News Briefs - Nov. 19
The Latest Headlines:
- Port Truckers Seek Review of Truck Delays in New York and New Jersey
- Delaware River Toll Commission to Start Toll Increase Soon
- DOT Hands Out $98.9 Million for Emergency Infrastructure Repairs
- DOT Announces Tire-Labeling Rule
- MAN AG Posts 3Q Profit
- Delaware River Toll Commission to Start Toll Increase Soon
Port Truckers Seek Review of Truck Delays in New York and New Jersey
The Associaton of Bi-State Motor Carriers Inc. said Monday that it has petition the Federal Maritime Commission to investigate what it calls “egregious unreasonable practices” by certain New York Terminal Conference members.The petition is looking for a review of truck delays at three terminals, as well as some rates, tariffs, charges and other rules, the association said.
"This action has been a long time coming," President Jeffrey Alan Bader said in a release. "It negatively impacts our area in many ways. Goods get to market late and trucks waiting in line cause additional pollution factors."
The petition asked the FMC to look at terminal activities at the ports of Newark and Elizabeth, N.J. Transport Topics
(Click here for the full press release.)
Delaware River Toll Commission to Start Toll Increase Soon
The Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission voted Monday to raise tolls for five-axle trucks by 280% effective Nov. 30, the Express-Times of Easton, Pa., reported.The tolls on several bridges will eventually go up by 400%, but not until January 2004, the paper said.
The Express-Times said that some trucking companies are very upset with the toll hike, and according to a Roadway Express spokesman some may file suit to stop the commission.
Currently, trucks crossing the Delaware River over Interstate 78, Route 22, I-80, Route 46 and over the Millford-Montague bridge pay $4 in tolls. But after 11 p.m. Nov. 30, that same crossing will cost $11.25 and after January 2004, will jump to $16.25 per trip, the paper reported.
A spokeswoman for the commission said that the phasing-in of increases is an effort to soften the blow to the trucking industry, the Express-Times reported, but truckers still say the tolls are being set too high. Transport Topics
DOT Hands Out $98.9 Million for Emergency Infrastructure Repairs
Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta said Friday that the Department of Transportation is handing out nearly $100 million in emergency relief to rebuild infrastructure in 23 states, and several U.S. territories, after natural disasters over the past two years.Among the headline numbers, Alaska will be receiving $2 million in federal aid to rebuild roads after a Nov. 3 earthquake.
The other big winners include Oklahoma, which will get more than $16.5 million for repairs to the Interstate 40 bridge that was destroyed in May and clean up from an ice storm in January 2001; and Texas, which will get a grand total of $14.3 million for four different projects.
“Helping states after an emergency is an important responsibility of the federal government,” Mineta said. “By restoring damaged roadways, we can help local communities to fully recover form natural disasters, and that’s why we’re doing what we can to help these states and territories complete the restoration process.” Transport Topics
DOT Announces Tire-Labeling Rule
The Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced new rules for tire labeling aimed at increasing consumer knowledge and making tires more easily identifiable in case of a safety recall.The new labeling will include the prominent display of the tire identification number, or TIN, on both sides of a tire in a typeface that is at least one-quarter inch high. Passenger vehicles must install a placard with information on tire inflation on the post next to the driver’s side tire, and automakers must provide further inflation information in their owner’s manuals.
The rule comes as part of the Transportation Recall Enhancement Accountability and Documentation (TREAD) Act of 2000, the DOT said.
To keep in compliance with the law, all vehicles manufactured after Sept. 1, 2003 will need to have the additional information. For tires, the rules will be phased in over a period of four years, with all tires needing their new markings by Sept. 1, 2006. Transport Topics
MAN AG Posts 3Q Profit
German truck maker MAN AG said that despite posting a profit in the third quarter, it is cutting its forecast for the full year, Bloomberg reported Tuesday.The company said that for the quarter it had a net income of $26.3 million or 17 cents a share – a strong improvement from the $59.7 million or 35-cent-a-share loss it posted in the same quarter last year.
The Munich-based company said that slow sales of trucks, as well as some of its other manufactured goods like buses and printing presses, have hurt the company’s bottom line and as a result, the company has reduced its outlook for 2002.
The company said that for 2002, it now expects earnings to match last year's result of $216 million, Bloomberg reported.
For 2003, however, MAN says it expects to see a "strong improvement" in 2003 as a result of cost and job cuts and higher prices for trucks, Bloomberg said. Transport Topics
