A.M. Executive Briefing - Sept. 29
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Fritz Companies Up Slightly From 1Q 1999
San Francisco's Fritz Companies, a global logistics specialist, announced Friday it had earnings of 16 cents per diluted share in its fiscal first quarter that ended Aug. 31, the same amount it reported in that period of 1999.Net revenues rose 1.6% over 1999 to $153.1 million, while revenues also increased 5.4% to $412.9 million, the company said. Transport Topics
Airborne Freight Warns of 3Q Loss
Package carrier Airborne Freight, which operates under the name Airborne Express, warned Thursday it expects a loss of 5-10 cents per share for the third quarter ending Sept. 30, Reuters reported. The company said the increasing cost of jet fuel is affecting its operating costs and margins.
Airborne later unveiled several new initiatives, targeting small business, e-commerce and other product opportunities and aimed at promoting company growth. Transport Topics
Covenant Transport Warns on 3Q Earnings
Chattanooga, Tenn.-based truckload carrier Covenant Transport announced Thursday it expects earnings between 20-25 cents per share for the third quarter ending Sept. 30. Reuters noted that is below the 32 cents expected by Wall Street stock analysts, according to First Call/Thomson Financial.The company's chairman, president and chief executive officer, David R. Parker, said that like many companies in trucking, Covenant's results will be affected by rising fuel prices.
Parker added that he was "encouraged, however, by the initial results of our acquisition of certain assets of Con-Way Truckload Services in late August" and that impact should be felt in fourth-quarter results.
Results will be released no later than Oct. 19. Transport Topics
Ontario Fuel Surcharges Move Forward
Ontario Economic Development Minister Al Palladini said a group meeting to hammer out a fuel surcharge plan for independent truckers "made progress" in its first meeting Thursday, but that the group plans more meetings for next week.He made the remarks in a press conference after the Trucking Working Industry Group had met.
A Thursday report in the Toronto Star said diesel fuel surcharges for government-contracted truckers will be retroactive to Sept. 1. Palladini's office would neither confirm nor deny that. A spokeswoman said the formula "is still being worked out" because the issue is complicated, with different government ministries involved in the contracts.
The working group was formed Monday out of negotiations that narrowly averted a strike last weekend by independent owner-operators, who had threatened to blockade fuel depots to protest high diesel fuel prices. Margaret Gordetksy, Transport Topics
Oil Prices Up on EU Reserve Concerns; OPEC Production Increased in September
Due to concerns that the European Union will not release oil from its strategic reserves, the price of crude increased more than 2% early Friday, Bloomberg reported.U.S. crude rose 1.5%, or 46 cents, to $30.80 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude rose 2.1% to $29.86 per barrel after hitting its lowest price since Aug. 8 Thursday, Bloomberg said.
Another Bloomberg report noted that OPEC production rose 1.7% in September thanks to greater production from top producers Saudi Arabia and Iran. Meanwhile, Iraqi Vice President Taha Yassin said his country's oil production was being limited due to delay by the United States and United Kingdom in authorizing equipment necessary to its oil production, the wire service reported. Transport Topics
Rail Intermodal Traffic Rises Again
Intermodal volume at major U.S. railroads increased again last week, reaching a high point for the year and second-highest weekly total on record, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported Thursday.Intermodal traffic totaled 194,772 trailers and containers last week, a 1.4% increase from the same week in 1999 and just short of the record 194,783 trailers and containers handled during the week ended October 2, 1999, AAR said.
Trailers dropped 12.6% to 60,458 units handled, while containers handled continued to rise, up 9.2% to 134,314 units.
ntermodal traffic includes trailers and containers that can be hauled by trucks or trains and involve both transport modes during their trips. Railroads reporting to AAR account for 98% of the country's rail intermodal volume. Transport Topics
Low U.S. Demand Affecting Tomkins' Sales
Britain's Tomkins Plc, largest maker of windshield-wiper blades said Friday that lower demand for its products in the United States will cut into revenue, Bloomberg reported. U.S. demand accounts for half its revenue.ivals such as Valeo SA and Federal-Mogul Corp. also said last week their profits will not meet expectations; one of the reasons was the weak North American truck market, the article said. Tomkins attributed its own revenue drop to "evidence of a slowdown in our major U.S. markets" in a statement given to the U.K. Regulatory News Service, Bloomberg noted. Transport Topics
Headlines From Yesterday's P.M. Briefing
- Analysts Say U.S. Economy Will Regain Momentum in Fourth Quarter
- Canada-Michigan Fight Over Single Business Tax Goes to Legislature
- Crude Oil Prices Hit Six-Week Low
- Marten Transport 3Q to Fall Short of Expectations
- Indiana Extends Halt of State Gas Tax
- House Passes Bill To Allow State, Local Action on CB Radio Rules
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