A.M. Executive Briefing - Mar. 28
This Morning's Headlines:
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U.S. Travel Restrictions Slam Brakes on Mexican Truckers
The California Highway Patrol will begin enforcing a ban on lease agreements between U.S. carriers and Mexican truckers Tuesday, and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration will begin doing so soon afterward, said FMCSA Southern California director Ron Hoffman.After President Clinton refused to implement Nafta provisions that would have allowed Mexican trucks to travel throughout the United States, Mexican drivers' lawyers uncovered a six-decade-old U.S. law enabling Mexican truckers to do so if they have lease agreements with companies north of the border.
UPS Sees a Future Full of Brown Trucks
In an interview with San Jose Mercury News writer Sam Diaz, United Parcel Service CEO James Kelly names a move into global commerce, information-technology and infrastructure building, and the founding of a capital financing corporation as significant recent milestones for UPS.The company has reacted to e-commerce by vying for a position in both the business-to-business sector and the business-to-consumer sector. It also believes that residential delivery will grow faster than business-to-business for UPS this year due to e-commerce, the opposite of what was the case not long ago.
One thing that is changing for consumers is a growing interest in requesting specifically where, when, and how UPS serves them, including providing a place where consumers can pick up shipments rather than having them delivered.
Regarding business-to-business e-commerce, he calls supply chain management "like a $3 trillion opportunity," which is being outsourced by only 10% of companies now. UPS serves businesses all along the supply chain, including deliveries, inventory management, phone centers, and other services.
Since the company's November IPO, UPS has had to deal with issues of market volatility as well as the impression investors have of just what sort of company UPS is – not just a transportation firm, Kelly says.
Finally, he calls competition the biggest challenge to UPS, requiring it to know customers' desires as well as future needs, and says another challenge is managing 340,000 employees and allowing them to comprehend UPS' strategy and future plans. Raleigh News and Observer (03/27/00) P. D5; Diaz, Sam
Striking Teamsters Use Mass Distribution of Fliers to Press Case
Backing up a strike of truckers and warehouse employees at Coca-Cola Bottling Distribution Co., a pair of Teamsters locals handed out fliers Saturday at stores in West Virginia and parts of Ohio and Kentucky.According to the fliers, the company wants an "over 600%" rise in Huntington, W.Va., employees' health insurance premiums to cover future price increases. Drivers there have been offered health insurance by the Teamsters.
The strike began March 14 in Huntington, and all employees at warehouses there and in five other West Virginia locations have honored union picket lines at the facilities. Bargaining between the union and the North Carolina-based distributor, which is separate from The Coca-Cola Co., came to a halt Friday with no further talks scheduled. Associated Press (03/27/00)
AFL-CIO Transportation Trades: Proposals to Repeal 4.3 Cent Fuel Tax a 'Cruel Hoax' on Americans
A Monday statement from AFL-CIO Transportation Trades Department President Sonny Hall called a proposed repeal of 4.3 cents of the federal transportation fuel tax a "political gimmick" that will cut prices less than $1 per week while reducing needed transportation funding and cutting 840,000 jobs.While the federal government mulls this proposal, the statement says, port truckers are suffering economically by being denied both the ability to unionize and "a much needed mechanism to recoup the cost of fuel price hikes." The statement concludes that the tax repeal plan should be rejected but that the government "must take bold steps to address the oil crisis." U.S. Newswire (03/27/00)
New Diesel Forum to Focus on Engine Retrofitting
A Diesel Technology Forum including enginemakers and other automotive and oil-related companies is to join Environmental Protection Agency representatives in a discussion about reducing diesel emissions, particularly those from existing equipment, as well as information exchange among diesel-technology aficionados. The organization is looking for further participants in the debate, which will include voices from government, science, the oil industry, health researchers, and community members. Land Line Magazine Online (03/27/00)© copyright 2000 INFORMATION, INC. Terms of Service
