News Briefs - Feb. 1

The Latest Headlines:

Deadly Winter Storm Slams Into New England

A winter storm that has been blamed for at least 20 deaths slammed into New England on Friday, closing schools and roadways and cutting off power to tens of thousands, the Associated Press reported.

Severe weather like this storm, that coats roads with ice and snow, can slow or halt commercial trucking service.

In Buffalo, N.Y., the AP said tree limbs and power lines were brought down by freezing rain early Friday, while in Vermont, the freezing rain and sleet came on top of 10 inches of snow that fell Thursday.

Schools were closed Friday in New York and New Hampshire and remained closed in Oklahoma, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Nebraska and New York.



The storm was blamed for four deaths in Michigan, three each in Nebraska, Oklahoma and Illinois, two each in Kansas, Iowa and New York and one in Missouri.

At its peak, the AP said, the storm left nearly a half million people without electricity in Kansas City, Illinois, Michigan and Indiana.

Governors were forced to declare emergencies in Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma, shuttering schools, flooding roads, knocking down power lines and canceling airline flights.

O'Hare and Midway airports in Chicago and Kansas City International Airport all experienced cancellations and numerous long flight delays, the AP said. Transport Topics


GM, Ford to Idle Factories Next Week

General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co. said Friday that they will idle as many as six factories next week, affecting about 11,000 workers, Bloomberg reported.

The plants are being shut to either slow production of poor-selling models or to prepare the plants for new models. Since vehicle assembly requires parts shipments by truck, and trucks also haul finished vehicles out of the factories, shutdowns hurt freight activity across a broad area.

GM is planning to shut vehicle plants in Michigan and New Jersey, and stop an assembly line in Wisconsin, while Ford will idle a Michigan truck plant and shut down auto plants in Chicago and Hermosillo, Mexico. Transport Topics


S. California Gas Prices Rise in Fourth Straight Week

The prices that motorists pay for gas in Southern California, southern Nevada and Arizona went up again, the Automobile Club of Southern California said.

Although large, diesel-burning rigs do most commercial trucking, a good portion is conducted in smaller, gasoline-burning trucks, making the cost of gasoline important to the trucking industry.

In its "Weekend Gas Watch," the auto club said that prices for gas rose 5.5 cents in the Los Angeles/Long Beach, Calif.-area. In San Diego, the price rose 3.2 cents and along the central coast of California, the price jumped 4.7 cents over last week.

"Prices in Southern California resumed their upward climb with all reporting regions showing some increase," said spokesperson Jeff Spring. "While prices in most of the nation remain somewhat level, California prices are increasing because some state refineries have closed some operations for maintenance and to prepare for the annual switch to summer grade gasoline." Transport Topics

(Click here for the full press release.)


Canada Seeks Easy Entry for Some Trucks

Just as the Bush administration is seeking to put tighter security on the nation's borders, Canadian officials are actively lobbying for a plan that would allow more than 7,000 trucks to cross the U.S.-Canada border - uninspected, the New York Times reported.

The plan, the Times said, would allow companies with regular freight business across the border to undergo a prescreening process, thus avoiding inspection at the border.

The proposal also has the backing of the Office of Homeland Security, which says that by allowing regular haulers to be prescreened, it would free up border inspectors to more closely examine trucks with cargo that is more likely to cause a threat, the Times reported.

The head of the Customs Services opposed the plan, however, calling it an open invitation to terrorists, the Times said. Transport Topics


Oil Prices Steady on Production Increase Rumors

explosion in Kuwait and talk of Russia increasing its oil output worked to keep the price of oil relatively unchanged in international trading Friday, Bloomberg reported.

Prices for both diesel fuel and gasoline, which are used by commercial trucking, track closely with the price of crude oil.

The explosion, at a Kuwaiti oil processing plant that handles 1/7th of that country's oil production, pushed prices significantly higher at the International Petroleum Exchange in London, but those prices settled down in the aftermath of reports that Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov said Russia should increase production to gain market share.

