News Briefs - May 6
The Latest Headlines:
- Bush to Nominate Bernanke, Kohn to Fed Board
- Fluke Snow Storm Cripples North Dakota
- Price of Crude Falls as Iraq Resumes Shipment
- Knight Latest to Drop Arthur Andersen
- Weak Job Growth May Delay Fed Rate Cut
- Truck Makers Reported Feeling Insurance Pinch, Too
- Gasoline Price Steady, Lundberg Says
- Border Auditors Class Graduates
- Daimler, Hyundai, Mitsubishi Form Engine Venture
- Fluke Snow Storm Cripples North Dakota
Bush to Nominate Bernanke, Kohn to Fed Board
Ben Bernanke, a Princeton University economist, and Donald Kohn, a senior staff member of the Federal Reserve, will be nominated this week by President Bush to fill vacancies on the Fed Board of Governors, Bloomberg reported Monday.The two open seats on the Fed board were created by the departures of Laurence Meyer and Edward Kelley, who resigned effective Dec. 31. Fed governors all serve as voting members of the Federal Open Market Committee, which sets interest rate policy.
Both positions require Senate confirmation. Transport Topics
Fluke Snow Storm Cripples North Dakota
More than six inches of snow blanketed parts of western and central North Dakota Monday making travel treacherous throughout the state, the Associated Press reported.Interstate 94, a major route from the upper Midwest to the Pacific Northwest, runs through the affected area.
Weather officials said that more snow was possible through Wednesday, the AP reported. Transport Topics
Price of Crude Falls as Iraq Resumes Shipments
The price of crude oil fell as much as $1 in New York on Monday after Iraq said it will resume exports after a month-long embargo, Bloomberg reported.Crude oil is distilled into diesel fuel and gasoline, making the price of crude important to the trucking industry.
The Iraqi News Agency said shipments will begin again at midnight. Iraq was the fifth-biggest source of U.S. oil imports in February, according to the American Petroleum Institute.
Crude oil for June delivery dropped to $25.62 a barrel, the biggest one-day decline since April 12. Prices were down 10% from a year ago. Transport Topics
Knight Latest to Drop Arthur Andersen
Phoenix-based truckload carrier Knight Transportation Inc. said late Friday that it is replacing embattled accountants Arthur Andersen LLP with KPMG LLP as its primary auditor, a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission showed.Since its role in the collapse of Enron has become public, many companies, including some trucking companies, have dropped Arthur Andersen as their financial auditor.
The filing said that the decision was based the company's evaluation of the cost of audit services and was not connected to any disagreement or discrepancy related to Arthur Andersen's last audit of the company.
Knight Transportation is ranked No. 67 on the 2000-2001 Transport Topics 100 list of the largest trucking companies in the United States. Transport Topics
Weak Job Growth May Delay Fed Rate Cut
With the Federal Reserve’s policy-making committee scheduled to meet Tuesday, most analysts believe that weak labor market figures will cause the Fed to keep interest rates steady until August, Bloomberg reported.The Fed uses interest rates as a way to manipulate spending and investment. When interest rates are low, it is hoped that companies and individuals will take advantage and finance large purchases, thus stimulating the economy. A robust economy and increased spending is good for trucking, which relies on spending and product shipments for much of its business.
Analysts believe uninspired growth in the job market is leading the economy through a fragile rebound, and the Fed will not raise rates yet, for fear of stalling the rebound, Bloomberg reported. Transport Topics
Truck Makers Reported Feeling Insurance Pinch, Too
The difficulties that some trucking companies have had getting insurance since Sept. 11 have been well documented, but now the Toledo (Ohio) Blade reports that now some truck manufacturers are feeling the pinch as well.The Blade article focused specifically on the propane truck manufacturing sector, reporting that several makers of trucks and trailers that haul the fuel were finding it difficult to get insurance coverage.
Many insurance companies have been skittish to insure some sectors of the trucking industry because of the potential liability if a truck were to be used in a terrorist attack.
Insurance companies are having a difficult time finding re-insurance firms to back their policies, making it tougher for trucking companies to find insurance, the paper said. Transport Topics
Gasoline Price Steady, Lundberg Says
The price of gasoline is holding steady or falling in service stations surveyed by analyst Trilby Lundberg, Reuters reported.Lundberg told Reuters that supplies of both crude oil and gasoline are sufficient to meet demand right now. Pump prices have fallen nearly one cent in a month despite supply disruptions from Iraq and Venezuela.
The survey showed the national average for regular unleaded gasoline on May 3 was about $1.421 a gallon, which is 30 cents below last year's level.
The survey found the highest gasoline prices in San Francisco at $1.635 a gallon, while the lowest were seen in Atlanta at $1.227 a gallon, according to the survey. Transport Topics
Border Auditors Class Graduates
The first class in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's border auditors course, created under the Transportation and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, graduated Friday.Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta congratulated the graduates, emphasizing the role they are expected to play in ensuring that Mexico-domiciled commercial vehicles operate safely in the U.S. when the cross-border truck and bus provisions of the North American Free Trade Agreement are implemented.
The FMCSA issued rules in March that will govern how Mexico-domiciled carriers can apply for operating authority and procedures to ensure the safety of Mexican commercial vehicles and drivers operating in the U.S. Transport Topics
(Click here for the press release.)
Daimler, Hyundai, Mitsubishi Form Engine Venture
DaimlerChrysler AG, Hyundai Motor Co. and Mitsubishi Motors Corp. said Sunday they are forming a joint venture to develop and produce engines.Each company will own a third of the U.S.-based joint-venture company Global Engine Alliance LLC. They will start by developing four-cylinder gasoline engines to be used in future generations of vehicles for all three companies.
Daimler owns 10.5% of Hyundai and 37% of Mitsubishi.
In other news, Daimler's plans to work with Caterpillar Inc. to make engine have been scrapped, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday. The venture would have included development, manufacturing and marketing of medium-duty engines. Transport Topics
(Click here for the full press release.)
