News Briefs - Dec. 11
The Latest Headlines:
- HIG to Buy Bankrupt Delivery Truck Maker
- Ice Storm Barrels Through Mid-Atlantic States
- Panel to Explore Future of the Post Office
- Transit Group Emerges From Chapter 11
- Venezuelan Navy Boards Striking Oil Tanker
- Saudi Oil Chief Pushes Output Cut as Prices Fall
- Navistar Prices $190 Million in New Bonds
- Ice Storm Barrels Through Mid-Atlantic States
HIG to Buy Bankrupt Delivery Truck Maker
Grumman Olson Industries Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as part of a plan for the company to be sold to HIG Capital, the Associated Press reported Wednesday.The filing was one of the terms set by HIG’s Specialized Vehicles Corp. unit, AP said.
Grumman Olson manufactures delivery trucks and other commercial vehicles, AP reported. The Sturgis, Mich.-based company is expected to emerge from bankruptcy protection in 60 days as a part of the specialized vehicles division.
Ice Storm Barrels Through Mid-Atlantic States
A powerful winter storm coated parts of the East Coast with as much as a half-inch of ice, causing scattered power outages and wreaking havoc with travel patterns through Maryland, Pennsylvania and Northern Virginia, the Associated Press reported Wednesday.Freezing rain and slush poured down on highways and runways from Virginia, north to New Jersey and westward toward the Ohio River Valley, AP said.
The ice weighed down tree limbs and power lines, causing some to snap and cut power to tens of thousands of customers, officials said. The ice also cause numerous accidents on major highways like Interstate 80 in Pennsylvania and Interstate 95 running up and down the East Coast, AP reported.
The National Weather Service did, however, cancel storm warnings as the precipitation moved north, followed by warmer air, AP said. Transport Topics
Panel to Explore Future of the Post Office
On Wednesday, President Bush signed an order creating a commission to examine the mission and future of the U.S. Postal Service, the Associated Press reported.The nine-member commission will include members of the business community and send a report and recommendations on to President Bush by July 31. The panel will be focusing on how the Postal Service can continue to operate in the face of increasing competition from private companies.
The panel’s recommendations, depending their importance, could result in the largest overhaul of the service since the early 1970s, AP said.
The largest challenge to the panel is expected to be an examination of maintaining “universal service,” which compels the Postal Service to provide First Class mail delivery to everyone in the country from the same price, while remaining fiscally sound, AP said. Transport Topics
Transit Group Emerges From Chapter 11
Transit Group Inc. said Wednesday that it has emerged from bankruptcy proceedings after getting approval of its reorganization plan by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Florida.“Transit Group, the largest trucking company in this country to ever emerge from bankruptcy, according to the Court, filed petitions for relief under Chapter 11 of the U. S. Bankruptcy Code on Dec. 28, 2001,” the company said in a release.
The company said that the court commended it for swiftly completing its restructuring process.
The new Transit Group is made up of three separate units, Land Transportation LLC, a 100% agent-based business; KAT-R&M Transportation, a temperature-controlled truckload carrier; and Priority Transportation, a dry van carrier. Those three divisions operate a total of 1,400 power units through out the continental United States.
Transit Group was ranked No. 46 on the 2002 Transport Topics 100 listing of the largest trucking companies in the United States and Canada. Transport Topics
(Click here for the full press release.)
Venezuelan Navy Boards Striking Oil Tanker
Personnel from Venezuela’s navy boarded the oil tanker Yavire and took its captain into custody nearly a week after the ship had anchored in support of oil strikes in the country, Dow Jones Newswires reported Wednesday.Officials were expected to replace the ship’s captain, Atilio Bermudez, and put the tanker back on its regular fuel delivery schedule, Dow Jones said.
The Yavire is one of several tankers owned by the Venezuelan government that have anchored outside of the country’s ports in sympathy for striking ground shippers and refinery workers, Dow Jones said.
Venezuela, the No. 4 exporter of oil to the United States, has had to suspend oil shipments to some customers because of the strikes. Transport Topics
Saudi Oil Chief Pushes Output Cut as Prices Fall
The price of crude oil rose Wednesday after Saudi Arabia’s oil minister said that unless OPEC cuts production, prices will collapse, Bloomberg reported.Speaking the day before the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries meets to discuss oil production issues, Ali al-Naimi, Saudi Arabia’s oil minister, said that the cartel will likely decide to trim its output by between 1.5 million and 2 million barrels a day, Bloomberg reported.
Crude oil is distilled down to motor fuels like diesel and gasoline. If supplies of crude are tightened, then price increases could be passed on to customers at the pump.
A report by the American Petroleum Institute showed that U.S. inventories of distillates and gasoline rose unexpectedly, pushing oil prices down 22 cents to $27.52 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, Bloomberg said. Transport Topics
Navistar Prices $190 Million in New Bonds
Heavy-duty truck maker Navistar International Corp. said Wednesday that it has priced $190 million of new senior convertible bonds to be sold in a private placement.The Warrenville, Ill.-based compay said that $100 million of the net proceeds will be used to repay the principal amount of some exisiting senior notes due on Feb. 1, 2003.
The new bonds will be priced to yield 2.5% with a conversion premium of 30% on a closing price of $26.70 each.
The buyer of the bonds has told Navistar that it intends to purchase shares of stock in open-market transacations after the bonds are distributed. Transport Topics
