A.M. Executive Briefing - Mar. 29
This Morning's Headlines:
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Panel Nixes High Overweight Truck Fees
The Louisiana House Transportation Committee unanimously turned down bills from state Rep. Buddy Shaw that would have raised the annual price for overweight-load permits to between $2,000 and $5,000, although the panel did approve higher fines for very overweight trucks.The state Department of Transportation and Development asked Shaw (R-Shreveport) to introduce the bills, which were intended to head off road damage from 100,000-pound or larger loads by making the permits prohibitively expensive – and if they were purchased and used, the price would cover repairs.
Some Proposals to Fight Traffic Congestion
Among many proposed or in-progress city projects to combat traffic congestion in Seattle is an electronic truck-enforcement system that will keep trucks from having to stop for inspections; the city expects the $40,000 system to be developed within a year.Other projects include Internet-accessible cameras along major arteries, an online traffic-congestion map, and sensors to detect delays caused by trains at rail crossings. Seattle Times Online (03/29/00)
Paccar Inc. to Bolster its Online Presence
The truck manufacturer Paccar said Monday it will start a business-to-business Web site called Truckxchange.com, which will be part of ePaccar, one of the company's two initiatives for expanding its presence in Web commerce and technology.The other initiative is a venture capital fund, Paccar.com, which will fund companies whose technology could help Paccar and its customers; one of them is eScout, which allows medium-sized and smaller companies to gain purchasing leverage by pooling orders.
Truckxchange.com, expected to be operational in the third quarter, will allow similar functions for buyers of supplies, but the company will also establish other customer-friendly services. Paccar believes that the venture will be helped by the brand recognition of its truck nameplates Peterbilt and Kenworth, and that it will also enable drivers of non-Paccar trucks to work with the company. Seattle Post-Intelligencer (03/28/00) P. C1; Virgin, Bill
State Scans Truckers for Drugs
Iowa's employment of ion-scanning detectors to search truckers' logbooks and drivers' licenses for drug traces during an Interstate 80 safety check earlier this month has prompted the Iowa Motor Truck Association to request a meeting with state Transportation Department officials regarding the scanners.Of 623 truckers checked at the Cedar County weigh station on the westbound side of the highway, 46 had positive test results. Drug-sniffing dogs were employed after that, and drugs were found in searches of three trucks, leading to drug-possession charges for three truckers.
The state trucking group's President Scott Weiser said the organization wants "some assurance that this equipment is legitimate" from the state DOT as well as a protocol for use; he added that the state has been receptive. Among other things, the industry is concerned that trucks are not necessarily driven by only one person, said Weiser, who pointed out that commercial drivers must already be tested for drugs under federal law. He is also looking out for drivers' interests, he said.
The scanners have been used in truck safety inspections along interstates all over Iowa, said state officials, who are confident in the equipment. Des Moines Register (03/28/00) P. 1, Metro Iowa Section; Petroski, William
DaimlerChrysler Not Seeking Partner in Asia Truck Business: Schrempp
DaimlerChrysler will not look for an Asian truck operations partner, despite the fact that its tie-up with Mitsubishi Motors excludes buses and medium and heavy trucks due to Mitsubishi's commercial-vehicle alliance with Volvo, said DaimlerChrysler Chairman Juergen Schrempp.The German-U.S. group will also not purchase a share of Nissan Diesel Motor, said Schrempp, but will make its own foray into the truck market in Asia. He added that there will be no interference by DaimlerChrysler in the Mitsubishi-Volvo alliance.
DaimlerChrysler will effectively be gaining management control of Mitsubishi by purchasing a 34% equity stake in the Japanese firm, the companies announced Monday. Jiji Press Ticker Service (03/28/00)
AWG Talks Go Nowhere
The Teamsters and Associated Wholesale Grocers achieved little in two brief Tuesday negotiating sessions regarding a new contract for warehouse and truckers in Kansas City and Springfield, Mo., whose jobs will be outsourced Sunday if new contracts are not approved.AWG wants the union to equal the savings it says the outsourcing will bring in the next five years, and company negotiators said they could not accept the union's new proposals brought in Tuesday and will end talks, which were to resume in Kansas City Wednesday, unless proposals are altered greatly.
Under the company's plan, Springfield warehouse operations would be outsourced to Elite Logistics, which has brought in prospective workers from elsewhere for training this week; the training site was picketed Tuesday by the union.
Many Springfield-area workers are interested in the jobs, but only 97 have completed the application process, all of them Teamsters. The company RTX would handle trucking in Springfield, but it only works with owner-operators, and the AWG truckers are company drivers. MSNBC Online (03/28/00); Patton, Laurie
House Approves New Permit System for Large Trucks
The Vermont House of Representatives on Tuesday gave preliminary approval to a bill establishing a network of Vermont highways that trucks with overall lengths between 68 feet and 72 feet can use without a permit or restrictions. For trucks to travel between the highways included in the plan and specific destinations, businesses can issue permits.Contention arose in the house about a portion of the bill that would enable such trucks to use U.S. Route 4 from Killington to the New Hampshire border, where 53-foot trailers have long been banned. That measure was opposed by the wealthy village of Woodstock, which sends few representatives to the legislature, but supported by the relatively blue-collar Rutland area, which has many more representatives.
Industrial Rutland is hard to reach by truck from Interstate 89 due to the U.S. 4 trailer-length limit. Associated Press (03/28/00); Sneyd, Ross
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