A.M. Executive Briefing - Oct. 25
This Morning's Headlines:
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Union Steps Up Pressure in Seattle
One day prior to Thursday's pickets by independent truckers at the APL terminal in Seattle, the secretary-treasurer of Local 174 of the Teamsters union wrote to APL demanding that the company hire truckers directly for harbor drayage.The union is testing a new plan for gaining the ability to unionize truck drivers – by pressing terminal operators and shipping companies to hire the truckers. As independent contractors, the owner-operators cannot bargain collectively under U.S. law.
Ship lines say they might have to start giving up control of freight at the port rather than signing contracts with trucking firms that haul it to warehouses or intermodal railyards. Heads of trucking firms say the shipping companies should take greater actions to speed up terminals.
Monetary problems often force striking independents to call off job actions quickly. No matter what happens, transportation costs will certainly be going up. Journal of Commerce Online (10/25/99) ; Mongelluzzo, Bill
Indian Transport Strike Weakens as Chinks Show in Union Solidarity
As the government of India remains firm against any cutbacks in diesel prices, some of the truckers striking against this month's 35% price hike have returned to work.However, the All India Motor Transport Congress says the action is still in effect; "We will not settle for anything but a rollback of the price increase," says AIMTC head O.P. Agarwal. "We are hopeful of finding some workable solution," says Ashoke Joshi, a secretary at the Transport Ministry.
Nothing came of the hotly contentious talks Sunday that were called by the government, which has issued threats that it will allow police to arrest anyone taking part in a strike. Agence France Presse (10/25/99)
Y2K Problem: 25-Cent Toll Hike on Peace Bridge
On Friday, the Peace Bridge Authority passed a budget containing toll hikes including a raise in the truck toll to 41 cents per ton, a six-cent increase. Among the things the tolls will help fund is an additional span. The tolls are to be effective the first day of January. The bridge goes from Buffalo, N.Y., to Fort Erie, Ontario. Buffalo News (10/23/99) P. 1C; Lakamp, PatrickTrucker Pleads Guilty to Six Counts in Fatal Toll Road Accident
In a plea agreement, trucker Cornelius Spencer, 51, on Friday entered guilty pleas to three counts each of two felonious charges after a March 4 accident on the Indiana Toll Road that killed an 11-year-old boy, his grandfather, and a state trooper. A status hearing Nov. 12 will be followed by a sentencing hearing; Spencer could get up to 22 years' imprisonment. The charges to which Spencer pleaded guilty say that he caused death and caused serious bodily injury while driving as his blood contained cocaine metabolite. Associated Press (10/23/99)OTRX Reports 3rd-Quarter Results
OTR Express says it saw a $328,000 net loss in the third quarter, a per-share net loss of 18 cents. In the year-earlier quarter, the TL carrier and logistics firm saw $274,000 earnings, or per-share earnings of 15 cents.Third-quarter revenue was $20.5 million, up 10%, with operating income of $395,000, down 69%. Company Chairman, President, and CEO William P. Ward says the company was impacted by "higher fuel costs, unmanned trucks, and higher maintenance costs" in the third quarter and expects the problem to continue in the fourth quarter. However, he says the company has been doing things to address the problem, including imposing fuel surcharges, hiking rates and pay, and allowing drivers to become owner-operators, and expects these to start to affect results in next year's first two quarters.
For the first nine months of 1999, the company saw net earnings of $35,000, down from $693,000 in the comparable 1998 period, as net earnings per share fell to 2 cents from 38 cents, and operating income fell to $2.7 million, a 25% decline. The first nine months saw $59.8 million in revenue, up 13% from last year's first nine months. Business Wire (10/22/99)
Yellow Corporation Announces Third Quarter 1999 Results
Yellow Corp. says it saw $15.9 million in net income in the third-quarter, up from $13.5 million in the year-earlier quarter, with revenue of $861 million, a 15.6% rise. The net income per share of 64 cents was up 23% from the year-earlier quarter's earnings per share.Yellow Freight System's third-quarter revenue was $675.4 million, a 5.6% rise from last year's third quarter, with $26.6 million in operating income, a 29.6% rise. Less-than-truckload freight tonnage was up 3.2% and LTL shipments increased 3.1% at Yellow Freight.
Saia Motor Freight Line saw $89.1 million in third-quarter revenue, an increase of $1.2 million, as operating income fell to $4.7 million from $6.7 million and the operating ratio rose from 92.3 to 94.7.
Jevic Transportation, which Yellow bought during the quarter, saw $63.4 million revenue, up from $57 million in last year's third quarter, when Jevic was a separate company. Operating income at Jevic was $4.5 million, compared to $4.2 million last year, and the operating ratio for the incomplete quarter was 93, compared to 92.6 for the third quarter last year.
WestEx had a 99.6 operating ratio and $18.5 million in revenue. Action Express had a 96.1 operating ratio and $9.3 million in revenue. PR Newswire (10/22/99)
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