News Briefs - May 31
The Latest Headlines:
- Third of Tires Would Fail Proposed Tests, NHTSA Says
- Hunt to Offer 5.1M Shares at $26
- Weekly Rail Intermodal Loadings Rise 7.5% vs. Last Year
- FedEx Declares First Ever Dividend
- Crude Oil Price Rises 1% on OPEC Pledge
- Freightliner Recalls 30,000 Trucks
- Frozen Food Express Replaces Credit Plan
- TransForce to Buy Canpar Transport Ltd.
- Hunt to Offer 5.1M Shares at $26
Third of Tires Would Fail Proposed Tests, NHTSA Says
About one-third of passenger car and truck tires sold in the United States would fall short of proposed federal safety standards, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Thursday.While the study did not mention heavy-duty trucks, many trucking companies utilize light trucks, sport utility vehicles and vans in their businesses. About 33% of these types of vehicles and 27% of cars were found to have at least one “severely underinflated tire, the report said.
Underinflated tires can lead to blowouts and crashes.
Hunt to Offer 5.1M Shares at $26
A public offering of 5.1 million shares of common stock in J.B. Hunt Transport Services was priced Friday at $26 per share.The trucking company’s press release said 2 million shares are being offered by J.B. Hunt and 3.1 million by the selling stockholder. In addition, the underwriters have the option to purchase up to 765,000 additional shares to cover over-allotments.
The company said the proceeds are intended to be used to reduce debt and fund capital expenditures. Transport Topics
(Click here for the full press release.)
Weekly Rail Intermodal Loadings Rise 7.5% vs. Last Year
Intermodal loadings on the nation's railroads in the week ended May 25 were up 7.5% from the corresponding week in 2001, marking the seventh consecutive week of significant increases, the Association of American Railroads reported Thursday.Intermodal is the segment of the railroad business most directly competitive with long-haul trucking.
Trailers and containers loaded during the week totaled 183,028, compared with 170,182 in the previous year. Trailer loadings lagged 3.3% behind the preceding year, while containers topped last year's loadings by 12.2%.
For the first 21 weeks of the year, loadings totaled 3,630,997, which was 3% above the 3,525,336 loaded in 2001. Transport Topics
FedEx Declares First Ever Dividend
FedEx Corp. will pay the first dividend in the history of the company on July 8, the company's board of directors announced Friday.The dividend, 5 cents a share, will go to shareholders of record at the close of business on June 17, 2002.
The Board also authorized the repurchase of up to 5 million shares of the company's common stock.
Based in Memphis, Tenn., FedEx Corp. came into existence in January 1998 when Federal Express acquired Caliber System, Inc. The transaction brought into the company RPS (small package ground service), Roberts Express (expedited service), Viking Freight (LTL carrier), Caliber Logistics and Caliber Technology (integrated logistics and technology solutions.
FedEx is ranked No. 2, in the Transport Topics list of the 100 largest trucking companies in the U.S. Transport Topics
(Click here for the press release.)
Crude Oil Price Rises 1% on OPEC Pledge
Crude oil prices rose 1% Thursday on a promise by the three major producers that they will oppose lifting production in the second quarter, Bloomberg reported.Oil prices are eventually reflected in the prices of diesel fuel and gasoline, used in great quantities by trucks.
Saudi Arabia, Iran and Venezuela have agreed to maintain the lowest output quotas in a decade, Bloomberg said, encuoraging buyers to purchase at a six-week low level. All are members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.
The price of oil has been declining as a result of Russia's announcement that it would increase production in the third quarter, along with a cooling-off of Israeli-Palestinian violence, Bloomberg said. Also cited was restraint by India and Pakistan in their conflict over Kashmir.
In the U.S., oil for July delivery rose 26 cents to $24.93 a barrel in electronic trading on New York Mercantile Exchange. Transport Topics
Freightliner Recalls 30,000 Trucks
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Freightliner LLC issued a recall Thursday for 30,000 trucks bearing the Freightliner name and its related nameplates."On certain trucks, a capacitor in the power line carrier filter could overheat and/or ignite when subjected to reverse polarity electrical spikes," the recall release said.
The models in question are the 2001 editions of the Freightliner FLD, Freightliner Century, Sterling Acterra and Western Star 4900, 5900 and 6900.
The NHTSA said that dealers will disconnect and ground the power line carrier and that Freightliner began notification of owners this month.
Freightliner is a division of DaimlerChrysler AG's commercial vehicles unit. Transport Topics
Frozen Food Express Replaces Credit Plan
Refrigerated trucking company Frozen Food Express said Thursday that it has agreed upon a new, three-year, $40 million revolving credit facility replacing a $33.3 million facility which had been set to expire June 1.Borrowings under the new agreement are secured by the Dallas-based company's accounts receivable. The company also has the option of providing the banks with liens on a portion of its truck and trailer fleet to cover borrowings and letters of credit in excess of the amount that can be borrowed against accounts receivable.
The new agreement is led by Comerica Bank-Texas as administrative agent, La Salle Bank, N.A. Chicago, will act as the collateral agent. Transport Topics
(Click here for the press release.)
TransForce to Buy Canpar Transport Ltd.
Canadian trucking company TransForce Inc. said late Thursday that it has agreed to buy Canpar Transport Ltd., a parcel delivery service.The company also released its fiscal fourth quarter and 2001 year end results Thursday, showing year-over-year gains in both. For the quarter ended April 27, TransForce said its net income rose 260% to 5 million ($4.6 million U.S.) from 1.4 million ($1.3 million U.S.) during the same quarter in 2000. The company's earnings per share more than doubled during the most recent fiscal quarter.
For the full fiscal year, the company's net income increased from $11.6 million to $16.4 million, resulting in an increase in TransForce's earnings from 30 cents to 38 cents (U.S.), the company said.
In an unrelated move, the company said it was buying Canpar for an undisclosed sum. The ground shipping and parcel delivery service was founded in 1976 as a division of Canadian Pacific Trucks. Canpar will retain its name and operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of TransForce.
TransForce operates several subsidiaries in several trucking sectors, including less-than-truckload, truckload, specialized transport and logistical services. Transport Topics
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