February 29, 2000 8:50 AM, EST

A.M. Executive Briefing - Feb. 29

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This Morning's Headlines:

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Liability Pool Proposed in Miami

GE Subsidiary Buys B of A Vehicle Portfolio

Delphi Buys Parts Shipper

Wisconsin DOT: Warm Weather Means Frozen Road Declarations Expire

Redmond Joins Yellow Corp. Subsidiary

Liability Pool Proposed in Miami

Greg Kritz of Roanoke Trade Services, a managing general agent for insurance companies, proposed establishing a cargo liability pool for Miami owner-operators, which would allow the independents to get lower insurance rates.

The requirement to buy coverage from trucking companies rather than seek cheaper insurance on the open market helped spark a South Florida owner-operators' wildcat strike.

A Web site would provide trucking and steamship companies with lists of truckers who had and had not paid for their coverage.

But the idea faces the hurdle of finding an underwriter; executives at two insurance companies gave several reasons for insurance policies being held by trucking companies rather than individual owner-operators. The reasons included ease of administration; rising cargo theft; size of claims from truck crashes; and the problem of owner-operators canceling their policies as soon as they show the insurance certificates to the dispatchers. Journal of Commerce (02/29/00) P. 10; Mullins, Ronald Gift

GE Subsidiary Buys B of A Vehicle Portfolio

GE Capital Fleet Services said Thursday it purchased a $400 million portfolio of roughly 26,000 commercial trucks and cars nationwide from Bank of America Leasing and Capital Group, which sold another portfolio to GE Capital in August.

The purchase announced last week allows GE Capital Fleet to increase market presence, particularly in the utility market, said President and CEO Rick Smith; the purchase price was not disclosed. The American Banker (02/28/00) P. 3; Whiteman, Louis

Delphi Buys Parts Shipper

Delphi Automotive Systems purchased European passenger- and commercial-vehicle parts distributor Automotive Products Distribution Services, to be renamed Delphi Lockheed Automotive, in a roughly $65 million deal. It was bought from Britain's AP Group and will become part of the Delphi aftermarket operations division. New York Times (02/29/00) P. C8

Wisconsin DOT: Warm Weather Means Frozen Road Declarations Expire

The Wisconsin Department of Transportation Monday ended its frozen road declaration, declared Dec. 27, which allowed a maximum GVW of 98,000 pounds for logging trucks and those hauling sand and salt.

Spring thaw weight restrictions become effective March 6 on state and U.S. highways; divisible load permits will be suspended, some single-trip permits may have weight limits, and localities can post limits on some county, city, and village roadways. M2 PressWIRE (02/28/00)

Redmond Joins Yellow Corp. Subsidiary

Yellow Corp. forwarding and logistics subsidiary YCS International named Steve Redmond as sales and marketing director effective Jan. 31. He had worked at the Yellow time-definite unit Exact Express for three months after leaving his former position as Consolidated Freightways' PrimeTime Air Division director, a post taken over by Todd Aquilina.

The CF division saw revenue of $139 million last year, up 37%, and the company anticipates to meet or beat that growth this year. Journal of Commerce (02/29/00) P. 13; Armbruster, William