A.M. Executive Briefing - Oct. 26
This Morning's Headlines:
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Teamsters, Trucking Company Dispute Who's in 'Driver's Seat'
While Teamsters spokesman Ira Rosenfeld says the company is not being affected much by the current seven-state Teamsters strike, union strike coordinator David Cameron says the company is doomed to lose in the job action and by week's end will have no freight to haul. Rosenfeld also says Overnite workers are only 5% of the picketers.While the union charges the company has told its truckers to drive quickly at gates &3150 picketers in four cities were hit by trucks and one went to the hospital, the Teamsters say – Rosenfeld denied it and said only that certain picketers were attempting to keep trucks from leaving.
The company says an important matter in the strike is who will handle Overnite's pension money, but according to Cameron the chief problem is that Overnite will not engage in good-faith bargaining. Rosenfeld says the company has "been bargaining in good faith all along" and will "continue to bargain in good faith." [A Monday PR Newswire release from the Teamsters says the strike has nothing to do with pensions, but regards Overnite's labor practices, and that the union does not want to shift pension money into the Central States Pension Fund.] Washington Times (10/26/99) P. B8; Baskervill, Bill
Truck Supplier Fingered in Drug Ring
An affidavit in Hartford, Conn.'s federal District Court alleges that Perrone Trucking and Northeast Truck Sales owner Rick Perrone, of Tolland, Conn., provided drug dealers from Jamaica with trucks to haul marijuana from Mexico to Connecticut. The chief customer was East Hartford resident Desmond "Jimbo" Wolfe, 35, according to prosecutors.There were 16 drug-ring arrests, including that of Perrone, last week. Federal, state, and local authorities cooperated in the probe. Perrone is one of seven probe targets named in the affidavit. Newsday (Long Island/Queens, N.Y.) Online (10/26/99)
White Changes Exams for Truck Driver Licenses
As the probe into past bribery for drivers' licenses in Illinois continues, Secretary of State Jesse White says applicants will no longer be allowed to have the assistance of translators. They must also take the Illinois test if they move from another state, must pass the two written exams instead of one of the two, and cannot use duplicates of previous exams.In Illinois, the written exams qualify an applicant for a permit, which allows the applicant to take the road test, which can be administered by company employees who are certified by the state. Permits will now last only a year, after which the permit exams have to be taken over.
Also under a new rule, applicants cannot take the written exams for a month after failing them three times; three months after failing three more times; and twelve months after failing three times after that. The special traffic safety subcommittee is working on more changes to cut down problems with driver examination by third parties. Copley News Service (10/25/99); Mahr, Joe
Scania Profit Jumps 46 Pct for First Nine Months to 444 Mln Dollars
Scania says it saw 3.64 billion kronor, or $444 million, in profit in 1999's first nine months, up 46% from the comparable 1998 period, along with a 43% rise in net income. Also in the first nine months, the Swedish truckmaker saw a 5% year-over-year rise in sales, a 43% rise in income per share, while the operating margin was 13.41%, up by 2.91 percentage points.The first nine months saw a 3% climb in sales of trucks over 16 metric tons in Europe, causing Scania's good results, according to the company. However, Scania's truck-sector market share fell 0.4 percentage points to 14.8%. Agence France Presse (10/25/99)
USF Holland Opens New Terminal in Pontiac, Michigan
USFreightways Corp. unit USF Holland says it has debuted a 30,000-square-foot, 80-door Pontiac, Mich., terminal, allowing next-day operations from points as distant as St. Louis, Toronto, Nashville, and Rochester. USF Holland plans to open Erie, Pa., and Joliet, Ill., terminals over the next half year and replace five old terminals elsewhere. Business Wire (10/25/99)CarrierPoint Announces Strategic Business Arrangement with iXL
The digital marketplace CarrierPoint, www.carrierpoint.com , has inked a marketing deal with the Internet consulting and solutions firm iXL Enterprises, www.ixl.com, under which CarrierPoint's e-commerce solution will be marketed to iXL customers. CarrierPoint, which serves trucking and shipping firms, will also receive consulting and infrastructure from iXL. PR Newswire (10/25/99)Safety Group Launches National Campaign to Stop Longer Truck Driver Hours
Canadians for Responsible and Safe Highways, concerned about the desire among the industry, Transport Canada, and certain provincial governments to allow truckers to work more than 80 hours a week rather than the average of 60, is starting a cross-country campaign that will involve sending postcards and addressing local governments about the issue.CRASH Executive Director Bob Evans says resulting fatigue will lead to more accidents and deaths, that a Transport Canada scientific panel said danger would result if the hours are extended, and that Transport Canada and lobbyists "are spinning numbers in an attempt to make an increase look like a decrease." Canada NewsWire (10/25/99)
Emons Transportation Group Announces New Intermodal Train Service in New England
Three Emons Transportation Group subsidiaries have begun double stack intermodal operations, working with Canadian National Railway, to handle Pacific Rim cargo.The first container to be handled by the service started out in Hong Kong, was taken from the Port of Vancouver to Richmond, Quebec, by CN, after which an Emons train took it to Auburn, Maine, for truck transfer. Zim Israel Navigation Co. is the service's first customer among steamship lines.
The Emons subsidiaries are St. Lawrence & Atlantic Railroad (Quebec), St. Lawrence & Atlantic Railroad, and Maine Intermodal Transportation. Business Wire (10/25/99)
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