P.M. Executive Briefing - Sept. 7
This Afternoon's Headlines:
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Evergreen in Pact for Truck Service
Evergreen International Airlines has inked an exclusive deal with Forward Air to use 53-foot roller-bed trailers to handle palletized cargo between terminals in San Francisco and Los Angeles. "This arrangement cuts down transit time and reduces handling considerably," says Evergreen Vice Chairman Ron Lane. Journal of Commerce (09/07/99) P. 23Teamsters File Charges Against Trucking Company
The Teamsters Union Local 745 in Dallas has leveled charges against SAIA Motor Freight Lines, which is owned by Yellow Corp., alleging unfair labor practices, and arguing that the regional trucking company has interfered with the union's attempt to organize about 350 employees who are possible union members.
A Yellow Corp. spokesperson has said that the company is educating, and listening to its employees as a result of the union's drive that began in mid-July after workers approached the union, according to organizer Mike Klein. The trucking spokesperson says that only a few regional trucking firms are unionized, and a couple that have recently done so have also gone out of business.
Yellow spokesperson Roger Dick said: "Anything that impedes your ability to compete, including wage costs and inflexible work rules, just puts you that much further behind." Ft. Worth Star-Telegram Online (09/06/99); Cox, Bob
Jersey Upset With Pennsylvania Truckers
Pennsylvania-bound truckers are raising the ire of New Jersey authorities who imposed new weight limits Monday to reduce traffic in the southern section of Trenton, N.J. The trucks causing the problems are probably waste haulers headed into Pennsylvania, according to authorities. ABC NewsWire (09/07/99)HighwayMaster Adds Two Key Senior Management Executives
The wireless-communications firm HighwayMaster Communications has hired Pierre H. Parent to be technology and business development senior vice president and appointed C. Marshall Lamm as manufacturing operations senior vice president.Since 1998, Parent had been advanced services sales director at AT&T Business Services, where he worked in wireless communications the past 15 years. Lamm was vice president of operations at the satellite-TV firm TPN Inc. and spent five years as product distribution director at AT&T Wireless Services. Business Wire (09/07/99)
Transportation Center at Tech Studies High-Tech Remedies for Aging Interstate
Virginia Tech's Center for Transportation Research is studying traffic volume, driving habits, and accident statistics on I-81, as well as passing patterns, in order to make the road safer.A model of traffic flow on the interstate and major parallel roads would give planners more accurate information when deciding how to widen the road, according to the center's associate director Ray Pethtel.
He says that since the roads were built, trucks are longer and more powerful, but the truckers say they hit snags when they encounter cars traveling slower than the speed limit. Pethtel says that one solution could be more than one climbing lane on steep hills.
Other challenges are short merging ramps, and the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) is experimenting with technology to help drivers regulate their speed on the ramps. The research can be found in VDOT's strategic safety plan for I-81, a route connecting major southern hubs and the Northeast. Roanoke Times Online (09/06/99); Caliri, Lois
Acid Spill in North River Cleaned Up
The North River in Colrain, Mass., has been termed safe by environmental officials following the cleanup of some 670 gallons of sulfuric acid that leaked last week from a tanker truck that had an open valve. Rick Lombardi of the Department of Environmental Protection was unsure whether any environmental-violation charges would be filed. Boston Globe Online (09/06/99)Dangerous Spots on the Aging Fast Lanes
A Virginia Tech Center for Transportation Research study indicates that the Exit 162 ramp from I-81 near Buchanan, Va., had the second-highest crash rate on I-81 in the state between 1991 and 1994. Accidents often happen around exits due to merging activity.As the state Transportation Department works on its I-81 widening plan, set for at least 10 years down the road, they consider issues such as these, as well as amount of traffic. The interstate was constructed in the 1950s to accommodate 20 years of traffic increases.
Trucker Jim Pritchett says Exit 162's problem is that the ramp is not long enough, while local resident Penny Cash complains of speeding and trucks crossing the median. State Police Capt. Charles Compton says many median crossings occur on the highway around Buchanan and Arcadia, and he says perhaps barriers are needed.
Cars merging and trucks heading to a weigh station are the problems at the U.S. 220 interchange in Troutville, says Transportation Department engineer Rob Cary.
At the I-81/I-581 interchange, the department wants to move left exits to the right side. Another problem is around the Ironto exit, where a local businessman says trucks take up the left lane, while truckers fault dangerous driving by motorists and the blind curves in the area.
Trucker Tom Fuller also complains of the narrow lanes in construction zones. State Police Sgt. Thomas Foster says the northbound descent on Christiansburg Mountain is troublesome both because of no guardrails and truckers trying to get extra speed on the hill so they can take the hill after it. Roanoke Times Online (09/06/99); Caliri, Lois
The Associates Acquires Truck Finance Portfolio from Mitsubishi Motors Credit
Associates Commercial Corporation has taken over Mitsubishi Motors Credit's $75 million medium-truck finance portfolio. The Associates will serve Mitsubishi Fuso Truck dealerships via the new Fuso Finance division. PRNewswire (09/03/99)© copyright 1999 INFORMATION, INC. Terms of Service
