May 23, 2000 9:10 AM, EDT

A.M. Executive Briefing - May 23

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This Morning's Headlines:

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Maine Truckers Wary of Proposed Pollution Controls

Swiss Vote to Tear Down Transport Barriers With EU

QuoteShip Adding Ocean Freight to Its Menu of Services

WebTransport Teams With Integrated Decision Support Software

Maine Truckers Wary of Proposed Pollution Controls

Maine trucking industry officials are on high alert after the federal government proposed more stringent pollution control regulations last week that would eliminate 95% of the pollution from diesel tractor-trailers and buses.

While the new regulations are still years away, industry officials are already growing wary of the increased fuel and shipping costs that are likely to be tied to new emissions rules.

Part of the proposal requires that 97% of the sulfur be removed from diesel fuel that is used to power heavy vehicles. The Environmental Protection Agency believes the new gas, which would become mandatory in 2006, will drive cost up a mere three cents to four cents per gallon. However, industry estimates have the price as high as 20 cents more per gallon. Bangor Daily News Online (Bangor, Maine) (05/22/00); Tuttle, Jeff

Swiss Vote to Tear Down Transport Barriers With EU

Swiss Voters bolstered the country's airline and trucking industries May 21 after agreeing to economic ties with the 15-nation European Union that surrounds it.

In addition to paving the way for SAirGroup, parent of Swissair, to buy a controlling stake in Sabena Belgian Airlines, the vote also commits Switzerland to permit the EU's heaviest trucks to pass through the Mount Gotthard tunnel, the most direct road route between Germany and Italy. The move should alleviate the traffic congestion currently clogging roads in Austria and France. Journal of Commerce Online (05/23/00); Barnard, Bruce

QuoteShip Adding Ocean Freight to Its Menu of Services

QuoteShip.com, an electronic exchange provider that grew up in the Boston market, augmented its air freight offering two weeks ago by adding an ocean freight menu.

With its plan to go national in early June, QuoteShip is hoping it can eventually implement a trucking service to join the others that would span all of North America. The company is focused exclusively on handling transactions between shippers and forwarders and has built up a loyal following relatively quickly.

Its service creates a private quotation exchange between a shipper and its regular transport providers, as well as a look at the price fluctuations in the daily market. QuoteShip believes the process takes the hassle and time out of rate negotiations, which would otherwise have to be done by phone or fax. Journal of Commerce Online (05/23/00); Armbruster, William

WebTransport Teams With Integrated Decision Support Software

The online load-matching firm WebTransport has joined truckload-industry software provider Integrated Decision Support Corporation to offer fuel, load, yield, and route optimization available through telephone, satellite, or Internet communications.

Nancy Hollingsworth-Roecker, president of WebTransport, said the move will allow carriers to use Integrated's software without installing more components. Dr. Rick Murphy, president of Integrated, expects the venture to "provide value to our current customers and ... make our optimizations technology available to many smaller carriers." Business Wire (05/22/00)