A Bloomberg survey released late Tuesday also showed that OPEC oil production rose 0.8%, or about 220,000 barrels per day, in September. U.S. distillate fuel inventories, which include diesel fuel and heating oil also rose, narrowing the deficit over a year ago to 20%, the article said. Both those fuel types will be in strong demand in coming months as trucking moves through its peak freight season and as winter hits the Northern Hemisphere.

Latest oil prices fell as much as 35 cents to $31.72 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, and 45 cents to $30.60 per barrel on London's International Petroleum Exchange, Bloomberg said early Wednesday. Transport Topics

Truck Fatalities Increased in 1999

The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board said Tuesday that medium- and heavy truck-related deaths (trucks over 10,000 lbs.) increased 2.1% in 1999, to 755. The agency also reported that deaths in light trucks and vans rose 5.1% to 11,208.

Overall, 43,986 people died in transportation-related accidents, only two fewer than in 1998, the report said. Highway fatalities - which account for 94% of all transportation fatalities - fell .2% last year, according to the report. Rail deaths fell 3.1%, Bloomberg noted. Transport Topics

Federal Wilson Bridge Funding Leaves Big State Tabs

The additional money Congress agreed Tuesday to spend to rebuild the Woodrow Wilson Bridge on Interstate 95 near Washington, D.C. still leaves Maryland and Virginia to come up with large sums to push the badly needed project forward.

The heavily traveled drawbridge across the Potomac River feeds runs past Alexandria, Va. and is a heavily traveled north-south route for cars and freight trucks. Authorities have said truck traffic might have to be curbed unless the bridge is soon revamped.

A House-Senate conference committee stuck $600 million in fiscal 2001 funding into a transportation bill, which now goes to each chamber for final approval before heading to the White House for President Clinton's signature. That's on top of $900 million Congress had already planned to spend, raising the total federal tab to $1.5 billion.

Maryland and Virginia earlier committed to spend $200 million each to upgrade the bridge that connects them, and the project is now expected to cost up to $2.5 billion. So the Washington Post reports the project still awaits a financing plan by the states to cover the expected costs before major construction can begin, and before the new federal money can be allocated.

The Post said a spokesman for Maryland Gov. Parris Glendening said that state should be able to work out a financing plan, and any cost overruns would have to be shared with Virginia. Transport Topics

Browner Wants Veto if Budget Blocks EPA Rules on Diesel

Carol Browner, Environmental Protection Agency administrator, said Tuesday she will ask President Clinton to veto EPA funding legislation if it would prevent the agency from making rules to lower the sulfur content of diesel fuel, Bloomberg reports.

Some in Congress are trying to add language to the EPA's funding bill that would prevent the agency from setting diesel standards until the National Academy of Sciences can study the feasibility and cost-effectiveness, the article said.

The EPA has proposed reducing the sulfur content in diesel by 97%, and plans to make a final ruling by the end of 2000, according to Bloomberg. Critics, including some in the trucking industry, are trying to delay a rule that they say would drive the cost of diesel fuel up by 15 cents per gallon, the article said. Transport Topics

Wabash Sells Part of Leasing, Finance Portfolio

Wabash National Corp. (WNC) said Wednesday it has sold part of the trailer leasing and finance portfolio held in its subsidiary, Wabash National Finance Corporation (WNFC), for about $20 million. The purchaser was not identified.

Wabash makes both the Wabash and Fruehauf brands of standard and customized truck trailers. WNFC offers leasing and finance programs for new and used trailers. Transport Topics

Overnite Guarantees Nationwide Pickup Service

Overnite Transportation said this week it is the first trucking company for less-than-truckload shippers to offer a nationwide pickup service with money-back guarantee.

Overnite offers the guarantee that if a customer's order is not picked up and delivered as scheduled, it is free of charge. The service was tested in the Northeast beginning in February and kicked off over the summer in the Midwest, Overnite said.

