A.M. Executive Briefing - Mar. 7
This Morning's Headlines:
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Brussels Rejects Move by Volvo
The European Commission turned down Volvo's offer of new concessions for approval of its planned Scania merger; the EC's Jonathan Faul said the deadline for new commitments had long passed.On Friday, Volvo said it offered to lower dealer deliveries of trucks so as to reduce its Swedish, Norwegian, and Finnish market share, but Faul said Monday there had been no formal notification to the EC.
Alec Burnside of the Linklaters and Alliance law firm said the EC prefers concessions that change a company's structure, thus being permanent, rather than guarantees of different behavior, since monitoring would be necessary and enforcement would be tough. Financial Times (03/07/00) P. 17; Burt, Tim; Hargreaves, Deborah
Heavy-Truck Fines May Be Shifted
The Michigan state Senate Transportation and Tourism Committee will hold a hearing Tuesday on several bills intended to keep municipalities from using fines for truck violations to pay for truck enforcement.The trucking industry says cities' truck enforcement officers are there to generate revenue for local police. Mayor Jack Kirksey of Livonia said the city would probably end its truck patrols, which could be bad because truck enforcement is needed for safety and to protect roads, he said.
But committee chairman Sen. Bill Bullard Jr. said he believes "there has been overzealous enforcement of technical things, where the motivation might be to gain some revenue." The bills' introduction was the work of some trucking interests, he said.
If the bills pass, the money from truck enforcement would go to municipal roads, courts, and county libraries instead. Detroit Free Press Online (03/07/00); Laitner, Bill
Tellier Pushes Merger
Warming up for his testimony Tuesday before the U.S. Surface Transportation Board, Canadian National Railway chief Paul Tellier told the Canadian Club that his railroad's planned merger with Burlington Northern Santa Fe would come off without the problems that have beset U.S. railroad mergers. Tellier said CN and BNSF would "join together end-to-end" with "no overlap and no need for restructuring," saying the same had happened with last year's CN-Illinois Central merger.The STB could veto the deal, and the merger would also need the okay of Canada's Combination Bureau.
Canadian Pacific Railway CEO Robert Ritchie has said railroads in North America have still not recuperated from traffic congestion caused by the Conrail split-up in 1998. But Tellier said the combination of CN and BNSF into North American Railways would increase rail competition and make rail a better competitor to trucking. Montreal Gazette (03/07/00) P. D3
Campbell's Bill Won't Affect Highway Trust Fund
Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R-Colo.) said his bill that would temporarily eliminate the 24-cent federal diesel tax would not affect the Highway Trust Fund but would be funded from the general treasury surplus. The bill was criticized due to concerns that the trust fund would be reduced by some $7 billion. Land Line Magazine Online (03/07/00)New Tests Set for 35 More Truckers in Licenses Scandal
Illinois has ordered 35 more truckers to be retested due to the bribes-for-licenses scandal; 500 drivers had already been ordered to take their tests again during the past year.Federal prosecutors investigating the scandal that took place during Gov. George Ryan's time as Illinois secretary of state gave the state a new list of drivers, including Adem Salihovic.
According to the Chicago Tribune, Salihovic, a 45-year-old Bosnian native with poor English skills did not have to take written tests after he gave a driving instructor $800 to make a bribe at the licensing site in Melrose Park. Months later, a 74-vehicle California accident that killed two people occurred after Salihovic lost control of his vehicle.
A referendum, which would ask voters whether Ryan should lose his office due to the scandal, has been threatened by Pat Quinn, a former state treasurer, who said if the initiative passes it could bring pressure for impeachment. Associated Press (03/07/00) ; Robinson, Mike
U.S. Commercial Truck Sales Will Slow, DCX Says
DaimlerChrysler director of commercial vehicles Dieter Zetsche said the U.S. medium and heavy truck market will slow in 2000 from the hot market last year, when over-the-road Class 8 sales set a 15-year record and Freightliner had 31.9% of the U.S. Class 8 market.The company seeks growth in emerging and recovering markets instead, and it intends to increase sales through U.S. sales of Mercedes-Benz Sprinter vans, which are being tested by Federal Express, and through aftermarket growth in Europe. It is emphasizing cost-cutting measures such as using the same components in Freightliner vehicles, Dodge trucks, and Mercedes vans, he said. Automotive News (03/06/00) P. 53; Woodyard, Michael
Digest: Meritor Opens Plant
A new Meritor Heavy Vehicle Systems plant opened last month in Queretaro, Mexico; at the outset it will make drive axles and associated components for Mexican commercial truck plants, and it could expand to other medium and heavy truck components. Automotive News (03/06/00) P. 4© copyright 2000 INFORMATION, INC. Terms of Service
