News Briefs - Dec. 5
The Latest Headlines:
- UPS, Machinists Union Reach Pact
- TSA Chief Cargo Says Trailer Locks Coming
- Storm Buries East Coast
- Hyundai Opens U.S. Truck Division
- Celadon Sees Mexican Truck Decision Helping Earnings
- Scania Applies for De-Listing From the NYSE
- Initial Jobless Claims Fell 13,000 Last Week
- Markel Takes Back Former Clients
- TSA Chief Cargo Says Trailer Locks Coming
UPS, Machinists Union Reach Pact
United Parcel Service Inc. reached a tentative seven-year agreement with 3,200 workers who maintain trucks for the package delivery company, Bloomberg reported Dec. 5. The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers will present the terms of the agreement, the first nationwide contract for the workers, to members within a week, spokesman Frank Larkin told Bloomberg.
Larkin declined to disclose the terms, Bloomberg said.
Workers at more than 100 locations including New York and Chicago will vote separately on the new contract as existing ones expire. The expiration on those agreements ranges from July 31 to April 2003, Bloomberg said.
UPS spokesman Malcolm Berkley confirmed the agreement had been reached, Bloomberg said, but he declined further comment. Transport Topics
TSA Chief Cargo Says Trailer Locks Coming
WASHINGTON - The director of cargo security for the Transportation Security Administration, George Rodriguez, said that despite some oppostion from the trucking industry his agency will move forward with a plan to require locks on all trailers."It is our view every[trailer] should be locked -- it's that simple," he said at the Eyefortransport Cargo Security Forum & Expo here Dec. 5.
Rodriguez said he expected the government to file a notice of proposed rulemaking in the Federal Register early next year, followed by a public comment period lasting several months. Neil Abt
(Click here for more security news.)
Storm Buries East Coast
The powerful snow storm working its way up the East Coast continued to cause problems for major cities and transportation routes as it goes, the Associated Press reported Thursday.The storm dumped ice and snow from the panhandle of Texas through to Virginia during the day on Wednesday and into Thursday as it made its way toward New York and New England. Hundreds of thousands of customers were left without power from Oklahoma to North Carolina.
State governments sent workers home early in the Carolinas and officials all across the Southeast recommended that motorists keep off ice-covered highways and stay home, AP reported.
Parts of the region saw as much as 12 inches of snow, but other regions received mostly freezing raind and sleet, making the roads deceptively treacherous. Transport Topics
Hyundai Opens U.S. Truck Division
Hyundai Motor Co. said Thursday that it has formed Hyundai Truck America to begin marketing light- and medium-duty trucks in the United States next month.Based in New Jersey, the new division will service and initial group of 30 dealers nationwide, the company said.
The division had a roll out of its line of Class 4 and Class 6 trucks at a Dec. 2 meeting.
"We know that the U.S. truck market is a very competitive and difficult market. We will try to meet the challenges of being in the United States with Hyundai's commercial vehicle products while trying to reach the highest levels of customer satisfaction," said Johng-Sik Choi, executive vice president of Hyundai Motor's commercial vehicle division. Transport Topics
(Click here for the full press release.)
Celadon Sees Mexican Truck Decision Helping Earnings
Celadon Group Inc. said that the lifting of the moratorium on Mexican trucks in the United States will help boost its earnings in 2003.The company said for the 2003 calendar year it expects its diluted earnings per share of between $1.10 and $1.20. That projection, the company said, was made based on the expectation of no major changes in the pace of growth in the U.S. economy, diesel prices and if the company can get about 300 trucks from its Mexican subsidiary certified for U.S. operations.
“We believe there will be benefits from this action taken by President Bush to lift the moratorium on Mexican trucks. We have anticipated this move and are positioned to execute our operational plan to utilize Mexican drivers for hauling freight between Mexico and U.S,” said Stephen Russell, chief executive officer. “We also believe we are uniquely qualified to benefit from the lifting of the moratorium based on our freight flows to and from Mexico."
Based in Indianapolis, Celadon is ranked No. 48 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.)
Scania Applies for De-Listing From the NYSE
Swedish truck manufacturer Scania AB said in a statement Thursday that it is applying to de-list its American Depositary Receipts from the New York Stock Exchange. The company said that it has had a listing on the NYSE since 1996, but that it is not widely traded on the exchange and the cost of maintaining the listing is "no longer justified."
The company said that the de-listing in the United States will not affect its listing on the Stockholm Stock Exchange. Transport Topics
Initial Jobless Claims Fell 13,000 Last Week
The number of workers in the United States that applied for unemployment benefits for the first time fell to a 21-month low of 355,000 last week, the Department of Labor said Thursday.The drop of 13,000 in initial claims for the week ended Nov. 23 pushed claims to their lowest point since the week ended Feb. 17, 2001, Labor said.
Positive employment news tends to bolster consumer confidence and spur consumer spending, both of which can help the trucking industry.
The four-week moving average fell to its lowest point since March 3, 2001 as it dipped to 376,500 from 387,000. The average is a statistical device to steady the volatile data from the weekly report. Transport Topics
Markel Takes Back Former Clients
Markel Insurance Co. of Canada said it will provide long-haul trucking insurance coverage to former clients of Royal & SunAlliance USA, an insurer based in Charlotte, N.C., that is trying to reduce its exposure to certain trucking-related risks.President Mark J. Ram said brokers for Royal & SunAlli-ance will be able to access Markel for their non-renewing trucking clients. “We see this as a win-win for everyone involved,” he said in a statement released Dec. 4.
In November, Royal & SunAlliance President Steve Mul-ready announced plans to exit certain commercial insurance businesses in an effort to shore up its financial position.
“We’ve seen our capital base erode and our financial ratings suffer due to a wide range of issues including falling equity prices and the impact of the World Trade Center tragedy,” Mulready said.
Markel is Canada’s largest long-haul trucking insurer with annual premium income of C$175 million. It has been in business since 1951. Transport Topics
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