A.M. Executive Briefing - Aug. 21

United States Urges Saudi Arabia To Boost Oil Output

Concerns over a possible U.S. shortage in heating oil – inventories are down 38% from a year ago – during the upcoming winter months has driven prices up 17% in the last month, the article said.

To date, OPEC has resisted urgings from the United States and other industrialized countries to boost output and lower prices, although Saudi Arabia has called on its colleagues to help lower prices, according to the article.

Mullen Transportation Acquires E-Can Oilfield Services Group

E-Can Oilfield Services provides specialized equipment and personnel to the heavy oil industry in western Canada and also operates 125 trucks equipped for servicing heavy oil wells.

Mullen Transportation offers the western Canadian oil and gas industry specialized transportation and related services. Transport Topics

Union Pacific Cutting More Jobs To Gain Competitive Edge On Trucking

The newspaper reported Saturday that UP, which is the parent company of less-than-truckload carrier Overnite Transportation, is implementing more job eliminations and transfers than it had estimated in a 1995 filing to initiate the merger with Southern Pacific Rail Corp.

Transportation analyst Doug Rockel also told the World-Herald that shareholder pressure was likely the motivation for the recent round of job cuts. Transport Topics

Firestone's Problems Continue To Mount

A strike could not come at a worse time for the tire maker, which has increased production to replace the 6.5 million tires recalled last week due to an ongoing investigation into possible defects blamed for 62 deaths and 100 injuries, the article said.

The AP also reported this weekend that a Ford Motor Co. internal memo recommended the tires, used on its Explorer sport-utility vehicles and other light trucks, should be inflated to less-than-maximum levels to reduce the risk of rollovers.

The investigation into the recalled tires has focused on tire failure due to underinflation, which puts more of the sidewall in contact with the road surface, making it more vulnerable to damage, the article said.

Firestone's problems, however, have been good news for rival tire maker Michelin, which boosted production of its 15-inch tires by 250%, pushing plants to 100% capacity to handle the increased demand, the AP reported. Michelin had 900,000 tires backordered even before Firestone said it would replace its recalled tires with ones made by competitors, the article said. Transport Topics

Lazer To Use New Collapsible Containers For Fast Fashion Deliveries

reight forwarder Lazer Transportation will be using a new collapsible container to get garments shipped on hangers to fashion retailers more quickly, the company announced Monday.

The new containers occupy 12% of the space taken up by older containers and allow garments to be shipped display-ready, Lazer said in the announcement.

The containers will be used for shipments from Guatemala City, Guatemala factories to North American retailers. Transport Topics

Air Canada Pilots Say No Strike Until at Least Sept. 1

That means a strike could disrupt the airline, and affect air cargo operations for various competitors in North America, around Labor Day. Since air freight is heavily tied to trucking, and since over-the-road trucking is the fastest alternative when air cargo is hampered, an Air Canada strike would quickly affect truck operations across the U.S.-Canada border plus at various U.S. and Canadian airports.

Bloomberg said the talks, overseen by a federally appointed mediator, broke off Friday. Air Canada said it would not lock pilots out before Aug. 29 and Canada's labor minister asked the pilots not to give a mandatory 72-hour strike notice before then, the wire serv-ice noted. However, if pilots give notice Aug. 29, they could strike as early as Sept. 1. Transport Topics

Net Income, Revenues Up For Professional Transportation Group

Net income for the quarter was $748,371, or 8 cents per diluted share, as compared to a net loss in the same quarter of 1999. Revenues increased 117% to $23,389,642 for the quarter.

Professional Transportation Group provides logistics and ground transportation services through subsidiaries Timely Transportation and Dedicated Transportation Services. Transport Topics

Kansas Truckers Collect Canned Goods, Promote Highway Safety

The group and the Kansas Motor Carriers Association collected 3,000 pounds of canned goods at the event, where they also provided a no-zone trailer to demonstrate a truck's blind spots. Children were also allowed to climb into the big rigs and have their pictures taken behind the wheel, the article said.

Last year, "Big Rigs For Kansas Kids" collected 74,000 pounds of canned goods and is expected to exceed that total when this year's drive is finished, according to the Star. Transport Topics

Female Owner Braves Male-Dominated World Of Trucking

Polk took up trucking five years ago to support her two sons, and stuck with it despite getting a rough time from the men in the field, the article said. And when the company she worked for went out of business, she bought it. Transport Topics