A.M. Executive Briefing - Sept. 16
This Morning's Headlines:
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'Smarter' Crooks Getting Away with Highway Robbery
A National Cargo Security Council poll finds that transportation-company higher-ups believe cargo theft losses for this year will go up higher because of a "smarter breed" of thieves.Seventy-eight percent of the senior executives responding said that their stolen freight total went up from 1997 to 1998, and 71 percent think it will be even higher this year. About 66 percent say their firms will be adding extra security measures. More than half blamed either organized crime or inside jobs for the increase in theft.
Among the recommendations by the executives were free, regular cargo-theft training for law enforcement, creating programs to raise consciousness of cargo theft among government and industry, better security technology, and a cross-country cargo-theft database. The security council is now putting out the sixth edition of the Guidelines for Cargo Security and Loss Control. Journal of Commerce (09/16/99) P. 4; Barnett, Chris
Survivor Says He Wasn't Worried
Richard Bock, the lone survivor of the nine occupants of a van involved in a 1997 chain reaction crash with Consolidated Freightways and McFaul Transport trucks, testified Wednesday that he previously had no worries about the speed or driving behavior of the van's driver.The crash took place on an icy Highway 41 near Slinger, Wisc. Bock also said the crash took place so quickly the van driver, Thomas Inda, had no opportunity to react.
Lawyer Jay Starrett, who represents the carriers and truckers involved in the crash, wants the jury in the civil trial to decide whether the estate and insurance company of van driver Inda should have to pay some of the settlements the carriers made with the families of the deceased. On Tuesday, Starrett made his opening statement, in which he said Inda had been passing other cars and did not try to evade the accident.
But Tom Goss, lawyer for Inda, said there was no reaction time. Also testifying was trucker Richard Mershon, who had been driving behind the van. He said that just before the crash his truck had been slowly passed by Inda's van, which he estimated to have been going between 45 and 55 mph. Also in the case is the claim of a trucker who says he was hurt as he closely evaded the accident. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Online (09/15/99); McBride, Jessica
Trains, Planes, Trucks Expected to Halt Today
Some trucking companies along the Atlantic Coast have halted operations in anticipation of Hurricane Floyd. John Crowley, CFO of Great Coastal Express, says his company's trucks in Virginia and North Carolina have been moved west, away from the ocean. Overnite Transportation has closed down three terminals in the Carolinas. Airplane and Amtrak service has also been affected in Virginia, and CSX Corp. had not yet settled late Wednesday if it would start work again at its Jacksonville, Fla., operations center. Richmond Times-Dispatch Online (09/16/99); Jones, ChipTruckers Send Message to Bouchard
Truckers blocked a downtown Montreal roadway for approximately one hour outside the office of Quebec Premier Lucien Bouchard, honking horns and complaining about their on-the-job conditions. They say they are under too much deadline pressure, which could have a negative effect on public safety. The protesters want all truckers, especially owner-operators, to be able to unionize. The province is set to make Labor Code changes in the fall. Canadian Press (09/16/99)Grant to Aid Intermodal Expansion
The Pennsylvania Transportation Department is giving a $219,070 award to the Philadelphia, Bethlehem, & New England Railroad for adding track around the BethIntermodal terminal in Bethlehem, Pa.Subsidiary Railroads President J. Michael Zaia of Bethlehem Steel, parent company of PB&NE, says PB&NE and Norfolk Southern will shoulder the rest of the cost of extending the terminal's half-mile track to a mile; the other of the terminal's two tracks is already a mile long. PB&NE hauls Norfolk Southern freight cars from an interchange to BethIntermodal.
The state transportation department is handing out some $7 million to a total of 51 small railroads. Pennsylvania has the most railroads of any state in the country. The BethIntermodal terminal, which opened about a month ago, hopes to make 300 lifts a day when it has been in business a year, and after five years to make 1,000 lifts a day. It hit a daily high of 215 last week. Morning Call (Allentown, Pa.) Online (09/16/99); Nerl, Daryl
Possible Solutions to Truck Controversy Emerging
A joint session of the Vermont House and Senate transportation committees heard some possibilities Wednesday about which parts of the state should allow big rigs. A compromise is necessary between business and the interests of small towns that dislike having their roads filled with trucks.Certain Woodstock leaders say their town could allow some trucks using U.S. 4 in and out of Rutland. The Woodstock Area Chamber of Commerce proposed that the state "authorize single-trip permits for trucks between 65 feet and 70 feet when that vehicle has a Vermont destination and the use of the vehicle is necessary to provide economic benefit to the area served."
Currently, U.S. 4 from Quechee and Killington bans trailers over 48 feet in length. However, the chamber says trucks not stopping in Vermont should use the interstates.
Rep. Robert Starr (D-North Troy) is a trucking company owner and believes shippers who require trailers over 48 feet — rather than the carriers — should have to obtain the state permits. Starr is not a transportation committee member.
Also at the session were Woodstock and Wilmington residents who complained of their small towns' truck traffic and requested that the state continue to prohibit 53-foot trailers on most of the state's highways. Businesses, however, said the move to 53-foot trailers is a trend across the country. "The issue is we're out of line with the rest of the country," said Carris Reels trucker Don Parker. Boston Globe Online (09/16/99); Sneyd, Ross
Oshkosh Truck Corporation Files Public Offering of 3,250,000 Shares of Common Stock with the SEC
Oshkosh Truck Corp. says it has registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission to make a public offering of 3 million common shares to be sold by the company in addition to 250,000 common shares to be sold by some shareholders. If the offering takes place, the company plans to repay senior credit facility debt with the stock sale revenue. The commission has not yet approved the proposed offering. Business Wire (09/15/99)© copyright 1999 INFORMATION, INC. Terms of Service
