News Briefs - May 20
The Latest Headlines:
- Economists Cut 2003 Growth Forecasts
- Postal Service Can Offer Discount to Businesses
- Old Dominion's Board Approves Stock Split
- Three More Arrested in Texas Truck Death Case
- N.C. Studying Charging Tolls on I-95
- Progress Reported on Oregon Transportation Bill
- DOT Denies Oregon Farm Rig Request
- Postal Service Can Offer Discount to Businesses
Economists Cut 2003 Growth Forecasts
Economists have cut their U.S. growth forecasts for the current quarter and the full year, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said Tuesday.The economists who took part in the Fed's quarterly Survey of Professional Forecasters said they expected gross domestic product to grow by 2.2% this year, down from their previous prediction of 2.5% three months ago.
Growth in the second quarter is now predicted at 1.8%, compared with the 2.7% forecast in the previous survey, the Fed said on its Web site.
For next year, economic growth is predicted at 3.6%. Transport Topics
Postal Service Can Offer Discount to Businesses
The U.S. Postal Service won approval from the Postal Rate Commission to offer discounts of as much as six cents a letter for the next three years on first-class deliveries for credit-card company Capital One Financial Corp., the country's heaviest user of first-class mail, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.This is the first time the service has offered reduced rates for just one customer, but officials have held talks with at least 10 others, the Journal said.
Previously, the post office's rate structure put it at a disadvantage when competing with private carriers like United Parcel Service, which could undercut advertised prices to win business. UPS did not oppose the discounts on first-class mail, but is expected to resist any proposed price breaks on package deliveries, according to the Journal. Transport Topics
Old Dominion's Board Approves Stock Split
Less-than-truckload carrier Old Dominion Freight Line Inc. said late Monday its board of directors had approved a three-for-two stock split.Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Earl Congdon said in a release that the split showed the board's confidence in the company's prospects for further growth.
Shareholders of record on June 4 will be issued a certificate representing one additional share of common stock for each two shares held. After the split, the company will have approximately 16 million shares outstanding.
Old Dominion is ranked No. 35 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.)
Three More Arrested in Texas Truck Death Case
Authorities have arrested three more people in a smuggling operation that packed dozens of illegal immigrants into a sweltering semi-trailer last week, killing 19 of them, the Associated Press reported Tuesday.All three suspects were charged with transporting, harboring and conspiring to transport illegal immigrants, according to AP.
Last week, a New York-based trucker was charged with transporting illegal immigrants after it was discovered abandoned inside a trailer at a Texas truck stop, AP said. The driver told authorities that after discovering the dead and dying immigrants, he unhitched the trailer and drove to Houston, according to court documents.
Authorities said they were still looking for at least two more people, AP reported. Transport Topics
N.C. Studying Charging Tolls on I-95
North Carolina is studying whether it can widen Interstate 95 to eight lanes by charging tolls, the Charlotte Observer reported Tuesday.Interstate 95 is the main north-south route along the East Coast. North Carolina officials said paving could cost as much as $2.5 billion, and no money has been budgeted for that work, the article said.
Most vehicles on the interstate pass through the state, making it a less controversial choice for tolls than other main highways, the Observer said.
Currently, federal law would not allow tolls on existing interstates, but the Federal Highway Administration is looking for three highway projects that could be part of a national study on toll roads, the article said. North Carolina could be one of those three pilot projects. Transport Topics
Progress Reported on Oregon Transportation Bill
The Oregon Legislature could begin hearings this week on a $2.8 billion transportation package after several issues involving trucking were resolved, the Associated Press reported Tuesday.Gov. Ted Kulongoski sought to double vehicle registration fees to $60 every two years, but legislators and truckers wanted smaller increases, AP said. The compromise features a $24 increase in vehicle registration fees, to $54 every two years, and a $20 increase in title fees, to $50.
There is also a package of miscellaneous auto- and truck-related fee increases still being finalized including an increase in the amount drivers pay for a special learner's permit.
The bill would likely include a massive bridge repair program with truckers paying a corresponding increase in their weight-mile tax, a formula that charges trucks for their use and wear on state highways and bridges, AP said.
A 1-cent increase in motor fuels may also be included, according to AP. Transport Topics
DOT Denies Oregon Farm Rig Request
The Department of Transportation said it has rejected for safety reasons a request from Oregon to exempt the state’s farm trucks from federal truck safety regulations.Since the exemption request was denied, Oregon state legislators must change state laws on farm trucks by Oct. 1 or face the loss of federal truck safety grants, which are budgeted for $2.5 million for the 12 months ending Sept. 30. Gregg Dal Ponte, deputy director of the Oregon DOT’s motor carrier division, said legislation to bring the state into compliance was pending in a House committee.
The problem arose after Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration officials found in a March 2000 review of Oregon’s truck safety program that state law exempted from safety regulations farmers’ trucks taking produce from the owners’ farms to market. FMCSA said the state had the authority to exempt intrastate farm truckers, but not interstate truckers. Jeff Johnson
This story appeared in the May 19 print edition of Transport Topics.
