News Briefs - June 26
The Latest Headlines:
- Arizona Wildfires Close Highways
- OPEC Votes to Keep Quotas
- ATA Begins 2003 Road Team Selection
- Colorado Roads Withstand Wildfires
- Trucks May See Insurance Backlash Along Delaware River
- Missouri Tax Proposal Earmarked for Highways
- Visteon Expects Higher 2Q, Full-Year Earnings
- Florida Rains Make Travel Hazardous
- Delphi Boosts 2Q Forecast
- WorldCom to Cut 17,000 Jobs
- API Report Shows U.S. Crude Oil Stocks Lower
- OPEC Votes to Keep Quotas
Arizona Wildfires Close Highways
In addition to closing many roads in Arizona and leaving an undetermined amount of road damage, the largest wildfire in the state’s history have forced local residents into hotels, leaving no vacancies for truck drivers from the New Mexico border to Kingman, Ariz.Fires along the Mogollon Rim and the White Mountains have closed many roads between Phoenix and Springerville. Drivers are encouraged to use U.S. 60 to the junction with State Route (SR) 73, and then take SR 73 through Whiteriver to connect to SR 260 near Hon Dah, an Arizona Department of Transportation spokesperson told Transport Topics.
The DOT expects the road closures to continue changing at a moment’s notice, so drivers are encouraged to consult its Web site at http:/ /www.dot.state.az.us for the most current information.
OPEC Votes to Keep Quotas
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries said Wednesday it will leave crude oil output unchanged at 21.7 million barrels a day, Bloomberg reported.The price of crude oil directly affects the price of diesel fuel and gasoline.
Saudi Arabia's oil minister, Ali al-Naimi, told Bloomberg that the current price is reasonable and hopefully the cartel will increase its output later this year.
OPEC also confirmed Venezuelan oil minister Alvaro Silva as the group's new secretary-general, replacing countryman Ali Rodriguez in the role. Transport Topics
ATA Begins 2003 Road Team Selection
The American Trucking Associations began its search Tuesday for the 12 truck drivers who will serve as industry spokespeople, educators and advocates as the 2003 America's Road Team.The chosen members, called Road Team Captains, speak to driver education classes, schools, business groups, safety organizations, the news media, regulatory agencies, Congress and colleagues about the trucking industry and its message.
"Each year the members of America's Road Team perform a vital role in demonstrating the trucking industry's commitment to safety," said ATA President and Chief Executive Officer William Canary. "I would strongly urge ATA's motor carriers to nominate their best drivers for the honor of serving the entire trucking industry."
Nominations must come from ATA members, and drivers must be their full-time employees or owner-operators leased to members. Transport Topics
(Click here for the Truckline story.)
Colorado Roads Withstand Wildfires
An official from the Colorado Department of Transportation told Transport Topics Wednesday that both main highways and smaller county roads have been mostly unaffected by the devastating wildfires across the state.In central Colorado, state Highway 67 was previously damaged by the Hayman wildfire, the DOT said, and U.S. Highway 550 had been closed in both directions on Tuesday, but has since reopened.
The only remaining closures are county roads near evacuated areas. They will stay closed until residents are allowed back into their homes, the official said.
These fires tend not to harm highways because most forests are far from main roads. Transport Topics
Trucks May See Insurance Backlash Along Delaware River
Rising insurance costs since Sept. 11 may be passed on to truckers and the transportation industry, as the Delaware Port Authority, which oversees many of the major bridges, considers tripling premiums on bridges over the Delaware River near Philadelphia, the Associated Press reported.The bridge tolls would affect trucking companies traveling across the river between Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Jersey.
Pennsylvania officials are currently discussing how to handle the increases in insurance cost when and if they come, AP said.
