A.M. Executive Briefing - Oct. 27
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Frozen Foods Express Reports 3Q Loss
Frozen Foods Express Industries (FFEX), a carrier specializing in perishable goods, has reported a net loss of 9 cents per share for the third quarter, compared to a loss of 7 cents per share in the same period of 1999.Higher fuel costs and driver pay, an inability to raise freight rates and higher than usual claims and insurance expenses all played a part in the quarterly loss, Frozen Foods Express said in its report. Increased rates and fuel surcharges were not enough to compensate for the higher costs, the company noted. Transport Topics
Oil Prices Steady; OPEC Trigger Date Nears
Crude oil prices were little changed as prices stood above $28 per barrel for a 19th straight day, putting the market another step closer to an OPEC production increase, Bloomberg reported Friday.
OPEC will make an announcement Monday as to whether or not it will boost its oil output for the fourth time this year, according to Bloomberg. Transport Topics
3Q Economic Growth Slows to 2.7%
The U.S. economy has settled to the slowest pace since the spring of 1999, easing fears about future interest rate hikes, the Associated Press reported Friday.The gross domestic product increased 2.7% in the third quarter, according to Department of Commerce figures. Analysts had expected third-quarter performance to hit 3% or even 3.5%. American businesses invested less and federal outlays were also cut, but consumer spending rose, according to Commerce Department figures.
Experts say these latest numbers, coupled with government figures released earlier in the week on productivity and wages, will be comforting to the Federal Reserve Board when it meets next month to consider making adjustments to interest rates. "It certainly leaves (the Federal Reserve) very comfortable with what they have done so far," said economist Carol Stone of Nomura Securities in New York.
A separate survey of members of the National Association for Business Economics found falling profit margins for 34% of members. Transport Topics
Canacar to Lodge Formal Complaint on EASO
The Mexican trucking organization Canacar will lodge a formal complaint next week with Mexico's Trade and Industry Ministry against Transportes EASO, a M.S. Carriers (MSCA) subsidiary, according to an Infolatina report.Canacar alleges that EASO is in violation of the North American Free Trade Agreement, which allows only Mexican carriers to transport freight between domestic points, the story said.
A senior Mexican Communications and Transport Ministry official said in another Infolatina story that, since EASO is held by a U.S. company, the extent of foreign involvement in EASO is not entirely clear and may be in violation of Nafta.
However, Canacar members who staged slow-moving convoys and roadside demonstrations on Mexican highways as a protest against EASO may be penalized by the Communications and Transport Ministry, another official told Infolatina. That official called for dialogue between Canacar and the government, rather than by strike action, the story said. Transport Topics
Samsung Truck Workers Strike Again
Workers at Samsung Commercial Vehicle Co.'s plant in Taegu, southeast of Seoul, went on strike to demand help from parent company Samsung Group, Bloomberg reported Friday.Slow sales and cash problems are weakening Samsung Commercial, and Samsung is looking to find an equity investor after Renault SA ended buyout talks this week, the story said.
Korea's smallest truck maker may either receive loans from the country's banks next month or could be shut down, Bloomberg noted. The workers struck to try to convince Samsung's major shareholders and lenders to help the company, the story said. Transport Topics
Daewoo Approves New Execs
Daewoo Motor Co. shareholders approved the appointments of Lee Jong Dae as chairman and Lee Young Kook as president of the struggling Korean vehicle maker, Bloomberg reported Friday.The new executives will face the difficult task of keeping Daewoo in business, as the company is deeply in debt and must find a way to cut costs, the story said. Daewoo is courting possible buyers; one potential buyer, General Motors (GM), will soon begin an extensive review of the company's assets. Transport Topics
European Immigrant-Smuggling Bust Uncovers Fake Companies, Warehouses
Fake import-export companies with their own dockside warehouses have been uncovered by Netherlands investigators probing the smuggling of Third World immigrants into Western countries, the New York Times said Friday.Police in France and Belgium have joined their Dutch colleagues on several coordinated raids this month. In the Netherlands, more than 100 people have been arrested since Oct. 10, the paper said.
Some Dutch politicians hope to follow the British example of imposing $3,000 fines upon truck drivers carrying illegal stowaways, according to the Times. The discovery of the bodies of 58 Chinese immigrants who died in a truck while trying to sneak into England prompted outrage overseas and forced European officials to step up efforts to stop human smuggling ("Truck Stowaway Deaths Spur European Countermeasures," 7-3). Transport Topics
Headlines From Yesterday's P.M. Briefing
- Rail Intermodal Traffic Rises Again
- DaimlerChrysler Reports 10% Drop in 3Q Commercial Vehicle Sales
- Alcoa to Lay Off Pennsylvania Workers
- Employment Cost Index Edges Up 0.9% for 3rd Quarter
- Summit Strike Begins to Take Toll on Safeways
- FTC Says Antitrust Laws Sufficient for B2Bs
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