News Briefs - March 28
The Latest Headlines:
- Gasoline Inventories Continue Decline, Raising Supply Questions
- Higher Fuel Costs to Trim Profits, Swift Says
- Air Cargo Totals Rise 4.4% in February
- ArvinMeritor Wins Appeal in Eaton Patent Case
- Crude Oil Prices Continue Rise
- News Poll Says Consumer Confidence Down
- Higher Fuel Costs to Trim Profits, Swift Says
Gasoline Inventories Continue Decline, Raising Supply Questions
Stockpiles of gasoline are reaching critically low levels, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday.The Journal citing government inventory reports and analysts said that depleted gasoline inventories are not being replenished fast enough, and that could lead to shortages during the peak summer driving season.
If there are shortages, analysts told the Journal that the risk of price spikes, particularly in urban areas.
Higher Fuel Costs to Trim Profits, Swift Says
Swift Transportation Co. said Thursday that higher fuel costs during the first quarter has force it to lower its estimates for profits during the first part of 2003.Swift said that it expects to earn between 7 and 11 cents a share during the quarter ending on March 31. Bloomberg reported that the analysts had expected Swift to earn 15 cents a share.
The Phoenix-based truckload carrier said that higher fuel prices, increasing operating costs and the impact of several winter storms will deduct about 8 cents a share from Swift’s profits during the quarter.
Swift is ranked No. 13 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.)
Air Cargo Totals Rise 4.4% in February
The amount of airfreight hauled by America’s airlines rose 4.4% in February, according to a report by the Air Transport Association.The group, which represents commercial passenger and cargo airlines, said that freight and express traffic was up 5.5% in February versus the same month in 2002. During the month, airlines hauled freight 1.65 billion revenue-ton-miles.
Mail traffic, however, declined 8% during February to 100.3 million revenue-ton-miles, the association reported.
Overall, air carriers hauled 1.75 billion revenue-ton-miles of cargo during February, the report said. Transport Topics
ArvinMeritor Wins Appeal in Eaton Patent Case
A U.S. appeals court overturned a $2.9 million judgement against ArvinMeritor Inc. in a patent case with Eaton Corp., Bloomberg reported.The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit dismissed not only the patent infringement penalty against ArvinMeritor and lifted a court order that blocked the company from selling its “Engine Synchro Shift” automation system, Bloomberg said.
The dispute centers on transmissions that would make it easier for truck drivers to shift, Bloomberg said. Eaton had charged that ArvinMeritor’s system too closely mirrored its own.
Though the jury award was thrown out, the court did uphold Eaton’s patent, Bloomberg reported. Transport Topics
Crude Oil Prices Continue Rise
The price of crude oil continued to rise on persistent fears about oil supplies, Bloomberg reported Friday.After closing above $30 in trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the price of oil for May delivery rose another 24 cents in electronic trading on the Nymex to $30.61 a barrel, Bloomberg said.
The war in Iraq and a general strike in Nigeria have cut nearly 6% of the world’s oil production out of the market, Bloomberg said.
Many analysts believe that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, despite its pledges to the contrary, will be unable to fill the void, Bloomberg reported. Transport Topics
News Poll Says Consumer Confidence Down
ABC News and Money magazine said that their consumer comfort index fell 2 points to negative 28 in the week ended March 23, its lowest level since December 1993.The index is compiled after a survey of 1,005 American consumers, the two groups said.
Monthly consumer confidence figures compiled and released by the Conference Board and the University of Michigan also have shown declines recently. Transport Topics
