News Briefs - Jan. 19
The Latest Headlines:
- Housing Starts Rose 11% in December
- CNF's Chief Financial Officer to Retire
- Jobless Claims Fall by 48,000
- Quality Distribution Settles Lawsuits
- DOT Says Trucking’s Share of Freight Grows
- Work on Bridge Damaged by Ivan to Start in Spring
- CNF's Chief Financial Officer to Retire
Housing Starts Rose 11% in December
Housing starts rose 11% in December, the biggest increase in more than seven years, to 2.004 million units at an annual rate, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.Starts for all of 2004 totaled 1.953 million, up 5.7% from 2003 and the best year since 1978.
Rising construction likely means more business for flatbed trucking companies that haul building materials. Also, in the case of home construction, dry van freight can see an increase in demand for the delivery of household appliances and furniture.
New construction rose rising 5.7% in the Northeast to 168,000 units at an annual rate, 18.8% in the Midwest to 379,000, 10.6% in the South to 941,000, and 7.9% in the West to 516,000. Transport Topics
CNF's Chief Financial Officer to Retire
Transportation firm CNF Inc. said Wednesday that Chief Financial Officer Chutta Ratnathicam would retire on March 31.The company said in a statement it expected to name a successor before that date. Ratnathicam held the position since 1997.
CNF is ranked No. 4 on the Transport Topics 100 list of the largest U.S. and Canadian trucking companies. Transport Topics
Jobless Claims Fall by 48,000
The number of Americans filing initial claims for jobless benefits fell 48,000 to 319,000 in the week ended Jan. 15, the largest drop in more than three years.A Labor Department spokesman told Reuters there were no special factors to account for the unexpectedly large decline, but said it was hard to adjust for seasonal quirks around the holiday season.
The four-week moving average of initial claims fell 3,000 to 341,000, sticking close to levels it held for much of last year.
Labor also said the number of Americans still on the benefit rolls after receiving an initial week of aid rose by 47,000 to 2.69 million in the week ended January 8. Transport Topics
Quality Distribution Settles Lawsuits
Tank truck firm Quality Distribution Inc. said late Monday it settled two shareholder class-action lawsuits and a shareholder derivative demand related to its disclosure of irregularities at its Power Purchasing Inc. subsidiary.The company said in a statement it agreed to pay the class-action suits $8.2 million, of which $5.9 million would be paid an insurer and the balance of $2.3 million would be paid by Quality Distribution. It also agreed to pay up to $600,000 for attorneys' fees and expenses.
"We are grateful to have this litigation behind us," Thomas Finkbiner, Quality president, said in a statement.
Quality Distribution is ranked No. 31 on the Transport Topics 100 list of the largest U.S. and Canadian trucking companies. Transport Topics
DOT Says Trucking’s Share of Freight Grows
Trucks carried three-quarters of the value of freight shipped in the United States and two-thirds of the weight in 2002, the Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics said in its commodity-flow survey released Jan. 7.The study showed that from 1993 through 2002, the tonnage of all freight transported in the nation grew 2% to almost 12 billion tons and increased 44% in value to $8.4 trillion.
Trucks moved more than 7.8 billion tons of manufactured goods and raw materials in 2002 worth about $6.2 trillion, BTS said. Rail and trucking each accounted for 40%.
In 2002, $924 billion of freight — more than 10% of all freight shipments — originated in California. Other leading states in the value of goods shipped were Texas, Ohio, Illinois and Michigan, the report found. Transport Topics
Work on Bridge Damaged by Ivan to Start in Spring
Federal and state officials said work to build a new Interstate 10 bridge in the western Florida Panhandle is expected to begin this spring, the Associated Press reported.The old bridge over Escambia Bay was heavily damaged by Hurricane Ivan on Sept. 16. Traffic has been restored on the two west-bound lanes but is limited to a single east-bound lane, AP reported.
About 8,000 trucks travel the stretch of I-10 each day. Replacing the eastbound span will come first, with completion expected by December 2006. Construction of the westbound lanes should end the following year. Transport Topics
