News Briefs - Jan. 28
The Latest Headlines:
- Miss. Transportation Officials Pushing for Longer Trailers
- Graves Asks Bush for More Insurance Reform
- USF Red Star, Teamsters Ink Deal
- UPS' International Unit Pushes Earnings Higher
- CNF Posts 4Q Profit on Increased Shipments
- Durable Goods Orders Post Small Gain in December
- Middle East Rhetoric Pushes Oil Prices Higher
- Graves Asks Bush for More Insurance Reform
Miss. Transportation Officials Pushing for Longer Trailers
Transportation officials in Mississippi are asking lawmakers to increase the legal length of trailers in that state to 53 feet, the Associated Press reported.Currently, trailers in Mississippi are limited to 50 feet, AP reported, and officials at the state’s transportation department said that if the law is not changed, they will begin ticketing truckers who violate the current limit.
Truckers, AP said, have argued that their 53-foot trailers were grandfathered in 1982 by federal law, but they are also pushing for the legal change.
AP said that 53 feet is now the standard length for trailers, and a bill in the state Senate would make that the standard in Mississippi as well. Transport Topics
Graves Asks Bush for More Insurance Reform
In one of his first public acts, American Trucking Associations’ President Bill Graves sent a letter to President Bush praising his call for medical liability-insurance reform, and urged Bush to expand the issue to include liability-insurance reform for all businesses, specifically trucking.In the letter dated Jan. 24, Graves wrote that ATA "applauds your recent strong call for reform legislation that would protect the medical profession from costs associated with out-of-control lawsuits." Despite the praise, Graves said that medical liability insurance was "just the tip of the iceberg" when it comes to rising insurance costs.
Citing industry statistics, Graves said that the average increase in the cost of general liability insurance for trucking companies was more than 35% in 2001, with umbrella coverage rising an average of 120%. "Individual examples of 200% and 300% increases are common," Graves added.
Graves said "most of the reforms you called for in the medical liability area are equally needed for business in general," and that the U.S. economy cannot continue to "foot the bill for frivolous lawsuits." Transport Topics
(Click here for the full text of the letter.)
USF Red Star, Teamsters Ink Deal
USF Red Star, a regional subsidiary of USFreightways Corp., said Tuesday that it has signed an agreement with the Teamsters union “protecting the company from any work stoppage related to the expiration of the National Master Freight Agreement.Another USFreightways Corp. division, USF Holland, is one of four major less-than-truckload carriers involved in talks with the Teamsters on renewing the NMFA. On Jan. 20, the Teamsters walked away from the bargaining table and set plans to take a strike authorization vote.
The deal, commonly called a “me too contract” protects Red Star “from any work stoppage or threat of a work stoppage at the expiration of the current [NMFA] and local supplements,” the company said.
USF Red Star operates a regional less-than-truckload business in 16 eastern and southern states, the District of Columbia and two Canadian provinces.
USFreightways is ranked No. 8 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.)
UPS' International Unit Pushes Earnings Higher
Trucking giant United Parcel Service Inc. reported improvement in its fourth-quarter earnings in 2002, due mainly to the success of its international unit.The Atlanta-based company said Tuesday that its net income during the quarter was $670 million or 59 cents per share, up from the $645 million or 57 cents per share the company reported during the final quarter of 2001.
The company reported that operating profit from its international segment more than doubled in the fourth quarter, as export revenue rose 20% from the same quarter in the previous year.
The company said that domestic revenue was “essentially flat” during the fourth quarter, as the company generated $622 billion domestically in the most recent quarter, compared with the $623 billion the company reported in the same quarter in 2001.
UPS is ranked No. 1 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.)
CNF Posts 4Q Profit on Increased Shipments
CNF Inc., the parent company of regional trucking giant Con-Way Transportation, said that it had a profit of $24.2 million or 41 cents per share in the fourth quarter of 2002 as it increased freight shipments to close the year.In the same period in 2001, the company posted a loss of $215 million or $4.45 per share. The company credited the turnaround in performance to an increase in shipments and sales.
The Palo Alto, Calif.-based company saw sales rise 12% to $1.28 billion in the quarter, with its Con-Way unit boosting sales 13% to $525.1 million. A company spokeswoman said that Con-Way’s performance was “helped by the September bankruptcy of Consolidated Freightways Corp.”
CNF is ranked No. 4 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.)
Durable Goods Orders Post Small Gain in December
The number of orders placed for durable goods during December rose 0.2% in December, the Commerce Department said Tuesday, disappointing economists that had expected a larger boost.Orders for durable goods, which include goods that are expected to last more than three years like manufacturing equipment, vehicles and appliances, totaled $170.1 billion during the final month of 2002. Orders fell a revised 1.3% in November, the report said.
Excluding transportation spending, durable goods orders rose 1.1% after posting two consecutive declines.
In a look at potential future business investment, orders for nondefense capital goods fell 0.1% in December, Commerce said. Transport Topics
Middle East Rhetoric Pushes Oil Prices Higher
Rumblings that Iraq could attack its southern neighbor Kuwait if the United States goes to war to disarm the country, Bloomberg reported. Such a move would further destabilize the region and possibly disrupt oil supplies from the region.The price of oil moved as much as 55 cents higher in early morning trading Tuesday on the New York Mercantile Exchange to $32.84 a barrel.
The price had relaxed a bit Monday after some cracks in the strike that has all but shut off oil exports from Venezuela gave traders hope of a coming settlement, Bloomberg reported.
Iraq’s Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz said that Iraq will likely attack Kuwait if the United States uses bases here for an assault, Bloomberg reported. Transport Topics
