News Briefs - May 14
The Latest Headlines:
- Trailer Bridge’s 1Q Loss Grows
- Ryder to Provide Vehicle Maintenance for AWI
- CAW Approves Deal to Save Navistar Plant
- Velocity’s Fiscal 3Q Loss Widens
- AAA: Gasoline Price Down 10.5 Cents Since Mid-April
- USF Reddaway Opens New Terminal Near Denver
- First Fleet President Retires
- Ryder to Provide Vehicle Maintenance for AWI
Trailer Bridge’s 1Q Loss Grows
Trailer Bridge Inc., which provides trucking and marine freight services, said Wednesday its net loss for the first quarter was $2.5 million or 31 cents per share, compared with a loss of $1.3 million or 13 cents per share a year ago.The Jacksonville, Fla.-based company said revenue increased 8.6% to $19 million. Trailer Bridge said higher fuel prices were a main factor in the higher net loss.
However, the company noted it had experienced a significant increase in volume since early March, so it expected to report a profit for the second quarter. Transport Topics
Ryder to Provide Vehicle Maintenance for AWI
Ryder System Inc. said Wednesday it had been awarded a multi-year maintenance contract with Associated Wholesalers Inc.Ryder said in a release it would provide vehicle maintenance services for AWI's fleet of nearly 300 tractors, trailers and vans at the company's facility in Robesonia, Pa. AWI is a wholesale food distributor serving about 250 supermarkets in the northeastern United States.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Miami-based Ryder is ranked No. 3 on the 2002 Transport Topics 100 list of the largest U.S. and Canadian trucking companies. Transport Topics
(Click here for the full press release.)
CAW Approves Deal to Save Navistar Plant
Members of the Canadian Auto Workers who work at Navistar International Corp.’s heavy-duty truck factory in Chatham, Ontario, approved a deal to save the plant.The CAW said in a release Tuesday that more than 90% of the members of Local 127 and Local 35 voted in favor of the agreement reached last weekend. (Click here for the full story.)
The deal also needs support from the federal and provincial governments. The factory was scheduled to close in July. Transport Topics
Velocity’s Fiscal 3Q Loss Widens
Velocity Express Corp. said Wednesday its fiscal third-quarter net loss was $1.9 million or 53 cents per share, compared with a loss of $200,000 or 5 cents a year ago.The Minneapolis-based package delivery and logistics firm said revenue for the quarter ended March 29 was $76.3 million, down 6.4% from 2002.
Velocity also said in its release it has begun renewing its credit facility and it “is confident the new facility will be in place by the first quarter of 2004.”
Velocity is ranked No. 60 on the 2002 Transport Topics 100 list of the largest U.S. and Canadian trucking companies. Transport Topics
(Click here for the full press release.)
AAA: Gasoline Price Down 10.5 Cents Since Mid-April
AAA said late Tuesday that the nationwide average price of self-serve regular gasoline has dropped 10.5 cents per gallon over the past month to $1.497 per gallon, the lowest price since the end of January.About one-third of commercial trucking uses gasoline.
In mid-March -- just prior to the war in Iraq -- the nationwide average price reached a record high of $1.722, according to AAA's fuel gauge report. Since then, the average price has dropped 22.5 cents per gallon.
AAA said the drop in gasoline prices reflects a decline in the price of crude oil. Transport Topics
(Click here for the full press release.)
USF Reddaway Opens New Terminal Near Denver
Less-than-truckload carrier USF Reddaway Inc., a subsidiary of USF Corp., said Tuesday it had opened a new terminal in Henderson, Colo., near Denver.The facility features 80 doors, a six-bay shop, and 5,200 square feet of office space, the company said in a release.
USF Reddaway Inc. is based in Clackamas, Ore.
USF, formerly USFreightways, is ranked No. 8 on the 2002 Transport Topics 100 list of the largest U.S. and Canadian trucking companies. Transport Topics
(Click here for the full press release.)
First Fleet President Retires
First Fleet Corp., which provides asset management and financial support to trucking and other transportation companies, said May 2 that its president, Mark A. Paul, 56, had chosen early retirement to focus on personal interests.First Fleet Chairman and Chief Executive Officer John J. Flynn was to assume the post on an interim basis until a permanent replacement is found, the Fort Lauderdale, Fla., company announced.
First Fleet said it owns or manages more than 10,000 trucks, tractors and trailers. Transport Topics
This story appeared in the May 12 print edition of Transport Topics.
