News Briefs - Oct. 27
The Latest Headlines:
- OPEC President Says U.S. Should Tap Oil Stockpile
- New Home Sales Rise to Third Highest Level Ever
- Earnings at Forward Air Rise in 3Q
- Accident Costs Hurt Transport Corp.'s Profits
- Pacer Earnings Rise in 3Q
- Ohio Turnpike Commission Cuts Tolls
- New Home Sales Rise to Third Highest Level Ever
OPEC President Says U.S. Should Tap Oil Stockpile
OPEC President Purnomo Yusgiantoro said Wednesdasy the United States should tap its emergency oil reserve, Bloomberg reported.The cartel’s president said that members were pumping near their limit, but that had failed bid to lower prices from record highs.
He said OPEC had been communicating with U.S. officials about using the stockpile, Bloomberg said. Transport Topics
New Home Sales Rise to Third Highest Level Ever
New home sales rose 3.5% in September to a 1.206 million annual pace, the third highest total on record, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday.Rising home sales likely means more business for flatbed trucking companies that haul building materials and dry van freight that haul household appliances and furniture.
September’s pace only lagged March's record 1.27 million and May's 1.244 million, Commerce said.
New home sales are a leading indicator of housing demand because they are recorded when a contract is written.
The National Association of Realtors is forecasting that new home sales, which account for about 15% of the housing market, will rise to a record 1.15 million this year, Bloomberg reported. Transport Topics
Earnings at Forward Air Rise in 3Q
Forward Air Corp., a contractor to the air cargo industry, said its net income for the third quarter was $9 million or 41 cents per share, compared with $6.3 million or 29 cents a year earlier.Operating revenue increased 18.8% to $71.9 million, the company said in a statement.
Forward Air is ranked No. 70 on the Transport Topics 100 list of the largest U.S. and Canadian trucking companies. Transport Topics
Accident Costs Hurt Transport Corp.'s Profits
Truckload carrier Transport Corporation of America Inc. said its third-quarter earnings were $36,000 or 1 cent per share, compared with $1 million or 15 cents a year earlier.Transport Corp. said the 2003 results included an after-tax gain of $800,000 million related to the sale of a maintenance facility.
The company said in a statement revenues were $65.7 million, compared with $64.1 million a year earlier.
"While our underlying business fundamentals and the demand for freight continues to remain very strong, the company experienced an unfortunate increase in accident costs in the third quarter," said Michael Paxton, chairman and chief executive officer.
Transport Corporation of America is ranked No. 67 on the Transport Topics 100 list of the largest U.S. and Canadian trucking companies. Transport Topics
Pacer Earnings Rise in 3Q
Transportation and logistics provider Pacer International Inc. said late Tuesday its net income for the fiscal third quarter ended Sept. 17 was $11.3 million or 30 cents per share, compared with $4.9 million or 13 cents a year earlier."Pacer's wholesale segment continues to be the strength of the company, driven by continued strong intermodal volumes," said Don Orris, chairman and chief executive officer of Pacer International.
"Pacer's wholesale domestic intermodal volumes have bounced back from the lows seen in the second quarter that resulted from the independent owner-operator trucking work stoppage and the consequent Union Pacific temporary embargo of Northern California locations."
acer is ranked No. 14 on the Transport Topics 100 list of the largest U.S. and Canadian trucking companies. Transport Topics
Ohio Turnpike Commission Cuts Tolls
The Ohio Turnpike Commission adopted a resolution Oct. 18 to reduce tolls on the Ohio Turnpike, said Gary Suhadolnik, executive director of the commission.OTC will hold three public hearings over a 90-day period, Suhadolnik said. The first hearing was scheduled for Oct. 25 and Suhadolnik said he did not anticipate any opposition to the rate reductions.
After the decrease, tolls for trucks with gross vehicle weight ratings between 63,000 and 90,000 pounds would be $31.00, down from $42.45 for vehicles 63,000 to 80,000 pounds, and $72.45 for trucks between 80,001 and 90,000 pounds.
East-west Interstates 76, 80 and 90 run along the Ohio Turnpike. Transport Topics
This story appeared in the Oct. 25 print edition of Transport Topics.
