A.M. Executive Briefing - Jan. 5
ul>
NHTSA Eyes Honeywell Brake Component
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is eyeing defective air dryer cartridges used in some heavy truck and bus braking systems by Honeywell International Inc. (HON), Reuters reported.NHTSA is opening an engineering analysis because beads in the cartridges can enter the valve assembly of the air dryer and cause a leak, investigators said, according to Reuters.
The agency said Honeywell had declined to issue a recall, because the company said available brake pressures had been maintained and the problem had not spurred any accidents or injuries, the news service reported.
Mitsubishi To Get New COO
Car and truck maker Mitsubishi Motor Corp. said Friday that it would make DaimlerChrysler's (DCX) Rolf Eckrodt its next chief operating officer, Bloomberg reported. DaimlerChrysler owns a 34% stake in Mitsubishi.The appointment will be effective following a Jan. 19 shareholder meeting, when Eckrodt will be made a Mitsubishi board member.
Mitsubishi is Japan's fourth-largest automaker. Swedish truckmaker Volvo AB (VOLVY) also holds a stake in the company. Transport Topics
Boyd Bros. Predicts 4Q Loss
Boyd Brothers Transportation Inc. (BOYD), one of the nation's largest flatbed trucking companies, announced that it expects to report a loss of 15 cents to 20 cents per diluted share from operations in the fourth quarter of 2000. In the fourth quarter last year, Boyd Bros. reported operating revenues of $34.3 million and net income of $0.12 per share.
The company blamed several industry trends, including sluggish freight conditions, particularly in the steel industry. It also blamed factors affecting trucking generally, such as a 24% increase in diesel fuel costs for the year, a reduction in owner-operators and declining values of used equipment.
Continued losses at its Welborn short-haul flatbed division were also cited.
The Clayton, Ala.-based company provides transportation services to high-volume, time-sensitive customers, primarily in the steel and building materials industries, and operates throughout most of the continental United States. Transport Topics
Crude Oil Prices Continue Climb With Planned OPEC Cut
Crude oil prices continued climbing Friday as traders expected the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to cut oil production after its Jan. 17 meeting, Bloomberg reported.A former OPEC secretary said that the group has discussed cutting world oil production by at least 1.5 million barrels per day, up from its previous figure of 500,000 barrels per day, the article said.
In London, crude oil in early Friday trading was at $25.57 per barrel, up 32 cents. In New York, the crude oil price closed up 11 cents at $28.25 per barrel Thursday.
OPEC said that it was involving non-OPEC members such as Mexico, Russia, Oman, Kazakhstan and Angola in discussions about production cuts. In the past, many of these countries have cooperated with OPEC's efforts to manage prices, the wire service noted.
But Norway, the world's second-largest oil producer, said it does not plan to participate in the production cuts. Transport Topics
U.S. Shareholders Sue Bridgestone Over Recall
U.S. shareholders of Bridgestone Corp. sued the company Friday over the recall of 6.5 million Bridgestone tires that were mostly put on Ford (F) Explorers, Bloomberg reported. The shareholders said that Bridgestone withheld information about the defects in the tires.The suit requests compensation for all investors, who bought Bridgestone stock between March 1998 and August 2000, the article said. However, a major Japanese stockholder said that Japanese shareholders would probably not join their American counterparts since the lawsuit could drive share values down.
The tires have been blamed for causing at least 148 deaths in the United States due to tread separations. Transport Topics
DaimlerChrysler's China Unit to Continue Making Jeep Cherokees
DaimlerChrysler (DCX) said Friday that it would continue making Jeep Cherokees at its Beijing, China plant, Bloomberg reported. On Thursday, the company said it would stop making the 18-year-old model to refocus on the Liberty and Grand Cherokee models.
The Chinese plant will also make the larger Grand Cherokee, the article said. Transport Topics
ComRoad to Take Controlling Interest in Comworxx
German software supplier ComRoad AG, which makes tracking programs for trucks, said Friday that it plans to increase its 33% stake in the U.S.-based company Comworxx to 51%.Currently 5% of ComRoad's sales are in the United States. But with the acquisition it plans to increase its U.S. market share to 40%, the article noted. Transport Topics
LanChile Signs Pilot Contract Early
LanChile, Chile's largest passenger and cargo airline, announced Thursday that it has reached a labor agreement with its pilots, well in advance of the March 31 expiration date.The company's Ladeco subsidiary signed the agreement with the 87 pilots of the Ladeco Pilot Union. It is set to expire March 31, 2005.
The four-year contract includes a salary increase and restructured earnings incentives, which will cost the company about US$1.3 million during the next four years and four months.
The new contract also provides for increased flexibility through new conditions that permit Ladeco pilots to fly all types of aircraft in the company's fleet. In addition to serving Chile and Latin America, the airline also serves seven destinations in the United States, Europe and the South Pacific. Transport Topics
Headlines From Yesterday's P.M. Briefing
- Volvo Promotes Truck Executives
- Sears to Close 89 Stores, Slash 2,400 Jobs
- Factory Orders Rose 1.7% in November
- Unemployment Claims Hit 2½-Year High
- Upgraded Toledo Plant to Build Jeep Cherokee Replacement
- Ford Buys Stake in Driver-Ed School
form method="post" action="http://lists.truckline.com/scripts/submany.pl">
| ||||
