News Briefs - March 14
- FMSCA Posts Mexican Truck Rules Online
- E.U., U.S. to Meet on Steel Tariffs
- Volvo CEO Says Savings Still 'On Track'
- Slow Music Safer, Study Suggests
- House Deal May Restore $4.4B to Highways
- Oil Supply Likely to Stay At Current Level
- Urban Roads in Poor Condition, Study Finds
- NBER Hints Recession Is Ending
- Volvo Purchases Compaction Unit from SuperPac
- Nakamura to Become President of Nissan Diesel
- World Bank Sees Stagnant Global Economy, Despite U.S. Economy
- E.U., U.S. to Meet on Steel Tariffs
FMSCA Posts Mexican Truck Rules Online
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration posted rules on the Internet Thursday that will clear the way for Mexican truck entry into the United States in June under the terms of the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement.The rules are scheduled to be published in the Federal Register March 19.
They state that Mexican carriers may operate in the U.S. as long as they have filed an application detailing their preparations to meet U.S. safety standards and pass a preliminary safety audit.
At least half of these safety audits, which are to be conducted by qualified inspectors, must take place in Mexico. In addition, all Mexican carriers granted provisional operating authority will undergo full safety compliance reviews during the 18-month provisional period.
For more information on this topic, see the March 18 print edition of Transport Topics
E.U., U.S. to Meet on Steel Tariffs
The European Union said Thursday that it was preparing to meet with negotiators from the United States next week about newly-imposed U.S. tariffs on steel and steel products, Reuters reported.Taxes on foreign steel could discourage imports, helping truckers who carry domestic steel, but hurting truckers who pick up steel at ports.
The E.U. is likely to ask the U.S. for compensation for the new tariffs, which could be as high as 30%, Reuters said. The new duties will take effect on March 20, with a meeting between to two sides scheduled for the day before.
The talks will be in Geneva, home of the World Trade Organization. The WTO will mediate the tariff dispute. Transport Topics
Click here for a related story.)
Volvo CEO Says Savings Still 'On Track'
Leif Johansson, chief executive officer of Volvo AB, said that his plan to save $338 million by integrating the company’s Renault SA and Mack Trucks Inc. units is “on track,” Bloomberg reported Thursday.The Volvo CEO made the comments as he predicted further declines in the industry, Bloomberg said.
The world’s No. 2 truck maker said that it has made some significant savings from working out deals with suppliers, and cutting its own administrative costs.
Volvo is just one of several truck manufacturers suffering from weakened demand because of soft economies in Europe and North America, Bloomberg said. Transport Topics
Slow Music Safer, Study Suggests
Drivers who listen to fast-tempo music are more than twice as likely to get into an accident than those who listen to slower music, a study in New Scientist magazine found.Reuters reported Thursday that Warren Brodsky of Ben-Gurion University in Israel came to this conclusion after studying the effects of music on the driving habits of 28 people, who listened to music while operating a simulated vehicle.
Brodsky said drivers were more distracted and more prone to taking risks when they listened to faster music.
Each person in the study drove around the virtual streets of Chicago while listening to different pieces of music. Although Brodsky doesn’t think this automatically translates into the same behavior on the road, he said it should be looked at closer, the magazine reported. Transport Topics
House Deal May Restore $4.4B to Highways
An agreement among three House committees would restore $4.4 billion in highway construction funds for fiscal 2003, the Bond Buyer reported Thursday.Highway construction is good for trucking in the long term, providing better roadways. In the short term, construction work can delay and detour trucking activities.
The Bush administration had proposed a cut of $8.5 billion in highway spending, but the House budget, appropriations and transportation committees agreed on a plan for separate legislation that would restore the $4.4 billion. Transport Topics
Oil Supply Likely to Stay at Current Level
Neither the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries nor a potential attack on the Middle Eastern country of Iraq is likely to have an effect on global oil supplies, Bloomberg reported.Prices for diesel fuel and gasoline used by the trucking industry fluctuate with the price of crude oil.
OPEC officials, preparing for their Friday meeting, indicated it was unlikely that they would roll back the production cuts put into place on Jan. 1, Bloomberg said. Cartel nations are looking to shore up their finances with oil receipts, which are bolstered by higher prices.
Some industry analysts have tried to allay fears that an attack on Iraq by the United States in its war on terrorism will not likely have an impact on the supply of oil from the Middle East, Bloomberg reported. Currently Iraq, exporting oil under United Nations' restrictions, supplies 3% of the world's oil. Transport Topics
Urban Roads in Poor Condition, Study Finds
A study by the Road Information Program found that almost 50% of roads in the nation's largest cities are uneven or cracked, and nearly 25% are in need of quick repairs, USA Today reported Thursday.Urban truck traffic increased by 48% during the past decade, TRIP said, and could grow by 90% during the next 20 years.
The transportation group rated Boston's major highways the worst in the U.S. and estimated that motorists that use urban areas frequently pay $358 a year in added expenses.
Of the 52 cities studied, only Atlanta and the Florida cities of Jacksonville, Orlando and West Palm Beach have 75% of their roads in good condition, the article said. Transport Topics
NBER Hints Recession Is Ending
The National Bureau of Economic Research, whose Business Cycle Dating Committee previously declared that the U.S. recession started in March 2001, said Wednesday that the downturn may be ending, the Wall Street Journal reported.The end of the recession can mean an increase in demand for trucking services.
Although the group did not declare the recession over, it did say that the improving employment situation is clear evidence the worst appeared to be over.
Responding to critics that are questioning if there was even a recession, the group said they have no doubt there was one, although it wasn't severe. Transport Topics
Volvo Purchases Compaction Unit from SuperPac
Volvo's construction equipment unit announced Thursday that it has acquired the compaction equipment assets of SuperPac Inc.The agreement includes the exclusive manufacturing and design rights for seven different soil compactors - but not for production facilities. Volvo CE will outsource the work to the company's Asheville, N.C. plant.
Initially, the compactors will be distributed under the SuperPac nameplate, but will eventually be sold as the brand Volvo. Transport Topics
(Click here for the full press release.)
Nakamura to Become President of Nissan Diesel
Nissan Motor Co. will name Iwao Nakamura as president of its truck making affiliate Nissan Diesel Motor Co. later this year, Bloomberg reported Thursday.Nakamura is currently a senior vice president at Nissan Motor. Renault SA owns 37% of Nissan Diesel.
Bloomberg said he will leave Nissan Motor on April 1 and become president after Nissan Diesel's shareholders' meeting. Transport Topics
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World Bank Sees Stagnant Global Economy, Despite U.S. Economy
Even the stirring of the world's largest economy can't pull the world out its economic funk, the World Bank told Bloomberg Wednesday.An economic recovery around the world would boost demand for trucking services as international trade increases.
The World Bank said that it sees the sharpest economic slowdown in more than 25 years to drag on, despite signs of a U.S. recovery, Bloomberg reported.
In its Global Development Finance report said that slower economies in industrial nations like Japan and in Europe are hurting commodity driven economies in the Third World leaving their economies stalled, Bloomberg reported. Transport Topics
