News Briefs - Nov. 21
The Latest Headlines:
- Philly-Area Manufacturing Up, Fed Says
- N.J. Turnpike Approves Contract for High-Speed E-ZPass
- FedEx Freight Launches European Service
- Initial Jobless Claims Drop 25,000
- U.S. Threat to Iraq Pushes Oil Prices Higher
- N.J. Turnpike Approves Contract for High-Speed E-ZPass
Philly-Area Manufacturing Up, Fed Says
Manufacturing in the Mid-Atlantic region rose in November, giving economists hope that the economic recovery could be getting back on track, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said Thursday.The Philly Fed’s index of business conditions, which measures manufacturing in the region, jumped to 6.1 from a –13.1 in October.
Manufacturing is an important customer of trucking, and the Philly Fed index is a good indication of how manufacturing is doing nationwide.
The Philly Fed’s survey covers Delaware, eastern Pennslyvania and southern New Jersey. Transport Topics
N.J. Turnpike Approves Contract for High-Speed E-ZPass
The New Jersey Turnpike Authority approved a $4.5 million contract to design high-speed E-Zpass lanes at six highways interchanges in the state, the Associated Press reported.Kansas City, Mo.-based transportation consultant HNTB, won the contract, which is the first step in a $45 million project announced last month. The company also has an office in Wayne, N.J.
It is hoped that the new technology will allow cars to travel through E-ZPass lanes without slowing down; currently vehicles must slow to well below normal highway traveling speed to activate the automated toll-collecting equipment. Transport Topics
FedEx Freight Launches European Service
FedEx Freight, the regional less-than-truckload division of FedEx Corp., said Thursday that it is adding less-than-containerload service to and from Europe.The company will cooperate with another FedEx Corp. subsidiary – FedEx Trade Networks Ocean Transport Service – to provide the service it describes as "door-to-door or door-to-port."
"Customers no longer have to call multiple providers to handle a single shipment to Europe," said Dennie Carey, FedEx Freight senior vice president of marketing. "Their needs are met by a single FedEx source."
The announcement of the new service comes just a day after FedEx Corp. announced rate hikes at several of its domestic package services (Click here for related coverage.).
FedEx 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.)
Initial Jobless Claims Drop 25,000
The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell by 25,000 last week to a four-month low, the Labor Department reported Thursday.Positive employment news helps boost consumer confidence and can drive increases in spending, which can help demands for trucking services.
The drop in claims brought the weekly total for the week ended Nov. 16 to 376,000. The last time claims were close to this level was July 20, when they totaled 366,000.
The four-week moving average, which smoothes out some of the volatility in the week-to-week figures, fell to 395,750 from 400,250. The dip pushed the average below 400,000 for the first time in 11 weeks, Labor said. Transport Topics
U.S. Threat to Iraq Pushes Oil Prices Higher
The price of crude oil rose the second day in a row, Bloomberg reported, as President Bush had stern word for Iraq about complying with United Nations resolutions.Crude oil is distilled down to motor fuels like diesel and gasoline, and changes in its price are often passed down to consumers.
President Bush, in Prague, Czech Republic for a meeting of NATO leaders, said that Iraq will face the severest of consequences if it doesn’t fully comply with the UN directive and reveal all of its banned weapons, Bloomberg reported.
The comments rekindled some war fears in the oil markets, analysts told Bloomberg, and sent the price of crude higher.
In early morning trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the price of crude rose 39 cents to $26.48 a barrel. Transport Topics
