News Briefs - Dec. 20
The Latest Headlines:
- LEI Rises for First Time in Six Months
- Interstate 80 in Pennsylvania Reopens After 70-Vehicle Crash
- UPS Completes Purchase of Menlo Worldwide
- Management Buys Dedicated Transport
- Volvo CEO Says Company May Investment More in U.S.
- White House Lowers Forecast for Job Growth in 2005
- Interstate 80 in Pennsylvania Reopens After 70-Vehicle Crash
LEI Rises for First Time in Six Months
The index of leading economic indicators rose 0.2% in November, the first increase in six months, the Conference Board said Monday.November’s increase in the index followed a 0.4% drop in October that was steeper than initially estimated. Overall, six of the 10 indicators the Conference Board uses to derive the leading index contributed to the increase.
The LEI is closely watched by trucking companies because it forecasts business activity for the next three to six months.
The index of lagging indicators fell 0.1% last month, compared with a 0.1% increase in October. Transport Topics
Interstate 80 in Pennsylvania Reopens After 70-Vehicle Crash
The westbound lanes of Interstate 80 in western Pennsylvania reopened on Sunday night, about 12 hours after more than 70 vehicles were involved in an accident backing up traffic for more than 20 miles, news services reported.I-80 runs east-west, connecting the Northeast with San Francisco. The crash site was about 60 miles northwest of Pittsburgh and about eight miles from the Ohio border, the Associated Press reported.
Nobody was killed, but at least 28 people were taken to local hospitals with injuries, USA Today reported.
Officials said the area received about four inches of snow. The temperature at the time of the accident was about 10 degrees, according to USA Today. Transport Topics
UPS Completes Purchase of Menlo Worldwide
UPS Inc. said Monday it completed the purchase of Menlo Worldwide Forwarding Inc., a subsidiary of CNF Inc., for $150 million in cash and the assumption of $110 million in debt.Menlo Worldwide Forwarding is a global freight forwarder that provides heavy airfreight forwarding services, ocean services and international trade management, including customs brokerage. It had $1.9 billion in gross revenues in 2003.
CNF previously said it would recognize an after-tax loss on the sale of Menlo Worldwide Forwarding, formerly named Emery Worldwide, of about $260 million, subject to adjustments.
UPS is ranked No. 1 and CNF is No. 4 on the Transport Topics 100 list of the largest U.S. and Canadian trucking companies. Transport Topics
Management Buys Dedicated Transport
The management of Dedicated Transport Inc. said Dec. 16 they successfully led a buyout of the company from Distribution Technologies Inc.The company said it would continue to offer dedicated contract carriage and logistics services. Dedicated Transport also said it would be led by the same managers, including President Frank Wagner.
“By becoming an independent company, we believe that Dedicated Transport is better positioned to expand our dedicated contract carriage services more rapidly to meet the growing marketplace demand across a broad range of industries, including automotive, packaging and food and beverage,” Wagner said. Transport Topics
Volvo CEO Says Company May Investment More in U.S.
Leif Johansson, chief executive officer of Swedish truck maker Volvo AB, said it might steer new investments in production capacity to the United States, the Associated Press reported citing a published report.Johansson told Dagens Industri that the company would be more likely to move investments to the United States if the U.S. dollar continued to weaken.
He also said he was reluctant to give any forecast of U.S. sales through 2007 and beyond because of new emission regulations and the uncertainty of the economy in the future, AP said. Transport Topics
White House Lowers Forecast for Job Growth in 2005
The Bush administration has reduced its forecast for new jobs that will be created in 2005 to 2.1 million from its previous prediction of 3.6 million, the Associated Press reported.It also projected a slightly lower growth rate for the U.S. economy of 3.5% in 2005, but said the unemployment rate would edge down to 5.3% from 5.5%.
Greg Mankiw, chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, said the U.S. economy was in "very solid shape," Reuters reported. Transport Topics
