Technology Briefs - July 17-July 22
The Latest Headlines:
- DOT Offering Electronic Regulatory Notification
- WorldCom Bankruptcy Won’t Affect Users, FCC Says
- Laccona Leaves EGL to Head Italian Firm
- Study Says Conventional Headlights May Be Safer
- Pacer Logistics Reports Profitable 2Q
- GM to Test Fuel-Cell Vehicles in Japan
- Cell Phone Numbers Stuck Within Providers
- McGinely to Replace Cameron as TranCore’s COO
- Intel Announces 4,000 Layoffs
- WorldCom Bankruptcy Won’t Affect Users, FCC Says
DOT Offering Electronic Regulatory Notification
Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta said Monday that the Department of Transportation has begun offering an electronic notification service for those interested in following the department’s regulatory activities.A DOT press release said the new service is part of the Bush administration’s plan to promote greater use of electronic government to “make it easy for citizens and businesses to interact with the government, save taxpayer dollars and streamline business-to-government transactions.”
The department's current docket management system serves as a federal government model, the release said. Rulemakings, adjudication documents and comments on rulemakings are made electronically accessible to the public.
(Click here for the full press release.)
WorldCom Bankruptcy Won’t Affect Users, FCC Says
Telecommunications giant WorldCom Inc. became the biggest corporate bankruptcy in history as it filed for Chapter 11 protection Sunday night, but it is believed unlikely customers will be affected, the Associated Press reported.Federal Communications Commission chairman Michael K. Powell said he believed the bankruptcy wouldn't lead to "an immediate disruption of service to consumers or threaten the operation of WorldCom's Internet backbone facilities."
The company, which is hiring a restructuring team to ease the process, told AP it hopes to emerge from bankruptcy in 12 months.
For its restructuring, WorldCom has secured about $2 billion in financing, AP said.
In late June, WorldCom said that it had falsely accounted for $3.85 billion in expenses, which had the effect of inflating profits. The Clinton, Miss.-based firm said after the revelation that it would lay off 17,000 employees or about 20% of its workforce, AP reported. Transport Topics
Laccona Leaves EGL to Head Italian Firm
Giorgio Laccona, chief operating officer-international of EGL Inc., has left the company to become president of Italy-based forwarder Savino Del Bene USA Inc., the Journal of Commerce reported Monday.EGL is based in Houston and provides global freight, supply chain and information services.
Prior to joining EGL, Laccona was president and chief executive of the Americas division of Danzas AEI.
The company is expected to announce a reorganization next week, JoC said. Transport Topics
Study Says Conventional Headlights May Be Safer
A University of Michigan study found conventional headlights may be better for lighting the road than high-intensity lights, USA Today reported Thursday.The study by the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute said that conventional lights illuminate the center of the road better, while new high-intensity-discharge or HID lights may cause blinding, migraine-headaches and might even reduce the night vision of older drivers.
Overall, HID lights put out more illumination than conventional tungsten-halogen lamps, but mainly on the sides of the road, not on the center where it is most needed, the paper said. The study found that conventional lights do a better job lighting distant pedestrians, road markings on the right side of the road, distant overhead highway signs and signs on the left shoulder at all distances.
However, it also concluded HID lights have fulfilled some of the promise to increase the safety of nighttime driving. Transport Topics
Pacer Logistics Reports Profitable 2Q
Freight transportation and logistics provider Pacer International Inc. on Thursday announced a 4.5% increase in its net revenue to $84.4 million and a 25.4% increase in operating income of $17.8 million for the fiscal second quarter ended June 28.Net income was $5.1 million or 17 cents per share, compared with $2.4 million or 9 cents per share in the year-earlier period.
The Concord, Calif.-based company attributed the better results to increased shipment volume and increased business from its retail segment.
"We are pleased with our year-over-year performance and our ability to exceed expectations in a challenging economic environment,” Don Orris, chairman and chief executive officer, said. Transport Topics
(Click here for the full press release.)
GM to Test Fuel-Cell Vehicles in Japan
General Motors Corp. has joined with other international automobile manufacturers in the Japanese government’s fuel-cell vehicle testing program, as automakers prepare to meet tougher pollution standards in the United States, Europe and Japan, Bloomberg reported Wednesday.The Japan Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Demonstration Project will provide funds to assist automakers and battery, energy and utilities companies in funding trucks and cars that run on fuel cells, the story said. Many trucking industry observers believe that fuel cells are the key to the industry's effort to meet clean air standards.
GM will test its HydroGen3 minivan as part of this program, Bloomberg said. It expects to begin selling fuel-cell vehicles by the end of the decade.
The program will run for three years and include vehicles from automakers DaimlerChrysler AG, Honda Motor Co., Toyota Motor Corp. and Nissan Motor Co., Bloomberg said. Transport Topics
Cell Phone Numbers Stuck Within Providers
Companies that rely on cell phones for communication will have to wait an extra year before they can switch service providers while keeping the same phone numbers, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.The trucking industry now uses cell phones to communicate between fleets and drivers and to help drivers keep in touch with their families back home. For larger fleets, this delay can cause headaches if large numbers of drivers change phone numbers to get better service deals.
Companies were supposed to provide that option to users this fall, but the Federal Communications Commission pushed back the deadline for compliance by a full year, to Nov. 24 2003.
Wireless companies say providing the switching option is too expensive and technically difficult, and have now succeeded in pushing back the deadline three times, the Journal said. Transport Topics
McGinely to Replace Cameron as TranCore’s COO
TransCore said Wednesday Joel McGinely will become the new chief operating officer of its Beaverton, Ore.-based Commercial Services Group.He is currently TransCore’s vice president of intermediary services, and will replace Marc Cameron, who resigned as COO effective July 31.
The Commercial Services Group is a business-to-business firm specializing in Internet-based freight exchange services. Among its offerings are its DAT Services, Keypoint and Link Logistics. Transport Topics
(Click here for the full press release.)
Intel Announces 4,000 Layoffs
Intel Corp., a computer chip manufacturer, announced Tuesday that it is laying off 4,000 workers while posting lower second-quarter earnings than it expected, the Associated Press reported.Job cuts can hurt consumer confidence, which decreases spending and can harm the trucking industry.
These layoffs will cut the Intel workforce by 4.8%, reducing the largest semiconductor company’s payroll to 79,000, the story said.
Intel did not cut jobs when most of the technology sector was forced to earlier this year, but it has cut 5,000 other workers since 2000, AP said. Transport Topics
