News Briefs - Jan. 14
- Meyer to Resign From Fed Board
- Cummins Says It's Ready to Meet EPA Standards
- Moskow Says Economic Recovery Timetable Unclear
- Bush Says Tax Cuts Should Not Be Delayed
- Machine Tool Demand Fell in November
- Low Demand Sends Oil Prices Down
- Heartland Says Earnings Up for Quarter, Year
- Price of Gasoline Rises, Lundberg Says
- Delays Feared After Baggage Screening Deadline
- Amtrak Panel Wants Rail Competition
- Cummins Says It's Ready to Meet EPA Standards
Meyer to Resign From Fed Board
Laurence Meyer, who has been a member of the Federal Reserve Board since 1996, announced Monday that he will resign from the board when his term ends on Jan. 31, Reuters reported.The action will give President Bush to name another member to the seven-member board, which already has a vacancy. The administration has previously appointed Mark Olson and Susan Bies to the board. Transport Topics
Cummins Says It's Ready to Meet EPA Standards
Cummins Inc., one of the leading producers of commercial diesel engines, reaffirmed that it is ready to meet the terms of its consent decree with the Environmental Protection Agency and will not be affected by the agency’s nonconformance penalties.The Columbus, Ind.-based company said that is now in position to meet the EPA’s standards for heavy-duty diesel engines from 1998.
Loughrey said that Cummins believes it has found a balance between the needs of its customers and its commitment to the EPA standards and clean air. Transport Topics
(Click here for the full press release.)
(Click here to see a related story on Caterpiller and for more coverage see the Jan. 14 print edition of Transport Topics.)
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Moskow Says Economic Recovery Timetable Unclear
Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President Michael Moskow said Monday that the timing of a full recovery of the U.S. economy remains uncertain, news services reported.In a prepared speech to the Mid-America Club, he said the economy is in a transition period and currently is showing signs of improvement. Economic activity should pick up in the second half of 2002, he said, but there are still risks facing the economy including reduced business and consumer spending, Reuters reported.
Moskow did say that recent data have suggested that the hard-hit factory sector may be turning the corner, Bloomberg noted. Transport Topics
Bush Says Tax Cuts Should Not Be Delayed
President Bush said Monday he would oppose any attempted repeal or delay of the tax cuts enacted last year, Reuters reported.In the face of budget deficits, some congressional Democrats have said that some of the tax cuts passed last year should be deferred. Bush insisted these cuts will be permanent and people are just beginning to feel the effects of them.
If the tax cuts spur economic activity, it will result in an increase in business for the trucking industry.
Bush is also pushing for expanded trade as a way to give the economy a boost. This, too, could increase the demand for trucking services. Transport Topics
Machine Tool Demand Fell in November
Demand for machine tools fell in November, an industry report said Sunday.The report by the American Machine Tool Distributors' Association and the Association for Manufacturing Technology said that machine tool demand in the United States was down 16.6% in November, totaling $156.17 million, Reuters reported.
That figure is also down 46.6% from November of 2000, when demand was $292.5 million.
Demand for tools used to make and maintain machines is a key indicator of the state of the manufacturing sector. Manufacturing is critical to the trucking industry because much of the industry's revenues come from factory orders. Transport Topics
Low Demand Sends Oil Prices Down
Crude oil prices fell for the fifth time in the last six days on Monday, as concern continued about low demand for energy in the U.S., Bloomberg News reported.Also acting to depress oil prices, Bloomberg said, were the remarks, Friday, of Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, who said talk of an economic recovery may be premature.
Crude oil for February settlement fell up to 56 cents on the International Petroleum Exchange in London, Bloomberg said.
Warm weather in the U.S. was also blamed for falling oil prices. Transport Topics
Heartland Says Earnings Up for Quarter, Year
Heartland Express announced that its fourth-quarter earnings per share were 31 cents in 2001, up from 25 cents per share from the same period in 2000.For the full year, Heartland's earnings were up 12 cents to $1.19 per share. Revenue jumped from $274.8 to $294.6 in 2001, while net income was up 9.8% to $37.7 million.
The increased quarterly earnings came on revenue of $73.5 million - up 4.6% from $70.3 million in 2000. The truckload carrier saw its net income rise 24.8% to $9.9 million from $7.9 million in 2000.
The Coralville, Iowa-based company strengthened its profitability in 2001 as its operating ratio, which measures its efficiency and profitability, fell from 83.2 in 2000 to 82.1 in 2001 indicating the company was staving off the effects of the current slowdown in trucking and the general economic recession.
Heartland Express is ranked No. 55 in the 2000-2001 Transport Topics 100 list. Transport Topics
(Click here for the full press release.)
Price of Gasoline Rises, Lundberg Says
The price of gasoline rose 3.27 cents over the past three weeks, according to the Lundberg Survey of 8,000 gas stations nationwide.While the biggest trucks run on diesel fuel, a significant portion of the commercial trucking business is carried out in trucks that use gasoline.
The weighted price per gallon for all grades and taxes was $1.15 last week, the survey found. This ended a 15-week slide in the price of gasoline that began with the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the Associated Press reported.
Although the price may continue to rise moderately in the weeks ahead, analyst Trilby Lundberg said she doesn't expect sharp increases in gas prices any time soon, unless there are unexpected developments that could threaten the world's oil supply, AP said. Transport Topics
Delays Feared After Baggage Screening Deadline
Beginning Jan. 18, airline travelers could see more delays because of new baggage screening and matching regulations, news services reported.If the regulations delay flights then cargo that is carried in the bellies of some passenger airliners would also be delayed – thus disrupting ground transportation networks, including trucks.
Airlines will be required by the federal government to inspect every piece of checked luggage for explosives. They will also be forced to match the bags to passengers on flights, USA Today reported.
Executives worry that a system glitch, combined with bad weather, could cause massive delays. However, this appears to be a good time to implement new regulations because passenger traffic is usually light this time of year, the Wall Street Journal said.
Airlines are also working on purchasing large, expensive screening machines to inspect luggage, but have not acquired enough of them yet to effectively do the job. This means more baggage checks will be done manually in the coming months, slowing the process down. Transport Topics
Amtrak Panel Wants Rail Competition
A federal oversight panel voted Friday to recommend to Congress that Amtrak be made subject to competition from private companies, the Associated Press reported.Amtrak gets much of its revenue from non-passenger business and has recently been hauling more truck-competitive freight to try to increase revenue.
Under the plan, Amtrak’s tracks and stations would be distributed among state, federal and private entities, the AP said.
While some members of the panel doubted that private companies would be interested in passenger railroading, Tom Till, executive director of the Reform Council said Peter Pan bus lines, as well has four British rail companies, have expressed an interest. Transport Topics
