March 8, 2000 8:50 AM, EST

A.M. Executive Briefing - Mar. 8

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This Morning's Headlines:

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Volvo Seeks Bus and Truck Boost

TransForce Buys TST

Western Governors Oppose Diversion of Highway Money

Two Travel Plazas Close on Ohio Turnpike

Appeals Court Clears UPS of Liability for Theft by Impostors

Volvo Seeks Bus and Truck Boost

Facing expected European Commission rejection of its plans to merge with Scania, Volvo is to hold a press conference Wednesday to relaunch its growth strategy for commercial vehicles.

According to investment bankers, Volvo may seek a deal with Navistar or Germany's MAN and will push its growth plans for Asia via a deal with Mitsubishi Motors' commercial vehicles unit. In the press conference, CEO Leif Johansson will probably also take issue with how the EC has conducted the approval process, especially with regard to national markets.

EC rejection of the merger could also bring a Swedish backlash; a source in the government said the rejection would show smaller countries cannot create a large company and would leave two top Swedish firms vulnerable to acquisition. Financial Times (03/08/00) P. 14; Brown-Humes, Christopher; Burt, Tim; Hargreaves, Deborah

TransForce Buys TST

TransForce announced it has closed its roughly C$85 million purchase of Ontario transportation company TST Solutions, expected to boost TransForce's yearly results by C$0.17 per basic share or C$0.12 per diluted share. Montreal Gazette (03/08/00) P. C2

Western Governors Oppose Diversion of Highway Money

Twelve Western Governors' Association members wrote to President Clinton to oppose the administration budget's proposal to divert over $1 billion from the Federal Highway Trust Fund.

The governors' letter pointed to Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century provisions that require surplus revenues from highway user fees be given back to states for their highway projects. The administration's proposed budget last year also attempted to divert some of that revenue, but the proposal failed. Heavy Duty Trucking Online (03/07/00)

Two Travel Plazas Close on Ohio Turnpike

The travel plazas on the westbound Ohio Turnpike at Portage and the eastbound turnpike at Brady's Leap were to shut down midnight Monday as part of the project to expand the 16 turnpike plazas and add laundry and other trucker amenities. The two Portage County sites, the fifth and sixth in the project, will open again on April 4 of next year. Land Line Magazine Online (03/08/00)

Appeals Court Clears UPS of Liability for Theft by Impostors

In a case involving a trailer stolen in 1995 from the watch company Seiko by men posing as United Parcel Service employees, a New Jersey state appeals court Tuesday ruled that UPS is not liable for more than its $100-per-parcel limited agreement. The liability limits became effective when Seiko signed for the shipment, the court said.

Seiko had argued that UPS was at fault and should compensate the watch company in full for the lost items. In the 1995 theft, the men were dressed in UPS uniforms and driving a UPS tractor; the trailer was found empty later, but the theft has not been solved and no one was prosecuted. Associated Press (03/07/00)