A.M. Executive Briefing - Aug. 31
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Bridgestone/Firestone Workers May Strike This Weekend
Problems mount for tire-making giant Bridgestone/Firestone, as 8,000 union workers at its nine U.S. plants plan to go on strike Saturday if no agreement is reached on a new contract by Friday, the Associated Press reports.The workers will rally at Bridgestone/Firestone headquarters in Nashville Thursday. Repre-sentatives from the International Steelworkers union and the tire maker have been trying to negotiate a new contract since March, the article said.
The strike threat could not come at a worse time for Bridgestone/Firestone. It is in the process of replacing 6.5 million of its Firestone ATX, ATX II and Wilderness AT tires, which are the focus of an ongoing investigation into whether defects in such tires caused 62 deaths and more than 100 injuries. Transport Topics
Canadian Air Parcel Giant Purolator Cites Tentative Deal with Teamsters
Canada's largest overnight package delivery service, Purolator Courier Ltd., said it reached a tentative deal Wednesday with the Teamsters union to head off a possible strike. Details were not readily available.
Fred Manske, Purolator's president and chief executive officer, said the tentative agreement the company's couriers, transport drivers, markers and sorters across Canada.
Purolator says it has Canada's largest dedicated air cargo fleet and over 13,000 employees handling over 6.1 million pieces weekly.
The Toronto Star said the union represents 8,500 workers, and that the two sides had been negotiating since December. The company has more than a 50% market share among Canada's five largest couriers, the Star added, and is 93.8% held by federally owned Canada Post Corp. Transport Topics
Online Shipping Quotes Available from Craters & Freighters
Specialty freight-handling firm Craters & Freighters has launched e-Quote, an online shipping quote engine, the company announced Wednesday.The e-Quote system eliminates the process of calling around for shipping estimates; through the Web site customers can figure costs for packing, crating, insurance and delivery, the company explained. Transport Topics
XTRA Intermodal to Offer Online Equipment Info
XTRA Intermodal has teamed up with LoadMatch to offer equipment availability information over the Internet, the Journal of Commerce Online reported.Through LoadMatch's Web site, customers will be able to locate available intermodal equipment throughout North America. Information will be continually updated and customers will be able to search using load, city, railroad terminal or type of equipment as their criteria, the story said.
XTRA has seven intermodal trailer terminals, 10 container depots and eight chassis pools throughout North America, with a fleet of more than 50,000 intermodal trailers, domestic containers and chassis, JOC noted. Transport Topics
DOT Shuts Down Indiana Trucking Firm for Alleged Safety Violations
The U.S. Department of Transportation has shut down Russman Transportation in Jeffersonville, Ind., due to alleged safety violations, the Associated Press reported Wednesday.The DOT's Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration said Russman allegedly allowed its drivers to falsify logbooks so they could drive beyond their legal hours-of-service limits, AP reported. The Indiana Department of Revenue also suspended the registrations of and removed license plates from Russman's trucks, the story said.
Russman will have to remain closed until the DOT receives from them a satisfactory plan for complying with safety regulations, the article said. Transport Topics
Brooklyn Rail Yard Rebuilt; Now Needs Operator
An old freight yard in Brooklyn, N.Y., has had a $20-million facelift to update it to modern standards; now it just needs an operator, the New York Times reported Thursday, and its fate can affect truck moves in that huge consumer market.New York City is seeking bidders to operate the rail yard, hoping cross-harbor rail freight traffic can be revived to levels of 50 years ago, the Times said. Since then, freight has moved by trucks in increasing numbers; now, 80% of freight is hauled in by trucks, which raises concerns about road congestion and pollution.
New York Cross Harbor Railroad President Robert Bentley, whose operation sent 4,000 rail-cars across the harbor last year on barges between New York and New Jersey, said in the article his company will bid to operate the Brooklyn rail yard. Transport Topics
DOT's Slater Meets with Arkansas Trucking Leaders
Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater met with 10 trucking industry leaders in Arkansas Wednesday to hear comments on his department's hours-of-service proposal, the Associated Press reported.Several truck company presidents, along with Arkansas Trucking Association President Lane Kidd, told Slater their concerns over proposed changes to drivers' hours of service.
Mainly, they were concerned with the cost – to both companies and drivers – of implementing the new regulations, and what they said was the impracticality of a two-day break that would be mandatory under the change, AP reported. Transport Topics
FedEx To Build New Technology Center To Boost E-Commerce
FedEx Corp. announced Thursday it is expanding its e-commerce offerings with two new, state-of-the-art technology centers.It said its FedEx Express unit will soon build a new technology center in Colorado Springs, Colo., to join one that just opened on Monday in Dallas. At these facilities, FedEx will continue developing software to boost its Internet-based shipping and tracking services. Transport Topics
Headlines From Yesterday's P.M. Briefing
- New Jersey Seeks To Further Limit Trucks on Roadways
- Cargo Continues to Boom at Calif. Ports, Raising Space Concerns
- Ford Faces Possible Large-Scale Vehicle Recall
- Truckers Can Thank Buses for Curbing Number of Holiday Drivers
- USA Truck Chair Announces Retirement
- Quebec Conducts Truck Safety Inspections; Helicopter Helps Find Dodgers
- Canadian Transportation Profits Up in Second Quarter
