ground. Reports showed continued declines in factory employment and sluggish overall U.S. job growth, a 2.4% reduction in factory orders and a sharp slowing of growth in the ISM's manufacturing index, any one of which can be used to show a stalling of the recovery.
The index fell from 57.2 in June to 53.1 in this most recent month, the ISM said. Figures over 50 in ISM indices indicate growth in the sector.
The decline in the index was greater than expected, Bloomberg said. A survey of economists had projected a dip to 55 in the services index. Transport Topics
New Federal Rules Could Cost Cities Money
New federal rules for defining what an urban area is could cost many cities some federal highway funding, the Associated Press reported Saturday.The Census Bureau decided that urban areas would be determined only by population density, excluding commercial and industrial areas, AP said. The Department of Transportation only provides direct funding for areas with a population density over 200,000, cutting out municipalities that had previously gotten funding.
The city of Norman, Okla., which had gotten funding as part of the Oklahoma City urban area, would lose funding for more than $7 million in projects, AP said. A new map drawn by the Census Bureau showed a mile-and-a-half gap between the city limits of Norman and the immediate Oklahoma City suburb of Moore, leaving it out of the capital's urbanized area and thus ineligible for direct funding.
Currently, the city government of Norman is appealing the decision in an effort to retain its direct federal highway money, AP reported. Transport Topics
Detroit Diesel Says Engines Will Be Certified
Detroit Diesel Corp. said in a release Monday that it does plan to have its 2002 Series 60 engine program certified prior to the Oct. 1, 2002 deadline for meeting new emissions requirements.The company, which is a subsidiary of DaimlerChrysler AG, said it supports the views of many in the trucking industry that a longer period of fleet test time would be beneficial.
However, it said it still plans to submit applications for 2002 emissions certification about 30-60 days in advance of scheduled production. Transport Topics
(Click here for the full press release.)
Algeria Asks for Higher Oil Output Quota
Crude prices dipped slightly after Algeria formally asked the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to raise its share of the cartel's oil production, Bloomberg said.Fluctuations in the price of oil are reflected in the prices of diesel fuel and gasoline.
Traders and speculators saw the Algerian move as further evidence of cracks in the cartel's unity as it tries to keep oil prices high, Bloomberg said.
Recently, reports surfaced that Nigeria may even leave OPEC in order to increase its oil production. It has also been widely reported that nearly all of the OPEC members with self-monitored production quotas cheated on those limits.
The price of oil fell 34 cents, or 1.3%, to $26.50 in electronic trading before the opening of Monday's business on the New York Mercantile Exchange, Bloomberg said.
Crude oil is distilled down to motor fuels like gasoline and diesel, which often see their prices track the price of crude. Transport Topics
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Alabama, Trucking Cos. in Battle Over Registrations
Alabama officials estimate the state will lose $8.9 million this year because Alabama-based trucks have been registered in Oklahoma, where taxes are cheaper, the Associated Press reported Sunday.The state's Department of Revenue has started handing out tickets to Alabama-based trucks that have improper Oklahoma registrations, the story said.
Two cases involving these tickets have gone to court so far, with each side scoring a victory in different counties. This has left trucking companies confused as to what they are supposed to do, AP said.
While the state wants trucking companies to immediately drop their Oklahoma registrations, the Alabama Trucking Association says truckers should be able to wait until their one-year registrations expire. Transport Topics
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Railroads, Train-Crew Workers Reach Contract Deal
Train-crew workers at five of the largest U.S. railroads approved a new three-year contract Saturday, Bloomberg reported.Freight rail is competitive with long-haul trucking on many routes and a work stoppage or slowdown would have meant increased business for the trucking industry.
The United Transportation Union, representing 44,000 rail workers, reached a contract deal with the National Railway Labor Conference, negotiating for Union Pacific Corp. Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp., CSX Corp., Norfolk Southern Corp. and Kansas City Southern, that provides a 9.5% wage increase by 2004, Bloomberg said.
One other significant portion of the contract allows UTU members to operate remote-control devices to move trains in freight yards, Bloomberg said. The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers had sued to keep the technology from being used because it could cost its members jobs. Transport Topics
St. Louis Fed Chief Doubts Double-Dip Recession
William Poole, president of the St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank, said Sunday that the odds are very small the U.S. would slip back into recession, Reuters reported.Since trucking reflects the economy at large, a return to recession would be bad news.
Addressing a group of southern state legislators in St. Louis, Poole pointed to strength in home and auto sales and to resilience in household spending, Reuters said.
Weak economic data released recently has raised concerns about the fledgling recovery, Reuters said, and led some analysts to predict the Federal Reserve would cut interest rates before year-end.
Poole said the underlying trend of productivity growth in this country is solid, the market economy is vigorous and the long-run outlook is favorable, Reuters reported. Transport Topics
VDOT Chief Returns Highway Proposals for Revision
The commissioner of the Virginia Department of Transportation returned five proposals, including one to widen Interstate 81, for revisions under new state guidelines for public-private partnerships, the Associated Press reported last week.A private firm had proposed widening I-81 for the state and imposing tolls on commercial trucks to pay for the project, AP reported.
Commissioner Philip A. Shucet said the proposals were returned for revisions because VDOT is updating the guidelines for proposals set forth in the 1995 Public-Private Partnership Act, AP reported.
Shucet added that more private-sector proposals would be accepted for I-81 around Oct. 1 so the state can explore all the options for the highway, AP said. Transport Topics
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