A.M. Executive Briefing - April 5
This Morning's Headlines:
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Cummins to Buck Trend
Cummins Engine CEO Tim Solso told the yearly shareholder meeting Tuesday that the company expects to post $1.09 in per-share earnings for the first quarter, beating analysts' prediction of $1.03, despite slowing heavy-truck sales in North America. He pointed to increased sales for pickup trucks, filtration, and power generation. Financial Times (04/05/00) P. 36; Tait, NikkiDaimlerChrysler Eyes Tie-Up in Trucks With M'bishi: FAZ
DaimlerChrysler commercial-vehicles board director Dieter Zetsche told the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung that he expects DaimlerChrysler's passenger-car alliance with Mitsubishi Motors will eventually include commercial vehicles as well, despite Mitsubishi's commercial-vehicle alliance with Volvo.
Truck Inspections Hit All-Time High
The West Virginia Public Service Commission inspected a record 22,834 commercial vehicles in 1999, 22,049 of which were trucks, taking 2,767 drivers and 8,290 trucks and buses out of service.The commission focused on sections of Interstates 81, 79, 77, 68, and 64 with high rates of fatal accidents. Higher federal funding has in the past few years pushed the amount of inspections in West Virginia to ten times what it was before.
For next year, if there is sufficient funding, PSC motor carrier section chief Bob Brooks wants to create teams of state investigators to research the factors that lead up to deadly wrecks and make recommendations for upgrading roadways. Associated Press (04/04/00); Farkas, Brian
Mitsubishi-Volvo Truck Tie-Up to Cover North America
Sources say the truck partnership between Volvo and Mitsubishi Motors will be extended to North America, with the Volvo sales network to be used to sell Mitsubishi trucks in Canada and, possibly, Volvo engines to be used in Mitsubishi trucks sold in the United States.Small Mitsubishi trucks are now being sold in Europe through the Volvo sales network, and the two companies are working together to create particulate filters and medium trucks. Jiji Press Ticker Service (04/04/00)
AWG Offer Rejected by Teamsters
The Teamsters turned down Associated Wholesale Grocers' proposal to allow Kansas City, Kan., and Springfield, Mo., drivers lease AWG trucks and work for the outside companies AWG has hired to run trucking and warehouse operations in the two areas.The drivers, who were locked out of their jobs at AWG when the outsourcing began Sunday, would have been able to pay $100 per month for two years before owning the trucks outright. Bobby Davidson of union Local 955 said the deal was rejected because drivers would have to give up benefits including health insurance and pensions, and some union drivers said the grocery cooperative's trucks are too old and well-used.
Steve Dillard of AWG denied Local 245 business manager Jim Kabell's charge that AWG offered a deal to the truckers and not the warehouse workers in order to separate the two groups. Associated Press (04/04/00); Johnson, Doug
Tighter Supply Chain Helps Lucent Speed Deliveries
Lucent Technologies Microelectronics Group has tied together its supply chain, which spans Europe, Asia, and North America, via a partnership with DHL Airways, enabling the silicon-chip maker to meet customers' just-in-time demands while eliminating warehouses.Cutting from 51 transportation firms to just the one has addressed the difficulties Lucent previously had with supplier shipment tracking and reduced some delivery times from a week to roughly two days.
Customers can order Lucent chips via electronic data interchange and receive them quickly enough that they no longer must predict the need for parts, eliminating the problems that come when predictions are wrong.
In addition, Lucent can afford to pay more for transportation because it has reduced its warehouse costs. Information Week (04/03/00) No. 780; P. 58; Chabrow, Eric
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