In recent months, Overnite has expanded its Advantage Canada and Advantage Overnite services, offering full coverage to more regions. Transport Topics

C2 Inc. Acquires Total Logistic Control

Milwaukee's C2 Inc. (CTOO) said Wednesday it has acquired the remaining 33% needed to hold 100% of Total Logistic Control, for approximately $8.3 million.

TLC, based in Michigan, is a subsidiary of C2 and provides services ranging from refriger-ated and dry warehousing to freight forwarding and shipment fulfillment for e-commerce.

C2 is offers third-party integrated logistics and refrigerated merchandising equipment manufacturing. It's other subsidiary is Wisconsin manufacturer Zero Zone. Transport Topics

Truckers Still Involved in Worldwide Protests

Truckers continued to be involved in several protests across the globe Wednesday, for a variety of purposes.

In Yugoslavia, several truckers were arrested for their part in blockades aimed at pressuring President Slobodan Milosevic to resign, the Associated Press reported. The arrests were made in an attempt to clear roadways, but dozens of people on foot then sat down in the roads to continue the blockages.

Romanian truck and taxi drivers blocked the streets of Bucharest Wednesday, backing up traffic in that city as they voiced their demands for cuts in gasoline and diesel taxes, Reuters reported.

The ongoing trucker strike in Argentina - also over fuel costs - had a heavy impact on the country's cattle trade, but the government vowed not to bow to truckers' demands, another Reuters story noted. Argentina is the world's fourth-largest beef exporter. Transport Topics

California Republicans Push Suspension of Gas Tax

Republican members of the California Assembly offered a "gas pact" with the state's motorists Tuesday related to that state's elections, promising a suspension of the sales tax on gasoline should their party regain control of the state legislature.

According to a statement issued by Assembly Republican Leader Scott Baugh, the tax on motor fuel suspended for as long as a surplus remains in the state budget. Republicans say this would would save motorists roughly 15 cents a gallon. A person familiar with the plan told Transport Topics the proposed suspension would also apply to diesel fuel.

Prices for regular gasoline currently average $1.775 per gallon in the West Coast region, which includes California, according to the Energy Information Association. Transport Topics

European Commission Wants to Centralize Oil Reserves

The European Commission is searching for ways to centralize management of the European Union countries' strategic oil reserves, Energy Commissioner Loyola de Palacio told Bloom-berg Wednesday.

The EU should coordinate with the International Energy Agency for any release of reserves, the article said. EU countries maintain reserves of an average of 100 days' worth of oil in case of shortages; Palacio said such a shortage might occur in the upcoming winter, the article said.

The IEA meets Wednesday in Paris to discuss potentially using some of those oil reserves to lower prices, but said it has no immediate plans to make such a move, Bloomberg said. Transport Topics

Contract Freighters Signs Agreement With PNV

PNV (PNVN), an online communications and information provider to the trucking and logistics industry, announced Wednesday it has signed a deal with Contract Freighters Inc. under which CFI becomes the first trucking fleet company to offer its drivers free Internet access using PNV's service.

Employing more than 2,400 drivers, CFI carries a variety of products throughout the continguous United States, Canada and Mexico, specializing in Mexico cross border transportation. Transport Topics

Miami Area Socked by Rain; Airport Among Those Shut Down

A major storm continued to dump torrents of rain on the Miami area Wednesday after pelting it Tuesday, blocking streets with standing water and shutting down Miami International Airport, the Miami Herald reported Wednesday.

The airport, a major international cargo hub, closed at 3:30 Tuesday afternoon and then reopened briefly before cancelling all flights, the article said.

Streets were turned into rivers, flooding abandoned cars and causing several accidents; 56 were reported in Broward alone by Tuesday evening, the Herald noted. Forecasters expect the rain to slow later Wednesday, according to the article. Transport Topics

(For more general news on how utilities operate their truck fleets, see the current and recent issues of our monthly magazine Utility Fleet Management.)

Headlines From Yesterday's P.M. Briefing

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