News Briefs - Feb. 1
The Latest Headlines:
- Pacer’s Quarterly, Annual Profits Rise by Half
- Fed Reportedly to Boost Interest Rates Wednesday
- Construction Spending Rises in December
- Paccar Reports Record Annual Earnings
- Mack Reported to Add Second Shift in Pa.
- Navistar Gets Waiver on $820 Mln. Credit Line
- GE Completes Acquisition of CitiCapital Transportation Unit
- Senate Confirms Bodman as Energy Secretary
- Fed Reportedly to Boost Interest Rates Wednesday
Pacer’s Quarterly, Annual Profits Rise by Half
Transportation firm Pacer International Inc. said late Tuesday its net income for the fourth quarter was $17 million or 44 cents per share, a 49% increase from $11.4 million or 30 cents a year earlier.For the year, the company earned $47.2 million or $1.24 a share, a 50.8% rise from $31.3 million or 82 cents a year earlier.
The company said quarterly revenue by its wholesale segment — which includes Pacer Stacktrain and Pacer Cartage — increased by 17.1%.
The results “reflect both our flexibility in adapting to difficult market conditions and our ability to continue to reduce operating costs,” said Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Don Orris.
Pacer is ranked No. 14 on the Transport Topics 100 list of the largest U.S. and Canadian trucking companies. Transport Topics
Fed Reportedly Will Boost Interest Rates Wednesday
The Federal Open Market Committee will raise interest rates by a quarter-point Wednesday to 2.5%, based on analysts’ projections, Bloomberg reported.The committee’s first meeting this year, which began Tuesday, has several new members who support Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan in raising the benchmark rate at a "measured" pace, Bloomberg said.
The Fed raised the benchmark U.S. interest rate a quarter-point to 2.25% Dec. 14, the highest since November 2001, and the fifth time since June of last year that the central bank raised rates by a quarter-point.
Prior to this ongoing tightening cycle, rates had been at a four-decade low of 1%. Transport Topics
Construction Spending Rises in December
The Commerce Department said Tuesday that construction spending rose 1.1% in December to $1.032 trillion.Total 2004 construction spending rose 9%, to a record $998 billion from $916 billion in 2003, Commerce said, the biggest annual increase since 1996.
The department also revised November’s figures to a 0.3% gain. It had previously reported a 0.4% decline for that month, the first drop in 19 months.
Construction spending can boost demand for trucking services because spending increases the number of shipments of goods and building materials.
Spending in November by private construction rose 0.9% in December after falling 0.2% in November, Commerce said.
Construction spending by the government rose 1.8% in December and public spending on road projects rose by 3.2%, the department said. Transport Topics
Paccar Reports Record Annual Earnings
Truck maker Paccar Inc. said Tuesday it earned $241.4 million or $1.38 a share for the fourth quarter, up from $159.1 million or 90 cents a share a year earlier.Net sales and financial services revenues were $3.19 billion, a 44% increase over the previous fourth quarter.
For the year, the company said it earned a record $906.8 million or $5.16 a share, up from $526.5 million or $2.99 a share in 2003.
The parent of Kenworth Truck Co. and Peterbilt Motors Co. also said it produced a record 124,000 trucks worldwide last year.
"All of Paccar’s truck brands achieved record market shares" in 2004, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Mark Pigott said in a statement.
"U.S. and Canada Class 8 industry truck retail sales could increase by approximately 15% to 270,000 to 280,000 units in 2005 due to a good economy and additional fleet growth," said Tom Plimpton, the company’s president. Transport Topics
Mack Reported to Add Second Shift in Pa.
Mack Trucks Inc. plans to add a second shift at its plant in Macungie Township, Pa., the Allentown Morning Call reported Tuesday.The second shift would be the first for the 30-year-old plant, the Pennsylvania newspaper said.
Mack, based in Allentown, is trying to keep up with demand for its new Granite line of construction trucks and plans to start a second shift in the spring, the paper reported.
The vocational line's strong sales were causing the plant to "burst at the seams," Mack President Paul Vikner told the Morning Call. Transport Topics
Navistar Gets Waiver on $820 Mln. Credit Line
Navistar International Corp. said it received a waiver to continue using funds from an $820 million credit after filing its fourth delay in reporting its 2004 earnings, Bloomberg News reported.The waiver extends through Feb. 28, Navistar said in an SEC filing. It said it had already used $695 million from the credit agreement, Bloomberg said.
Navistar said Monday it would not be able to file its SEC 10-K report for the fiscal year ended Oct. 31 within an extended filing deadline. Transport Topics
(Click here for previous coverage.)
GE Completes Acquisition of CitiCapital Transportation Unit
GE Commercial Finance, the business-to-business unit of General Electric Co., said it completed its $4.6 billion acquisition of CitiCapital’s Transportation Financial Services Group.The unit provides secured loans and operating and finance leases for about 196,000 heavy and medium commercial trucks and trailers through dealers, fleets and owner-operators, GE said in a statement.
"The acquisition allows us to build out an area that is already a core competency of our business while adding substantial new customer relationships in this sector," said Mike Neal, president and chief executive officer of GE Commercial Finance. Transport Topics
(Click here for previous coverage.)
Senate Confirms Bodman as Energy Secretary
The Senate late Monday confirmed Samuel Bodman as secretary of Energy, news services reported.The Senate voted unanimously for Bodman to replace Spencer Abraham, who announced his resignation Nov. 15. President Bush nominated Bodman Dec. 10, the Washington Post reported.
Bodman, 66, is deputy secretary of the Treasury and former chairman of chemical maker Cabot Corp. He made few public appearances while at Treasury, Bloomberg reported.
Bodman said at a confirmation hearing in January that he would be an “energetic advocate” of drilling for oil in the Alaska Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, while taking into account environmental concerns, the Post said. Transport Topics
