News Briefs - Jan. 26
The Latest Headlines:
- DOE Reports Lower Distillate Inventories
- Senate Approves Bodman, Rice for Key Posts
- SCS Transportation Says Quarter, 2004 Profits Rise
- Covenant Transport Reports Fourth-Quarter Loss
- Steel Raw Materials Could Rise 50% This Year, Journal Says
- Crude Oil Slips After Closing at Eight-Week High
- Senate Approves Bodman, Rice for Key Posts
DOE Reports Lower Distillate Inventories
Distillate fuel inventories fell for the week ended Jan. 21, the Department of Energy reported Wednesday.Distillate inventories dropped about 1.8% to 121,485, DOE said. Diesel and heating oil are both distillate fuels and their prices often parallel one another in winter months.
Crude oil inventories rose, which pushed crude oil prices down, Bloomberg reported. Light sweet crude fell 86 cents to close at $48.78 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, Bloomberg said.
Senate Approves Bodman, Rice for Key Posts
The Senate Energy Committee Wednesdday approved Sam Bodman, President Bush's choice to be Secretary of Energy, Reuters reported.Meanwhile the full Senate voted 85-13 to approve the nomination of Condoleezza Rice as Secretary of State.
Bodman's nomination next goes to the full Senate, which is expected to ratify the choice, Reuter's said. Bodman is currently U.S. deputy treasury secretary.
Bodman said at his confirmation hearing last week that he supports opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling, Reuters said. Transport Topics
SCS Transportation Says Quarter, 2004 Profits Rise
SCS Transportation Inc. said its fourth-quarter profits were $4.63 million or 30 cents per share, compared with $4.55 million or 30 cents a year earlier.For 2004, the company earned $19.3 million, a 29% increase from $14.9 million in 2003. Revenue increased by 19% for the full year, to $982.3 million and by 21% for the quarter, to $251.9 million.
SCS said its regional less-than-truckload unit, Saia Motor Freight Line, had $165 million in revenue, a 28% rise. For the year Saia's revenue was $645.4, a 24% increase.
LTL and truckload unit Jevic Transportation reported a 10.8% fourth-quarter revenue increase to $86.3 million and a 9.8% increase for the year to $336.9 million.
"Our most significant strategic event was the successful acquisition by Saia of trucking operations in the Midwest and Plains States," SCS Chief Executive Officer Bert Trucksess said in a statement. Transport Topics
Covenant Transport Reports Fourth-Quarter Loss
Covenant Transport Inc. said late Tuesday it lost $6.5 million or 44 cents a share in the fourth quarter compared with earnings of $4.1 million or 28 cents in the previous fourth quarter.he truckload carrier, ranked No. 29 on the Transport Topics 100 list of the largest U.S. and Canadian trucking companies, said in a statement that the quarter’s results included a $18 million pre-tax insurance adjustment charge.
For the year the company earned $3.38 million, a 72% drop from $12.2 million it earned in 2003. Per-share year-over-year earnings were 23 cents compared to 83 cents a year earlier, while total 2004 revenue increased 3.6% to $603.6 million, Covenant said.
The company said it increased its average freight revenue per loaded mile 15.9% to $1.50 though that was partially offset by an increase in non-revenue miles and a 6.9% decrease in average miles per tractor. Transport Topics
Steel Raw Materials Could Rise 50% This Year, Journal Says
Raw materials used to make steel could rise 30% to 50% this year, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.The paper said suppliers of iron ore and coking coal are negotiating with steelmakers over contract prices for the remainder of 2005.
Iron ore could rise to between $30 and $57 a ton, from $23 to $38, depending on grade, the Journal said.
North American steelmakers have stronger relationships and contract with suppliers and could be less affected by increases, which would be felt worldwide, the paper reported. Transport Topics
Crude Oil Slips After Closing at Eight-Week High
Crude oil futures fell in overnight trading after closing at an eight-week high of $49.41 a barrel Tuesday on the New York Mercantile Exchange, Bloomberg reported Wednesday morning.U.S. stockpiles of distillates — which include heating oil and diesel — probably fell for the first four weeks of the year, a Bloomberg survey showed.
The drop in inventories may ease as temperatures rise in the Northeast, with milder weather forecasted for the end of January and beginning of February, Bloomberg reported.
Meanwhile the news service reported that Kuwait’s oil minister said OPEC may cut oil production in March, Bloomberg said. OPEC is scheduled to meet Monday in Vienna, Austria. Transport Topics
