P.M. Executive Briefing - Sept. 2
This Afternoon's Headlines:
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When Cargo Damage Occurs, Don't Bill Customs
Citing the decision in Kosak v. U.S., the U.S. Customs Service says it is not liable for damage to freight that occurs when the cargo is being investigated for contraband, and courts in the past have agreed.Contract Freighters, which has had cargo ruined in the past by Customs drilling into containers looking for secret compartments, has made efforts to convince Customs and Congress that Customs should, if nothing else, let shippers and carriers know it is doing so.
CFI chief administrative officer Kris Ikejiri says Customs does not always live up to its vow to put markings on drilled trailers. Customs anti-smuggling director Mike Lovejoy says, "More times than not [tags used for marking] got lost or fell by the wayside." Journal of Commerce Online (09/02/99); Hall, Kevin G.
Many Job Deaths Happen on State Roads
Statistics from the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics show half of Mississippi's on-the-job deaths last year happened on state roads. Truckers and delivery workers had the largest proportion of deadly crashes out of any job category. Adding lanes to highways is one of the safety measures the state is taking, says state Transportation Department spokesman Mike Bowling. Sun Herald (Biloxi/Gulfport/Mississippi Gulf Coast) Online (09/02/99)Baucus Will Drive a Truck
U.S. Senator Max Baucus (D-Mont.) will drive a 53-foot van trailer over Interstate 90 from Missoula to Billings to better understand trucking. The senator expects he will leave Missoula about 8 a.m. Friday and arrive in Billings at about 5 p.m. that afternoon; Watkins and Shepard's driver supervisor Tom Walter will accompany Baucus on the trip, and they will discuss trucking and highway safety issues.Baucus is also likely to inspect Montana's highways, for which he helped secure a 60 percent annual federal funding increase over six years. Currently, the federal government pays Montana $260 million annually, which is an increase from the earlier six-year average annual payment of $162 million. Billings Gazette Online (09/02/99)
Untrained Truckers are Hitting N.B. Roads, Says Critic
While the Province of New Brunswick paid C$980,611 for truck-driver training grants — and more for trucking-student loans — in 1998, Atlantic Provinces Transportation Association President Ralph Boyd says the training new truckers are receiving in the mostly six-week courses is inadequate. The new graduates are still getting jobs, though, because of the driver shortage, he says.Boyd wants New Brunswick to mandate 12-week internships, put together by the trucking industry, before new truckers can get long-haul jobs. If the province will not do that, he says, it should cease paying for six-week courses and instead use the money to fund 12-week internship students. He also thinks there should be screening tests to cut down the percentage — currently more than half of new graduates leave trucking in less than a year.
G.W. Driver Training owner Jerry Acton, who thinks there are already enough "rules and regulations" on trucking, calls the 12-week internship proposal too expensive and too long, and thinks the screening Boyd advocates will just add to the driver shortage. However, two other trucking-school owners in New Brunswick and the Midland Transport safety and compliance director think the 12-week training is preferable. New Brunswick (Canada) Telegraph Journal Online (09/01/99); Reid, Mark
G.I. Trucking To Serve 50 Additional Communities with New Arizona Service Centers
G.I. Trucking is expanding its Arizona business with new service centers in Kingman and Flagstaff. The company has had Phoenix and Tucson terminals since 1981. "Since the early 1980s, Arizona has been a vital link in our continued efforts to provide both regional and, with our ExpressLNK connections, national and international transportation services for our business customers," says company President Bill Reid. Business Wire (09/01/99)© copyright 1999 INFORMATION, INC. Terms of Service
