A.M. Executive Briefing - Dec. 15
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Chao Still Eyed as Bush's Pick to Head DOT
Former federal maritime administrator Elaine Chao is still being mentioned as President-Elect George W. Bush's pick for transportation secretary, the Washington Post reported Friday.However, if Bush decides to put a Democrat in that spot, Rep. William O. Lipinski (D-Ill.), a senior member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, would be interested, the Post said.
Thomas V. Skinner - director of the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and son of Samuel K. Skinner, President George Bush's chief of staff - is under consideration for administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Post said. The elder Skinner also headed DOT during the Bush administration.
Republican administration veteran Wendy Gramm will soon head up regulatory policy on Bush's transition team, the Wall Street Journal reported. Transport Topics
GM Resumes Truck Production in China
General Motors announced Friday that it is once again building light trucks in China after a five-year halt, Bloomberg reported. GM had discontinued truck manufacturing in China because of poor sales and disputes with local partners.This time, a 50-50 partnership between GM and Chinese company Jinbei involves a $230 million joint venture to build Chevorlet Blazer sport-utility vehicles and S-10 cab crew pick-up trucks. Jinbei GM, as the project is called, aims to meet the demand for trucks in the law enforcement, oil and forest industries, the article said.
GM anticipates the expansion in the Asian market to offset slow truck sales in North America, the wire service noted. Transport Topics
CPI, Industrial Output Show Economy Slowing
Slight increases in November's Consumer Price Index could eventually spur an inter-est rate drop, but the falling industrial output that month portends fewer loads for trucks to haul.The Department of Labor reported Friday that the CPI, which is the main inflation barometer for the U.S. economy, rose 0.2% in November. This matches an October increase of 0.2%.The core rate, which strips out volatile food and energy costs from the CPI, registered a 0.3% increase, slightly above the 0.2% analysts were expecting. This increase follows a 0.2% rise in October.
Industrial production fell 0.2% according to the Federal Reserve Board. Economists had expected a flat rate.This follows a 0.1% drop in October by 0.1%.
Manufacturing production fell 0.5% in November, marking the sharpest decline since a large auto strike more than two years ago. Furniture and carpeting production fell, but semiconductor, circuit board and other electronic component production rose 1.1%, according to Fed statistics.
The risks to the economy are now evenly balanced between inflation and recession, BridgeNews reported, noting that the core CPI increase was close to analyst expec-tations. Bridge quoted one analyst who described a decelerating economy with tame inflation.
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Crude Oil Prices Steady on Warmer Weather, Iraqi Exports
Crude oil price changed only slightly early Friday because of warmer weather forecasts in the U.S. Northeast and resumption of oil exports in Iraq's Mina al-Bakr facility, Bloomberg reported.In London, the crude oil price for February settlement fell 4 cents to $25.49 a barrel, while in New York, crude traded at $28.04 a barrel, up 5 cents from Thursday's close. Transport Topics
Ford, Toyota Said to Hold Environmental Talks
An alliance to develop low-pollution cars and trucks was the topic at a meeting Toyota Motor Co. Chairman Hiroshi Okuda and Ford Motor Co. President Jacques Nasser, Bloomberg News reported Friday.An arrangement for Toyota to sell Ford models in Japan is also under discussion, the story said.
An alliance to develop of hybrid vehicles is in the works, the story said.
Last year, Toyota entered an agreement with General Motors to investigate environmentally friendly technology under a five-year agreement, the article said. Transport Topics
DOT Drug Test Revision Aims to Stop False Cheating Accusations
The Department of Transportation has revised its drug testing rule, in part to cut down on program flaws that have resulted in some workers being unjustly accused of tampering with samples - by drinking too much water, the New York Times reported Friday.DOT said in a Thursday statement that most of the rule takes effect Aug. 1, 2001, and that it would be published the Federal Register Tuesday.
Validity testing - which determines a urine sample's legitimacy - is a focus of the new rules. Under current rules, specimens judged invalid by a lab worker are assumed to come from cheating individuals.
Drinking a lot of water, avoiding meat, being female and having diabetes are among the factors that can throw off test results, the article said. The new rules have procedures for invalid results, including the opportunity for a second test, evaluated by a different lab, the Times reported. Transport Topics
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Mass. Lawmaker Introduces Compliance Review Bill
A Massachusetts legislator will try to toughen the law for carriers based in that state by empowering state agencies to perform regulatory compliance reviews, the Boston Globe reported recently.Such reviews are made in 37 other states, including New York, Connecticut and Maine, the paper said. While the U.S. Department of Transportation has the power to perform compliance reviews on trucking companies that only operate in Massachusetts, the federal agency lacks the resources to do so, the paper said.
State Rep. Paul E. Caron (D-Springfield) said his bill would allow companies that adhere to safety regulations to be freed from lengthy roadside inspections, possibly by using a sticker for each truck in a fleet. Transport Topics
Ariz. Trims Alternative Fuel Subsidy
The beginning of the end of the Arizona alternative fuel saga is near, the Associated Press reported Thursday.Gov. Jane Hull signed a bill to reduce a subsidy for alternative-fuel vehicles - including trucks - that threatened to bust the state budget while failing to reward real efforts at going beyond gasoline.
The new law will reduce the program's cost to $200 million, down from $682.5 million, according to AP. It will apply to 4,000 to 6,000 vehicles.
The original program sprang from a badly drafted piece of legislation, according to numerous media reports. The law allowed people to install - but never actually use - alternate fuel systems in cars and trucks while taking a substantial tax credit Transport Topics
Headlines From Yesterday's P.M. Briefing
- FedEx Reports Higher Q2 Earnings
- GM to Idle 8,600 Workers
- Producer Price Index Rises Slightly; Inventories High
- ArvinMeritor Projects Earnings from a Slow Market
- Hayes Lemmerz to Cut 1,200 Jobs
- Minn. Governor Eases Hours Rules for Drivers Hauling Fuel
- DaimlerChrysler-Brazil to Expand Truck Production
- Particulate Pollution Kills, Study Finds
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