March 14, 2000 8:50 AM, EST

A.M. Executive Briefing - Mar. 14

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This Morning's Headlines:

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Dana Decides to Sell Truck-Parts Unit

Oil Industry Asks EPA to Rethink Diesel Plan

Putting a Brake on Truck Traffic

Truckers' Convoy Bound for Washington

TransForce Completes the Acquisition of DCA Express 24 and Distribution de Colis les Appalaches

Dana Decides to Sell Truck-Parts Unit

Dana Corp., which in recent months has said it intends to sell seven businesses, reached an agreement Monday to sell its commercial-vehicle cab system group, which makes Moto Mirror and Sprague mirrors, heating controls, and windshield-wiper motors for heavy and medium trucks. The buyer is an affiliate of Hidden Creek Industries, the majority shareholder in Tower Automotive and Dura Automotive Systems. New York Times (03/14/00) P. C20

Oil Industry Asks EPA to Rethink Diesel Plan

Nine oil-industry groups wrote to Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Carol Browner Monday, requesting that the agency withdraw and reconsider its proposal to reduce the diesel-fuel sulfur content to 15 parts per million by 2006, from the current limit of 500 parts per million.

According to the letter, the oil industry believes the plan is "a blueprint for future shortages of diesel and home heating oil," although the industry is "committed to dramatically reducing diesel engine emissions." The letter also referred to recent reports of truck drivers and other diesel users making their diesel-supply concerns heard. Among the industry groups represented were the National Association of Truck Stop Operators and the American Petroleum Institute.

The 2006 date is not backed by scientific evidence, and the EPA should have looked further into how the plan would affect supply before announcing the proposal, the letter said. United Press International (03/13/00)

Putting a Brake on Truck Traffic

Trucks would be prohibited in the left lane of Interstate 10 in Houston this summer under a proposal from the Texas Department of Transportation.

The proposed three-month test is designed to separate trucks from fast cars and keep truckers from being cut off by motorists, said Sally Wegmann, director of traffic operations at the TxDOT Houston office. The results of similar tests around the country have been "really mixed," she said.

This summer's test, which must be approved by the city council, would cover I-10 between U.S. 59 and the city limits. The safety program would also expand a system of warning lights that warns truck drivers if they are going faster than the 35 mph advised for exit ramps, putting such lights at the Texas 288/U.S. 59 and Loop 610/I-45 interchanges. Houston Chronicle Online (03/13/00); Hegstrom, Edward

Truckers' Convoy Bound for Washington

A convoy headed to Washington, D.C., that started Friday with seven trucks departing from Ontario, Calif., had grown to over 100 truckers by the time it left Oklahoma City Monday and cruised through Arkansas.

The convoy along Interstate 40, organized by the National Owner-Operator Truckers Association, makes good on the group's vow to return to the nation's capital if no relief from high diesel prices was forthcoming. The group first drove to Washington last month, and the current convoy is set to make it to the capital Thursday, with most trucking and teamster organizations taking part.

One driver backs the Truckers Bill of Rights, which would extend the Fair Labor Act of 1937 to cover the trucking industry. Freight rates and differences between state trucking laws are also among the truckers' complaints. Associated Press (03/13/00); Cole, Carol

TransForce Completes the Acquisition of DCA Express 24 and Distribution de Colis les Appalaches

The Quebec-based transportation company TransForce, which has subsidiaries in truckload, LTL, and specialized transportation, has completed its purchase of express-delivery firms DCA Express 24 and Distribution de Colis les Appalaches. The two companies have about 200 employees and close to C$10 million in annual sales, operating mostly in the Maritimes, Quebec, and Ontario. Canada NewsWire (03/13/00)