News Briefs - Nov. 11
The Latest Headlines:
- Alaska to Get Federal Aid for Quake-Damaged Roads
- Cargo Backlog Easing on West Coast
- FedEx Freight Names New Presidents
- Oil Prices Rise on Fears UN Resolution May Hasten War
- Tornadoes Tear Through U.S.
- Gas Prices Steady Nationwide
- Cargo Backlog Easing on West Coast
Alaska to Get Federal Aid for Quake-Damaged Roads
Alaska will receive millions of dollars in federal disaster aid to hasten the recovery from the powerful earthquake it suffered Nov. 3, the Associated Press reported.President Bush authorized the Federal Emergency Management Agency said Nov. 8. Gov. Tony Knowles said last week that he was seeking $25 million to repair damaged highways over a huge area of central Alaska, AP reported.
Knowles said that more than 15 cities, counties and boroughs are currently included in the disaster area, but that more could be added and request assistance later on, AP reported. Transport Topics
Cargo Backlog Easing on West Coast
Nearly a month after a lockout closed 29 ports along the West Coast, the turnaround time for a container ship has returned to normal, the Associated Press reported Monday.The lockout of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union by the Pacific Maritime Association lasted 10 days and disrupted supply chains all along the coast.
During the closure, nearly 200 ships were stranded along the coast, a number that experts expected would take about six weeks to clear, AP said.
The two sides are currently working under a government-enforced cooling-off period, and have been ordered back to the bargaining table later this week after a seven-day break, AP said. Transport Topics
FedEx Freight Names New Presidents
FedEx Freight Corp. said Monday that it has named new presidents to its FedEx Freight East and West divisions.Patrick L. Reed has been promoted to president of FedEx Freight East from his previous position as vice president and chief operating officer of the company. He is replacing Thomas R. Garrision, who is retiring.
Keith Lovertro, currently a senior vice president of FedEx Freight West, has been named president of the company, replacing the retiring Tilton G. Gore.
FedEx Freight Corp. is composed of two operating companies – FedEx Freight East and West – with each providing regional less-than-truckload next-day and second-day delivery services.
Parent company FedEx Corp. is ranked No. 2 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.)
Oil Prices Rise on Fears UN Resolution May Hasten War
The price of crude oil posted its largest gain in seven weeks after U.S. officials made statements expressing doubt that Iraq would comply with a recently passed United Nations’ resolution calling for unfettered access for weapons inspections in the country, Bloomberg reported.Crude oil is distilled down to motor fuels like diesel fuel and gasoline – both of which are important to trucking.
The spike added 49 cents or 1.9% to the price of crude oil in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, leaving the price at $26.18 a barrel, Bloomberg reported. Transport Topics
Tornadoes Tear Through U.S.
A wide band of powerful thunderstorms ripped through the southern United States and Midwest, spawning tornadoes that killed as least 33 and left nearly 45 people missing, the Associated Press reported.The storms, that cut a swath from Alabama and Mississippi through to Pennsylvania, Ohio and the Central Atlantic region, dumped heavy rain and brought strong winds overnight Sunday and into early Monday morning, knocking out power and tearing down utility lines and trees throughout the area.
Officials said that 16 people had been reported killed in Tennessee and the death toll had risen to 10 in Alabama – where the storms were strongest. Nearly 45 people were still listed as missing in the small town of Mossy Grove, Tenn., located southeast of Nashville on Interstate 24.
The storms brought winds of nearly 140 mph, golf-ball-sized hail and torrential rains throughout the region, AP said. Weather officials said that unusually high fall temperatures followed by a strong cold front spawned the storms. Transport Topics
Gas Prices Steady Nationwide
The price of gasoline held steady over the past two weeks, an industry analyst reported Sunday.According to Trilby Lundberg, plentiful supplies and declining crude oil costs pushed the national average price of gasoline up less than a penny over the last two weeks to $1.49 a gallon, the Associated Press said.
The price of gasoline, though not the fuel of the majority of over-the-road trucking, is still important to the industry.
Lundberg did note that California had a sizable price increase over the past two weeks, as oil prices rose 8 cents a gallon to $1.56. The Automotive Club of Southern California said that the hike was due to worries over a possible war with Iraq and fears that supplies of oil may be interrupted after the Nov. 3 earthquake in central Alaska. Transport Topics
