News Briefs - Nov. 12
The Latest Headlines:
- Webster Quits As Top Accounting Watchdog
- Sysco to Purchase Asian Foods Inc.
- Intermodal Chassis Maker Interpool Ups Dividend
- Government, Manufacturers to Give Details on Truck Partnership
- Truckers Suing Canadian Government Over Meal Money
- RSPA Changes Rule After ATA Objection
- Wyoming Sets Up Snow Sails Along Highway
- OPEC Overproduces Again, Easing Supply Fears
- Sysco to Purchase Asian Foods Inc.
Webster Quits As Top Accounting Watchdog
Former FBI Director William Webster resigned as the head of a special accounting oversight board, the Associated Press reported Tuesday.Webster, whose appointment was pushed by Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Harvey Pitt, said that if he were to stay on, he would just be a distraction to the group and prevent it from restoring public confidence in corporate accounting, AP reported.
Pitt had already turned in his own resignation after weeks of intense criticism of several decisions he made, including his handling of Webster’s appointment, AP said. He remains for a transition period, but the agency's chief accountant this week resigned effective immediately.
Any accounting oversight rules would have an effect on all publicly traded corporations, including trucking firms.
I>Transport Topics
Sysco to Purchase Asian Foods Inc.
Sysco Corp. said Tuesday that it has reached a definitive agreement to acquire Asian Foods Inc, the largest Asian food- service distributor in North America.Asian Foods, which operates 42 delivery vehicles in 14 states, had sales of more than $100 million for the 12 months ended Oct. 31.
"This is a very strategic acquisition that provides an excellent opportunity for SYSCO to enter into a niche customer base,” Charles H. Cotros, Sysco’s chief executive officer, said.
Sysco is ranked No. 3 on the 2002 Transport Topics 100 listing of private trucking companies in the United States and Canada. The Houston-based company runs 952 trucks and 3,237 tractors and had sales of $21.8 billion in 2001. Transport Topics
(Click here for the full press release.)
Intermodal Chassis Maker Interpool Ups Dividend
Interpool Inc., a leading manufacturer of shipping containers and chassis for intermodal container transport, said it will pay a cash dividend of 62.5 cents a share for the fourth quarter this year.The dividend will be paid out on Jan. 15 to shareholders of record on Jan. 2, totaling an aggregate of $1.7 million, the company said.
The company said it previously had set its dividend rate at 25 cents per share.
"Our policy is to increase our dividend on an annual basis and we are pleased to announce that this is our third increase in the cash dividend since we instituted this policy in March 2001,” said Chief Executive Officer Martin Tuchman. Transport Topics
(Click here for the full press release.)
Government, Manufacturers to Give Details on Truck Partnership
The U.S. government and vehicle manufacturers are expected to release the details of their plan to develop more fuel-efficient commercial vehicles at a conference Tuesday, the Detroit News reported.The initiative, called the “New Vision for the 21st Century Truck Partnership,” is a holdover program from the Clinton administration that includes 16 companies and the federal government, the paper said.
The program will focus on ways to reduce engine idling, reduce energy loss from drag and improve the safety of heavy-duty trucks, the paper reported.
The paper said that Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham will also focus on expanding the use of hydrogen to power vehicles as a substitute for fossil fuels like gasoline and diesel fuel. Transport Topics
Truckers Suing Canadian Government Over Meal Money
More than 1,000 Canadian long-haul truckers are suing the Canadian government over what they deem to be insufficient deductions for meals, the Canadian Press reported Monday.The suit alleges that with extended hours of service and other rule changes since Sept. 11, 2001, the current level of meal deductions – about $10.50 – is not enough, CP reported.
By contrast, the truckers say, government employees get to deduct about $39 for meals each day, CP reported.
The lawyer handling the case, Tom Johnston of British Columbia, said that he has signed 1,047 drivers up for the class-action suit. Transport Topics
RSPA Changes Rule After ATA Objection
The Department of Transportation's Research and Special Programs Administration changed a proposed rule that would have required each person who offers to or does transport hazardous material to retain a copy of the shipping paper for 375 days, to be "immediately available" to inspectors.American Trucking Associations had objected that the requirement was unreasonable. RSPA removed the word "immediately" from the rule and substituted "at reasonable times and locations."
The Truckload Carriers Association, the Dangerous Goods Advisory Council, the National Propane Gas Association and the International Vessel Operators Hazardous Materials Association also objected to the original phrasing.
IVOHMA got RSPA to change the final rule to reflect that a shipping paper prepared under the International Maritime Organization's Dangerous Goods Code could be used, if modified, for further transport within the United States.
RSPA agreed with both changes in its announcement of the rule on Nov. 1. John Wislocki
For the full story, see the Nov. 11 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.
Wyoming Sets Up Snow Sails Along Highway
The Wyoming Department of Transportation set up 50 snow sails in an infamous avalanche chute above U.S. 89/191 south of Jackson, the Associated Press reported.The 10-by-8-foot sails are mounted on 14-foot-high aluminum booms and are designed to prevent snow from piling up and becoming unstable – thus reducing the risk of avalanche, AP said.
Avalanches in the area, mostly the result of heavy snowfalls, have been known to blow vehicles off the road, AP said.
The sails have been used extensively in Europe, but this installation marks the first wide-scale test in the United States. Transport Topics
OPEC Overproduces Again, Easing Supply Fears
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries pumped more crude oil than its self-imposed quota, and other countries followed suit, increasing overall world oil production by 2% in October, the International Energy Agency said Tuesday.The news eased fears of a seasonal oil shortage as the Northern Hemisphere moves into the colder winter months. Oil supplies tend to move the price of oil and refined products like diesel fuel and gasoline.
The IEA said that worldwide oil production rose to 78.3 million barrels per day – up 1.51 million barrels from the same period last year.
The IEA said that it expects oil consumption to rise more than it had previously projected in the fourth quarter. Now the watchdog group says the world will consume 1.7 more barrels a day – 200,000 more than its previous projection. Transport Topics