Since Sept. 11, terrorism insurance costs generally have skyrocketed, especially for large high-rise buildings and other landmarks like stadiums and bridges, the story said. The Delaware bridges are privately owned, so they will be responsible for covering the rate hikes. Transport Topics
Missouri Tax Proposal Earmarked for Highways
The Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission has designated funds from a proposed sales and fuel tax increase to improve the condition of interstates and highways, including the addition of new lanes to busy state highways and the resurfacing of many roads, the Kansas City Star reported Wednesday.Voters will go the polls Aug. 6 to decide the issue.
Many of the first improvement efforts are around the Kansas City area, Interstate 29/35 and U.S. 71 interchange at Blue Ridge Boulevard. Also, a new Missouri River bridge will be added next to the Paseo Bridge and Missouri 150 will see two new lanes from U.S. 71 to Missouri 291, the story said.
The commissioners decided to center around major, high-visibility road projects like widening projects, new roads, major upgrades and the construction of new bridges, versus concentrating on the maintenance of existing roads, the Star said.
The proposed tax hikes would generate $438 million annually, $110 million of which would go to interstates, the Star reported. Transport Topics
Visteon Expects Higher 2Q, Full Year Earnings
Vehicle parts manufacturer Visteon Corp. announced Wednesday that it is raising its expected net income and cash flow outlook for the second quarter and full year.The company expects net income for the quarter to reach $70 million to $75 million and $50 million to $80 million for the full year, excluding special items taken in the first quarter.
Due to previously reported special items taken in the first quarter of 2002, over $300 million in restructuring charges and costs from changes in accounting, the company expects a full-year net loss of $259 million to $289 million.
earborn, Mich.-based Visteon, a spinoff of Ford Motor Co., expects to generate cash flow of $150 to $250 million in the second quarter. Transport Topics
(Click here for full press release.)
Florida Rains Make Travel Hazardous
Heavy rains in Broward and Miami-Dade counties covered southern Florida this morning and led to the issuance of a flash flood warning over Eastern Dade county until 9:15 a.m., the Miami Herald reported.Flood warnings have now been lifted according to the National Weather Service, but rains of a half-inch to three-quarters of an inch are expected to continue, making some roads potentially hazardous.
No highway damage or closures due to flooding have been reported. Transport Topics
Delphi Boosts 2Q Forecast
Auto parts manufacturer Delphi Corp. said Tuesday that it is raising its second-quarter forecast to between $210 million to $220 million in net income from about $200 million.Alan Dawes, executive vice president and chief financial officer, said "higher than expected non-GM sales growth and a slightly positive impact from foreign exchange is expected to raise revenue in the second quarter above previous expectations," which, along with the impact of cost-cutting measures, are the reasons Delphi is boosting its estimates.
The Troy, Mich.-based company also said that revenues would be higher, with new projections putting them at between $7.2 billion and $7.3 billion rather than at $7.1 billion. Transport Topics
(Click here for the full press release.)
WorldCom to Cut 17,000 Jobs
Troubled telecommunications giant WorldCom Inc. said Tuesday that in the fallout from the latest accounting debacle, it will be forced to cut 17,000 jobs.Job cuts undermine consumer confidence and can hurt spending. When spending declines, trucking companies feel the pinch because of reduced shipments.
The Clinton, Miss.-based firm said in a statement that its financial reports, originally prepared by Arthur Andersen LLP, were off by $3.8 billion – a figure that cancels out all of its profits since the first quarter of 2001.
As a result, the company is downsizing by selling off some core businesses and initiating a massive round of job cuts. WorldCom said that the cuts would begin Friday. Transport Topics
(Click here for the full press release.)
API Report Shows U.S. Crude Oil Stocks Lower
The latest report by the American Petroleum Institute said that U.S. crude oil reserves fell by 6.33 million barrels last week.The weekly analysis said that crude oil inventories in the United States dropped to 317.82 million barrels in the week ended June 21.
Fluctuations in oil supply often have an effect on the price of secondary fuels like diesel and gasoline - both of which are important to trucking. Transport Topics
