A.M. Executive Briefing - Sept. 11
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OPEC to Boost Production, Prices Not Yet Curbed
OPEC formally announced this weekend it would increase oil production by 800,000 barrels a day in an effort to bring prices down from a 10-year high. However, the price of crude oil remained above $32 a barrel on both the New York Mercantile Exchange ($33.45) and London's International Petroleum Exchange ($32.10), although prices have seen a slight drop, Bloomberg reported Monday.U.S. crude oil had risen above $35 per barrel last week. Several traders said OPEC's increase will not be enough to drive prices down or replenish low inventories, Bloomberg reported.
OPEC members will add to daily quotas starting Oct. 1, Bloomberg said, and want to drive oil prices down closer to a target level of $25 a barrel. Transport Topics
Trucker Protests Spread in Europe, End in France
Truckers in various countries of Europe have followed last week's example by French truck-ers and spread blockades of roads and fuel depots in Germany, Belgium and England to protest high fuel costs, Bloomberg reported. However, French truckers and farmers ended their blockades over the weekend and fuel deliveries resumed to filling stations.At its peak, the French protest had reportedly blocked about half that country's fuel depots as well as a number of refineries, drying up supplies for motorists and airports. Although it has ended in France, by Sunday German truckers and farmers were launching their own blockades. Belgian truck, bus and taxi protesters blocked roads in and around the capital of Brussels.
By Monday, U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair was rejecting demands to slash fuel taxes after four days of protests there by truckers, farmers and taxi drivers, but Bloomberg said oil companies there planned to meet with the government over the protests.
Although OPEC's new decision to boost output could bring some relief in lower pump prices, the protests have also focused anger on high fuel taxes across Europe. Transport Topics
Union Pacific Rate Increase Set at 3%
Union Pacific Corp.'s rail division will raise its rates an average of 3% in October, Bloomberg reported.UP announced Friday it would be raising prices in the fourth quarter due to sharply rising fuel costs, Transport Topics previously reported, but at the time UP did not specify when or how much.
The rate hike applies to shipments on the railroad's own tracks and its portion of prices charged for cargo moving on multiple railroads, and will be applied to shipments covered by customized contracts when applicable, Union Pacific said.
Union Pacific's fuel costs rose 50% in the past year to more than $1 a gallon, and total diesel expenses for the first half of 2000 were $219 million, a 60% increase, Bloomberg noted. Union Pacific is the largest U.S. railroad and operates the largest fleet of diesel locomotives in the country, consuming about 1.3 billion gallons of diesel annually. Transport Topics
Con-Way Opens Connecticut Center to Increase Coverage
Con-Way Central Express (CCX), the East Coast less-than-truckload subsidiary of Con-Way Transportation Services, said it will open a new service center in Borzah, Conn., Monday.The 12-door service center is located off Interstate 395; Borzah is in eastern Connecticut, near Norwich.
The new facility will allow CCX to provide next-day delivery service to most of New Eng-land and the northeastern United States, the company said. Transport Topics
U.S. Gasoline Prices Up Seven Cents, Survey Finds
The average price of self-serve regular gasoline rose to $1.57 per gallon over the past two weeks that included the Labor Day holiday, according to the Lundberg Survey of national gas prices at the pump, CNN reported Sunday.The survey checked prices at more than 10,000 gas stations nationwide between Aug. 25 and Sept. 8, and found the average price rose nearly seven cents, the report said.
The survey's publisher, Trilby Lundberg, told CNN the increase was due both to high demand for gasoline and rising crude oil prices. Lundberg also said he does not feel the OPEC production increase will have much effect on retail prices. Transport Topics
Heating Oil Price Rising, Supplies Low as Cold Winter Expected
The price of No. 2 heating oil arriving in New York harbor is 59% higher than it was last August, according to Monday's New York Times. Heating oil is virtually the same as diesel fuel, so customers of each sometimes compete for the fuel and price moves for those fuels are similar.A high-demand heating season, featuring colder weather than last year, is predicted for the Northeast, although fuel shortages are not expected, the Times said. A German buying binge has taken much of the European supply, it added.
Mid-Atlantic states reportedly have inventories as much as 40% below last year, and that could affect prices, analysts said. In addition, bad weather that affects deliveries - such as rivers jammed with ice or streets clogged with snow - could affect the price/delivery situation.
Transport Topics
Trailer Bridge Boosts Northeast U.S.-Puerto Rico Service
Trailer Bridge, a trucking and marine freight service provider, announced Monday it will expand its direct service between the northeastern United States and Puerto Rico.Beginning Oct. 11, Trailer Bridge will increase its service for intermodal containerized freight between Port Newark, N.J. and San Juan, P.R. from bi-weekly to weekly service.
The decision to expand was based on a customer survey conducted in July, which found Trailer Bridge's growing northeastern U.S. customer base to be in favor of the increased service from Port Newark, the company said.
The service uses Trailer Bridge's Triplestack Box Carrier ocean vessels, which can handle 53-foot, high-cube containers. Transport Topics
Headlines From Friday's P.M. Briefing
- Union Pacific Will Hike Rail Rates in Fourth Quarter
- Postal Service Violated Agreement With Emery, Judge Rules
- Florida East Coast Spin-off From St. Joe Co. Moves Forward
- San Diego County Turns to Cleaner-Burning Garbage Trucks
- Sniper Still on Loose in Arkansas; Suspect Arrested in D.C. Stabbing
- Gas Trucks Idle After U.K. Protest; French Protest Will Continue
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