News Briefs - Jan. 24
The Latest Headlines:
- Trucking Groups Protest Super Bowl Ad
- FedEx Chief Assesses U.S. Economy at Forum
- Ark. Truckers Say They’ll Move to Avoid Fees
- GM Planning Shutdown at Medium-Duty Plant
- OPEC Production Nears Capacity
- SCS Transportation Increases Earnings Per Share 67% in 4Q
- Yellow Improves 4Q Net Income
- Intermodal Rail Still Ahead of 2002 Pace
- FedEx Chief Assesses U.S. Economy at Forum
Trucking Groups Protest Super Bowl Ad
The American Trucking Associations, Truckload Carriers Association and Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association sent a letter to their members Friday asking for their support in protesting an ad scheduled to run during the Super Bowl this Sunday.The ad, for Monster.com, an online job service, features a driverless, out-of-control tractor-trailer driving through a cornfield and swerving wildly in and out of traffic, the letter said.
This grossly inaccurate portrayal of the American trucking industry trivializes the efforts of all of the trucking companies and professional drivers whose number one priority is to safely operate their vehicles each and every day," the letter said.
(Click here to read the full text of the letter.)
FedEx Chief Assesses U.S. Economy at Forum
Speaking at the World Economic Forum, FedEx Chief Executive Officer Frederick Smith said that business investment needs to improve to complete the recovery, Bloomberg reported Friday.Smith called the lack of investment by businesses the “missing component in the mix,” Bloomberg reported, adding that only about 5,000 companies in the United States account for about 85% of all investment.
Getting those companies to start investing again, Smith said, is the key to rebound, Bloomberg reported.
Smith said that FedEx is “very optimistic” about a recovery, though he believes the economy won’t go back into a boom cycle, Bloomberg said. Transport Topics
Ark. Truckers Say They’ll Move to Avoid Fees
Truckers in Arkansas said that if the state legislature doesn’t pass tax relief for them, they’ll leave in favor of other states, the Associated Press said.Arkansas, AP reported, is one of seven states that tax sales of equipment, while most its neighbors do not. As a result, an estimated 90,000 trucks and trailers owned by companies in Arkansas are legally registered in neighboring states, AP reported.
Speaking in front of the House Revenue and Taxation Committee in the state legislature, several truckers said they would be forced to either uproot and move, or go out of business, AP said.
A new tax law before the legislature would charge $1,000 per tractor and $500 per trailer sold in the state, in addition to collecting three years of back taxes for out-of-state registrations, AP reported. Transport Topics
GM Planning Shutdown at Medium-Duty Plant
General Motors Corp. is cutting work for about 500 employees starting in January at its medium-duty truck plant in Flint, Mich., the Associated Press reported Thursday.The layoffs, the company said, are the result of slow sales and a weak economy, AP reported.
The company will stop work on the production line for about one week per month through September, in addition to its previously planned two-week shutdown over the summer, AP said, citing the Flint Journal.
GM moved its medium-duty commercial truck production to Flint from Janesville, Wis. in 2002, AP reported. Transport Topics
SCS Transportation Increases Earnings Per Share 67% in 4Q
SCS Transportation said Friday that its earnings per share rose to 20 cents in the fourth quarter from the 12 cents per share it reported in the same quarter in 2001.The Kansas City, Mo.-based company said it had net income of $3 million, up 68% from the $1.8 million it claimed in same period in the previous year.
"In our first quarter as an independent public company, we achieved significant profit improvement," said Bert Trucksess, chairman and chief executive officer.
SCS was spunoff from Yellow Corp. in October (Click here for related coverage.).
SCS Transportation is a multi-regional trucking company that operates Saia and Jevic Transportation as wholly owned subsidiaries. Transport Topics
(Click here for the full press release.)
Yellow Improves 4Q Net Income
Less-than-truckload carrier Yellow Corp. said Thursday that it had net income of 48 cents per share for the fourth quarter, up from the 3 cents per share the company lost in same quarter during 2001.Yellow, based in Overland Park, Kan., said it had revenues of $716.8 million in the final quarter of 2002, up significantly from the $600.5 million. Chief Executive Officer William Zollars said that “additional business from industry consolidation” had an impact on the company’s strong fourth-quarter results.
Despite the strong quarter, Yellow reported a $93.9 million loss for 2002. The loss on a per share basis was $3.31, compared to a 62-cent per share gain in 2001.
Yellow is ranked No. 6 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.)
Intermodal Rail Still Ahead of 2002 Pace
The number of intermodal rail loadings rose for the third straight week, keeping the pace of loadings ahead of the pace set in 2002, the Association of American Railroads said Thursday.Intermodal is the closest rail competitor for long-haul trucking.
Overall loadings rose 12.4% during the third week of 2003, and they are 10.6% higher for the year-to-date, AAR said.
Container loadings rose 18.3% during the week ended Jan. 18, and are 14.8% ahead of last year’s pace through three weeks, AAR reported. Trailer loadings slipped 2.8% last week and are lagging 0.7% last year’s pace. Transport Topics
OPEC Production Nears Capacity
The president of the cartel of the world’s largest oil producers said that members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries are pumping oil at a level close to their capacity, Bloomberg reported Friday.Abdullah bin Hamad al-Attiyah, OPEC president and Qatari oil minister, said that members may also be stockpiling oil outside of the Middle East to use in case of a war, Bloomberg reported.
In the United States, crude oil for March delivery rose as much as 25 cents in early electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange to $32.50 a barrel.
The spike was caused by news from Venezuela of an attack on a pro-government rally, Bloomberg said. Oil prices had begun to decline on small signs that the prolonged strikes there were possibly ending.
Tensions in the Middle East and the strikes in Venezuela have push oil and fuel prices higher in recent weeks. Transport Topics
