A.M. Executive Briefing - Oct. 12

Cops Pick Up Truckers

Public Security Minister Serge Menard said, "There will be zero tolerance for any roadside intimidation," and he asked for long-haul operations to start up again.

Confederation of National Trade Unions President Marc Laviolette called the arrests "illegal anti-union repression."

Protesters say they are letting deliveries of essentials get through, but the Canadian Petroleum Products Institute's Rene Miglierina, who says carriers are still concerned, alleges telephone threats to company heads and pictures taken of working trucks.

Union heads say they will appeal the court order, which lasts until Oct. 18. Ottawa Sun (10/12/99) P. 7

Bipartisan Congress Drives Toward Tougher Truck Regulations

Deputy Transportation Secretary Mortimer L. Downey says truck-crash deaths have climbed past 5,000 in the 1990s.

Detractors say the Federal Highway Administration gives fines in 11 percent of safety violations, and Congress has discovered that the cases are sometimes settled for under half of the fine.

Rep. Frank R. Wolf (R-Va.) put language into the transportation spending bill signed this weekend by President Clinton that blocked money from going to the Office of Motor Carriers while it is part of the FHWA. According to unnamed sources, however, House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Rep. Bud Shuster (R-Pa.) this week will attempt to get a vote to repeal that language via a procedural measure. Shuster says it would prohibit fines from federal safety authorities and that it was premature due to the planned reform bill proposal.

But Wolf says "more people are going to die" if the FHWA remains in charge of truck safety.

The American Trucking Associations supports Shuster's attempts and the creation of the new administration. Washington Post (10/12/99) P. A4; Morgan, Dan

Higher Fines are Proposed for I-78, Other Fast Highways

"The truckers and other drivers who enter our state should not for a moment think that our penalties are somehow less than New Jersey's," he said.

amuelson believes he will find other sponsors, although he is a new Democrat in a Republican-dominated legislature and has not met with Republican Gov. Tom Ridge's administration about the proposal.

Since the debut of I-78 in the Lehigh Valley a decade ago, close to 50 percent of fatal crashes included tractor-trailers. Samuelson says in trips to the state capital he has found half of trucks and 80 percent of passenger vehicles to be speeding on I-78. Morning Call (Allentown, Pa.) Online (10/12/99) ; Assad, Matt

Global Automotive Report: Daewoo Hunts for Buyer for Commercial Truck Plants

Sources in the Korea Economic Daily today say Renault wants to buy truck and bus factories from Daewoo Motor and Samsung Motor, which are both selling assets. Detroit News Online (10/12/99)

Con-Way Central Express to Expand Operations with New Lexington Service Center

President and CEO Richard V. Palazzo says, "Lexington's ability to directly serve almost half the country with either next- or second-day service underscores the importance of this market to Con-Way."

The new service center will have 39 employees, with 15 tractors and 40 trailers. Business Wire (10/11/99)

Transport Corporation of America Selected Logistics Partner by Polaris Industries

© copyright 1999 INFORMATION, INC. Terms of Service