A.M. Executive Briefing - Aug. 11
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Swift Transportation’s Moyes Will Take Over Simon Transportation
Swift Transportation co-founder and CEO Jerry Moyes has reached an agreement with Simon Transportation Services Inc. founder and CEO Richard Simon to purchase Simon's Class B common stock, for $9 per share, Simon Transportation announced Friday.Simon will step down as chairman and CEO of the Salt Lake City-based company, but will retain his Class A common stock and remain as a director of the company. Current executives Kelle Simon, Alban Lang, Lyn Simon, Sherry Bokovoy and Richard Simon Jr. will also retain their stock and remain as executive officers, the company said. Moyes will become chairman of the board and has tabbed Jon Isaacson as chief executive officer and chief operating officer.
Moyes told the Salt Lake Tribune he has no plans to merge Swift, now the third-largest publicly held truckload carrier in the United States, with Simon. Transport Topics
Rail Stats Show Rising Intermodal Shipments
The latest report from major U.S. railroads show that those intermodal shipments, which ride part-way on trains and part-way on trucks, have been increasing again.The Association of American Railroads said intermodal volume rose 5.8% in the week ended Aug. 5 compared with the same week in 1999. For all of 2000 so far, rail-hauled intermodal loads are up 3.4%. The pace has accelerated from earlier this year.
The intermodal category includes both rail-hauled containers and trailers. Since containers can be double-stacked on specially made railcars, they are a more efficient shipment mode than the truck trailers that have to be tied down singly on flatbed railcars with lots of space in between. As a result, container shipments have been growing rapidly in recent years, but railroads are hauling fewer trailers. Transport Topics
Weekend Shutdown Set For I-65 In Louisville; Must Reopen Monday Or Contractor Fined
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The closure, from 9 p.m. Friday to 6 a.m. Monday between the Watterson Expressway and "Spaghetti Junction," is due to repaving on the roadway and replacing or resealing of overpass expansion joints, the article reported.
The contractors are not just racing to beat the Monday morning rush hour, either. For every hour past the deadline, Gohman Asphalt and Construction will incur a $10,000 fine from the state; on the other hand, it will receive $5,000 for every hour it is finished ahead of schedule, the AP reported. Transport Topics
Architect Asks South Carolina To Consider Joint Port With Rival Georgia
The architect of the proposed Global Gateway in Charleston, S.C., has suggested that the South Carolina Ports Authority consider working with the rival Georgia Ports Authority to make his project work, the Associated Press reported Friday.William L. Bethea Jr., in a letter to the South Carolina authority, said the Global Gateway is in "serious trouble" and consideration should be given to building the container port on the Savannah River, which borders the two states. Bethea proposes the port be built in Jasper County, on the South Carolina side of the river, and be jointly maintained by authorities from both states. Transport Topics
Columbus Residents Grumble About Rumble Of Trucks Through Neighborhood
Residents of northern neighborhoods in Columbus, Ohio are complaining about detours that will send more heavy truck traffic through their streets, the Columbus Dispatch reported Thursday.Traffic will be detoured onto Karl, Morse and Sinclair roads as the Interstate 71 overpass is widened over Route 161, the article said. Ohio Department of Transportation officials told the Dispatch that only about 2% of the vehicles passing through that area daily are large trucks.
Larry Davis, president of the Ohio Trucking Association, told the Dispatch the detour was an inconvenience to the truckers also, and that they will most likely seek alternate routes through the area to avoid those detours. Transport Topics
Interstate 40 Closed At North Carolina-Tennessee Border After Chemical Spill
A tractor-trailer chemical spill on Interstate 40 in Haywood County, N.C., Friday morning has all lanes of the interstate closed at the North Carolina-Tennessee border, NCDOT announced.NCDOT said the road should reopen in the afternoon after the spill is cleaned up.
Alternate routes for travelers through that area are:
- Motorists traveling west on I-40 should exit at exit 53 to I-240 west in Asheville. From I-240 take U.S. 19/23 north. When U.S. 19 and U.S. 23 split north of Mars Hill in Madison County, follow U.S. 23 north through Johnson City, Tenn. Continue on U.S. 23 north to I-81 south. Follow I-81 south to return to I-40 East, east of Knoxville, Tenn.
- Motorists traveling east on I-40 from Tennessee will be detoured in Newport, Tenn. From I-40 east in Tennessee, take U.S. 411 north to U.S. 25/70 east, then take U.S. 19/23 South to I-240 back towards I-40 east in Asheville, N.C.
Economy: Price Gauge Tame; Sales Rise
Two government reports on the economy early Friday reinforced notions that growth is con-tinuing amid little inflation presssure. That implies good news about general truck shipments going forward, and that interest rates are not likely to rise again soon.The Labor Department said the producer price index was flat in July, and that wholesale prices excluding food and energy — the so-called core rate — rose just 0.1%.
Meanwhile, the Commerce Department said retail sales in July rose 0.7%, an uptick from the 04.% gain in June to show that the consumer sector has not begun to shrivel up. Transport Topics
