A.M. Executive Briefing - July 31
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OPEC Members Say Production Will Not Increase
OPEC members Kuwait, Venezuela and Nigeria have indicated they do not see a need to increase crude oil output any time soon, Bloomberg reported Monday.Venezuelan oil minister Ali Rodriguez said OPEC members are currently exceeding output quotas, which he added might lead to oversupply and a decrease in oil prices, the article said. An analyst told Bloomberg oil prices have dropped to OPEC's target level, and so the organization does not feel a need to increase output at this point.
Crude oil is at $28.20 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange and $27.45 a barrel on London's International Petroleum Exchange, having both gone up several cents, Bloomberg also said. Transport Topics
Supreme Industries' Earnings Short Of Expectations
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Net earnings were $2.2 million, or 20 cents per share, and revenues were reported at $68 million for the quarter.
Omer Kropf, president of Supreme Corporation, Supreme Industries' operating subsidiary, said earnings were below expectations due to an "atypical" ordering cycle.
``Deliveries usually made in the first and second quarters were deferred into the third quarter of 1999. This year, major fleet orders returned to a normal cycle and were delivered in the first and second quarters,'' Kropf said in the report.
The report also noted that Supreme has been buying back stock. Currently, it has purchased 234,728 shares and the board of directors has authorized the purchase of 500,000 more. Transport Topics
Western Star Shuts Down South Carolina Plant For Three Weeks
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The Post and Courier (Charleston) reported Saturday that company officials would not say how many workers were impacted, but that 130 employees were there when the plant opened in April. The shutdown trickled down to Kelowna Industrial Plastics, a Western Star supplier. Kelowna also imposed a plant shut down. The supplier had followed Canadian-based Western Star down to Charleston when the new plant opened in April.
Western Star, which is in the process of being bought by DaimlerChrysler subsidiary Freightliner Corp., is the latest manufacturer to show the ill effects of a slowing new truck sale market. Last week Peterbilt Motors Co. announced it would layoff 370 workers at its Madison, Tenn. plant. Transport Topics
ABC News Raises Questions Over Projects Funded By Fuel Tax
The federal gas tax contributes to the rise in fuel prices, truck drivers have complained. ABC News has recently reported that the money from this tax is going to some questionable projects.The gas tax – which for many years was 4 cents but is now 18 cents per gallon for gasoline and 24 cents for diesel – was originally meant to help build the federal highway system. However, ABC reported that today's gas tax funds go to projects such as a parking garage in Vermont ($18 million), a video on the American infrastructure ($2 million), to subsidize museums or for roadside beautification.
In the report, Rep. Bud Shuster (R-Pa.), who chairs the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, claimed other representatives were responsible for the gas tax going to-wards "ancillary" projects like the video, but that much of the tax money goes towards useful projects, such as parking lots and the Bud Shuster Highway, which is Pennsylvania's second-least used highway, according to PennDOT.
Shuster also said truck drivers support the gas tax. However, a driver ABC spoke to for the report sent out a CB call on the topic and received negative feedback on the fuel tax. Also, when the issue came up in Congress earlier this year, Transport Topics reported the fuel tax was met with opposition by many in the trucking industry. Transport Topics
Kenan Transport Company Announces Second Quarter Results
Kenan Transport Company, a North Carolina-based carrier, reported an increase in second quarter results Monday.Revenue increased to $39,327,000, net income to $1,412,000 and earnings per share to 58 cents.
The company said price increases to customers helped offset increases in driver pay and fuel costs. Transport Topics
Lawsuit Filed In Peace Bridge Project
Two grassroots groups in the ongoing controversy over the Peace Bridge project file a lawsuit late Friday in hopes of insuring planners have to complete a comprehensive environmental study.The Buffalo News reported Saturday that Peace Bridge Columbus Park Association and the Buffalo West Side Environmental Defense Fund filed the suit in U.S. District Court against the Peace Bridge Authority. The groups fear the Authority could win an appeal of a New York State Supreme Court ruling that an environmental study must be completed before building a new bridge between Buffalo and Fort Erie, Ontario.
Two years ago the Peace Bridge Authority proposed building a three-lane companion span to alleviate the congested existing bridge. The Peace Bridge sees 6,000 commercial trucks and 27,000 passenger cars cross daily. Transport Topics
Georgia Company Tries to Bring European "Travel Plaza" Concept To I-675
S.E. Equity Developers Inc., of Stockbridge, Ga., wants to bring a European-style travel plaza Interstate 675 in Clayton County, Ga., the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Monday.The travel plaza is a glamorized truck stop, adding hotels, restaurants and retail to the traditional gas and convenience stop. Offices, warehouses and distribution centers may also be part of it, the article said.
The plaza will be located on 80 acres at the I-675/Ellenwood Road interchange. Ellenwood Road also connects to Interstate 75, a major truck route in the area, according to the article. Transport Topics
Miller Industries Issues Quarterly Financial Report
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The company experienced an 8% increase in net sales to $152.3 million for the quarter. The $72.5 million loss equated to a $1.55 loss per diluted share.
Company CEO Jeffrey I. Badgley said results in Miller's towing division were "positive although down somewhat from our recent expectations." Transport Topics
