A.M. Executive Briefing - Feb. 24
This Morning's Headlines:
ul>
Hutchinson Wants Diesel Price Investigation
Sen. Tim Hutchinson (R-Ark.) has asked the justice department to investigate several East Coast oil companies for what may be artificially high prices.Gasoline and diesel prices have surged over the last year as OPEC production cutbacks nearly tripled the price of crude oil, but in the east, prices are 50 cents per gallon higher than the rest of the country.
Report: Bill to Suspend Diesel Fuel Tax
A meeting between Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R-Colo.) and a group of independent truckers has prompted the crafting of a bill that would suspend the 24-cent federal excise tax on diesel fuel.After hearing the truckers complaints that rising fuel costs are hurting their business, Campbell decided that increasing the domestic production of fuel should be explored. The bill could be introduced in the U.S. Senate Thursday, according to the Washington Times. United Press International (02/24/00)
Irate Truckers Drive Home Demands
Independent truck drivers in Greater Toronto, angry over rising fuel costs and stagnant pay rates, are refusing to return to work until government and industry agree to their demands. In the largest single protest to date, 1,000 Ontario truckers assembled Wednesday, rigs and all, at the Metro East Trade Center in Pickering.Organizers urged solidarity and lawfulness while discouraging plans to disrupt operations at a General Motors plant. Truckers at the rally pushed for the formation of a national truckers' association to represent their interests.
Speaking from London, Ont., Premier Mike Harris said that he sympathized with the truckers and offered to mediate a solution between the truckers, trucking companies, and consumers. Toronto Star (02/24/00); Josey, Stan
Truckers Continue Protest Against Irving
A northern Maine truckers' strike will continue after negotiations over hauling rates with Irving Forest Products broke down on Wednesday evening. A trucker spokesman indicated that some headway has been made, but Irving still has to raise rates more for the truckers to make a decent living. Associated Press (02/24/00)Travelling a Different Road: Truckers Will Lose the Public's Support if They Go too Far
Truckers in Canada are being warned that they may lose public support if they do not curtail their disruptive protests. Angry over rising fuel prices among other things, truckers have staged noisy protests, set up blockades, run slow-moving convoys, and orchestrated delivery stoppages.Louis-Paul Tardif, an Ottawa transportation consultant and former general manager at the Canadian Trucking Alliance, says that while the truckers have legitimate complaints, they have not expressed themselves well to the public, and their protesting tactics are beginning to make people lose sympathy.
Tardif urges truckers to form a more organized coalition and reach a consensus on how to solve the various problems they are faced with. He holds up the trucker protests of a decade ago as a model. Ottawa Citizen (02/24/00) P. F3; Quan, Douglas
HazMat Traffic Banned from Border Bridge
Hazardous materials traffic will not be allowed to use the new bridge between Laredo, Texas, and Mexico, reports the Unitedtates Customs. Hazmat traffic will be diverted 18 miles west to the Colombia Solidarity International Bridge. The Laredo Transportation Association is trying to permit hazmat traffic to cross the new bridge, which is scheduled to open in April. Modern Bulk Transporter (02/00) P. 12
© copyright 2000 INFORMATION, INC. Terms of Service