This suggestion was met, Bloomberg said, with comments by the oil minister of Qatar indicating that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries could end its production cuts if non-members attempt to flood the market, Bloomberg said.

Last year, Russia pledged to cut oil production as part of an agreement between OPEC and other non-member oil exporters.

Because of the mixed news, Brent crude, a benchmark for crude oil, fell 3 cents to $19.15 a barrel in London. In trading at the New York Mercantile Exchange, the price shed 2 cents, settling at $19.48 a barrel. Transport Topics


Mineta 'Doing Well' After Hip Surgery

A spokesman said Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta is doing well after undergoing hip replacement surgery, the Associated Press reported Thursday.

Mineta, 70, was admitted to Walter Reed Army Medical Center Wednesday night, the AP said.

He is expected to be hospitalized as long as three weeks. Deputy Transportation Secretary Michael Jackson will run the agency while Mineta recovers.

DOT spokesman Chet Lunner said Mineta will have a laptop computer and be briefed regularly by officials. Transport Topics


Oil Union Takes Back Strike Threat

A union representing thousands of oil refinery workers rescinded a notice that they would strike as they waited for a new offer from the biggest oil companies in the United States, Reuters reported.

The Paper, Allied-Industrial Chemical and Energy Workers International, which represents 30,000 oil workers, said they would not force work stoppages at six U.S. refineries. Such a strike could disrupt oil supplies and drive up the price of petroleum products, like diesel fuel and gasoline, which are used by commercial trucks.

The strike could have begun as early as Friday, because the union contract expired at midnight Thursday, Reuters said. Transport Topics


Airborne Posts Improved 4Q Earnings

Airborne Inc. announced Friday that its fourth-quarter earnings were $2.2 million, or 5 cents per share. This is an improvement over the $11.9 million, or 25 cents per share, loss in the fourth quarter of 2000.

The Seattle-based company said its cost management efforts contributed to the improved profit performance.

The airfreight carrier's results include a $5.2 million, or 6 cents per share after-tax credit from compensation received under the Air Transportation Safety and System Stabilization Act. With other one-time credits excluded, the company took a net loss of 2 cents per share for the quarter.

For the entire year, Airborne took a loss of $19.5 million, or 40 cents per share in 2001, the company said. Transport Topics

(Click here for the full press release.)


Swift 4Q Earnings Rise, but Down for Year

Swift Transportation Co. Inc., the holding company for truckload carriers Swift Transportation Co. Inc. and M.S. Carriers Inc., reported a net income for the fourth quarter of $13.0 million, or 15 cents per share, compared with $11.5 million, or 14 cents per share in the same period last year.

The Phoenix-based company said Friday the results include the benefit of a $1.6 million noncash pre-tax adjustment. Revenues for quarter increased 3.3% to $530.7 million.

Jerry Moyes, chairman and chief executive officer said that the quarterly results were hurt by reduced demand from the manufacturing sector.

For the full fiscal year, the company earned $27.2 million, or 32 cents per share, compared with $68.9 million or 82 cents per share in 2000.

Swift is ranked No. 17 in the 2000-2001 Transport Topics 100 list. Transport Topics

(Click here for the full press release.)


Haldex Buys Equipment Lines

Haldex Brake Systems of Kansas City, Mo., completed its purchase of two equipment lines from the Holland Group for $21.5 million on Jan. 14.

Michigan-based Holland Group sold its Anchorlok air brake actuator and Neway suspension control valve lines to the U.S. subsidiary of Sweden's Haldex Group. The companies announced plans for the transaction in December and completed it Jan. 14.

Anchorlok is manufactured in Monterrey, Mexico, by 200 employees. Neway is fabricated in Grand Haven, Mich., by 35 people.

Both companies make some products that are used in heavy-duty trucks.

aldex said the two factories have combined annual revenue of about $50 million. It also expects the production will contribute about $2.5 million to the corporation's pre-tax earnings.

The Swedish corporation said the two North American plants will report to the Kansas City subsidiary. Jonathan S. Reiskin

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