A.M. Executive Briefing - May 15
This Morning's Headlines:
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Truckers Slammed With Higher Insurance Rates
Trucking companies are facing skyrocketing insurance rates for trucks, trailers, cargo, and workers' compensation.Bill Crites of California-based Condor Freight Lines says trucking companies have been enjoying low insurance rates in recent years as insurers battled for market share. California Insurance Commissioner Chuck Quackenbush this year told insurers they should increase workers' comp premiums 18.4% on average – trucking companies' rates may be higher due to the industry's increased injury risk.
The higher workers' comp premiums trucking firms are paying are still lower than what they were recently; in 1995, workers' comp adopted an open-rating system that let rates fall far.
A similar situation is taking place in truck and trailer insurance, where rate wars drove down prices while claims settlements are rising – as are accident risks, since the driver shortage is leading companies to turn to less-experienced truckers.
Rising cargo theft may be the biggest driver of rate increases. High injury risks and the high value of equipment and cargo will all cause rising insurance rates to affect trucking companies a great deal. Sacramento Business Journal Online (05/15/00); Forster, David
New York Investment House Increases Navistar Ownership
Gabelli Investments has upped its stake in Navistar International to 6.23%, or 386 million shares; the price per share paid by the New York investment house over the last two months has been between $33 and $40.Salomon Smith Barney has reiterated a "buy" rating on Navistar and predicted that within a year its share price would hit $60. Dayton Business Times Online (05/15/00)
Bronx Homes Are Evacuated After Barrels of Deadly Cyanide Are Found
The director of the New York City Mayor's Office of Emergency Management says the thieves who stole a truckload of potassium cyanide from a New Jersey warehouse earlier this month likely did not know what they were stealing and did not intend to use the chemical as a terrorist weapon.The truck containing the 20 barrels of cyanide was taken from Magic Transport's Linden, N.J., warehouse on May 3; the trailer was found empty in Queens on Friday and the barrels were located in a residential Bronx neighborhood Saturday.
Some 70 homes in the area were evacuated for a short time Saturday as emergency crews in biohazard suits, along with a city chemist, determined that the barrels had not broken or leaked the poisonous chemical into the air.
The shipment had originally been bound for Puerto Rico. New York Times (05/14/00) P. A35; Rashbaum, William K.
County Targets Its Foul Trucks
Concerned about air pollution, Sacramento County, Calif., is eyeing the possibility of using liquified natural gas-fueled trucks to replace the diesel-fueled long-haul trailers, garbage trucks, and landfill equipment it now uses, as well as dump trucks, prisoner-transport buses, and street sweepers.To fund the switch, the county's general services chief wants to use some of Sacramento County's piece of the tobacco industry's $206 billion settlement with California and 45 other states. The Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District wants to assist Sacramento County and the city of Sacramento establish two or more liquefied or compressed natural gas fueling stations.
As the county's heavy diesel trucks wear out, they are replaced with cleaner-fuel vehicles, and Sacramento International Airport uses compressed natural gas to fuel half of its 32 shuttle buses. Sacramento Bee (05/14/00) P. B1; Davila, Robert D.
Oregon Truck-Part Maker Reviewing Its Options
Fairview, Ore.-based Cascade Corp., which makes truck lift attachments, will evaluate its future plans with the help of Gleacher & Co. Cascade management recently announced that it is mulling a leveraged buyout, after which managers would take Cascade private, although no bid has yet been submitted.In March, Cascade established a committee to consider proposals; committee chairman James Osterman said the company's share price, which has dropped 19% in the last year, significantly undervalues the company. Seattle Times (05/13/00) P. B1
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