Executive Briefing - Jan. 26
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Cummins 4Q Loss Exceeds Expectations
Diesel maker Cummins Engine Co. (CUM) reported a fourth-quarter loss that exceeded analysis expectations, Reuters reported Friday.The Columbus, Ind.-based company lost 45 cents a share - a stark contrast to the $1.82 income per share in 1999, the news service said. Cummins had said Dec. 19 that it expected to post a loss between 35 and 45 cents, and outside analysts were predicting a 40-cent loss.
In the company's statement, Cummins noted that shipments of heavy truck engines in the fourth quarter were down more than 52% from 1999 fourth-quarter levels.
( Click here for the full press release.)
Yellow Reports Gains for 4Q, Year
Yellow Corp. (YELL) announced full-year earnings per share of $2.49 – a 23% increase from $2.03 in 1999, all before unusual and discontinued items – with national and international less-than-truckload carrier Yellow Freight System showing its best operating results since 1986.The Overland Park, Kan.-based parent company even ended the year on an upward note - with fourth-quarter earnings per share of 74 cents, up from 71 in the 1999 period. Both figures were before unusual and discontinued items.
Yellow Freight System's fourth-quarter operating ratio was 94.5, compared with 96 a year earlier.
The full-year operating ratio for the freight system was 95.4, compared with 96.7 in 1999. It is No. 4 on the Transport Topics 100 list. Transport Topics
(Click here for the full press release.)
Consolidated Reports Narrower 4Q Loss from '99
Consolidated Freightways (CFWY) reported a fourth-quarter loss of 28 cents per share compared with a 52 cent loss during the same three months in 1999.The Vancouver, Wash.-based company said the narrower loss came from reduced operating costs.
The company consolidates truck cargo for multiple customers. It ranked seventh on the Transport Topics 100 List. Transport Topics
(Click here for the full press release.)
U.S. Durable Goods Orders Up, But Weakness Remains
New orders for durable goods produced by U.S. factories rose 2.2% in December, the Commerce Department said Friday. But that may be less good news for trucking than first appears because a surprise boost in aircraft orders boosted the total.When transportation equipment is removed, overall new orders for goods meant to last more than three years actually fell 1.4% – consistent with the ongoing contraction in manufacturing that is cutting so deeply into freight shipments.
Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan on Thursday told the Senate Budget Committee that the economy is about stalled out right now. The Fed's policy panel meets next week to consider more interest-rate cuts.
Durable goods orders are a subset of overall factory orders, which also includes non-durables such as clothing. Trucking lines that are involved in durable shipments are mostly dry-van carriers, plus some flatbed operators. Transport Topics
Delphi to Invest $315 million for Factories
Vehicle-parts maker Delphi Automotive Systems Corp. (DPH) said late Thursday it plans to invest about $315 million to upgrade two plants near Saginaw, Mich., Bloomberg reported. The plants produce electric power-steering systems. The article said the upgrades would keep 500 workers employed amid rising layoffs in the market. However, Bloomberg said Delphi idled 4,300 this week due to cutbacks at General Motors, its main customer.
Delphi had originally planned to make the announcement in December, but delayed it because of snowstorms, the wire service said. Transport Topics
Calif. Bill Would Tighten Driver Screening
Tighter health and drug and alcohol screening standards for truck drivers in California are called for in legislation introduced Thursday by a lawmaker who cited the recent ramming of the state Capitol by the driver of a big rig, the Fresno Bee reported Friday.The legislation Assembly member Dean Florenz, D-Shafter, introduced would make trucking companies liable if they hired drivers with behavior that threatened other motorists, according to the paper.
His bill, reintroduced from last year, would also negate provisions in the federal motor carrier safety regulations permitting chiropractors and physicians' assistants to certify persons as qualified to receive commercial driver licenses and would tighten rules as to how owner-operators are subject to drug and alcohol testing.
The California Trucking Association and Mothers Against Drunk Driving support the bill, according to the paper. Transport Topics
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NY/NJ Raising Tolls March 25
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey voted to raise bridge and tunnel tolls for trucks and cars entering the city-- including cheaper overnight rates that a state trucking group said would not soften the blow, the New York Times reported Friday.The new rates will take effect March 25.
Trucks using the Holland and Lincoln tunnels and the George Washington and Staten Island bridges will pay $6 per axle -- whether by cash or electronic E-Z Pass -- but only $3.50 per axle overnight, according to the Times.
Overnight means midnight to 6 a.m. Local regulations restricting delivery hours and market constraints will keep many truckers from being able to take advantage of those rates, the New Jersey Motor Truck Association said, according to the Times. Transport Topics
Navistar Buying Maxion
Truck and engine maker Navistar International (NAV) announced Friday that it is becoming the sole owner of Maxion International Motores, a South American diesel engine maker.It has been in a joint venture with the Canoas, Brazil-based company.
Maxion customers include Ford Motor Co., General Motors, Mercedes Benz and Land Rover in the automotive markets and AGCO in the industrial market, Navistar said. Transport Topics
(Click here for the full press release.)
Teamsters Target Carhaulers
Concerned about an increase in subcontracting to non-union transport firms by automakers in the United States, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters has announced a nationwide campaign to organize non-union carhaulers.Teamsters President James P. Hoffa and Doc Conder, the union's carhaul division director, assigned Eastern Area Auto Transport Chairman Paul "Buzzy" Houck to coordinate the campaign with local unions.
More than 15,000 union members from 80 local unions are covered by that four-year contract negotiated with the National Automobile Transporters Association's Labor Division in June 1999.
Teamsters spokesman Per Berstein said that so far General Motors has been targeted for picketing because it recently awarded a contract to a carrier, Sierra Mountain, that resulted in the layoff of 50 union drivers in Minnesota.
The non-union drivers are paid 60% of union scale and health and welfare benefits are substantially less than provided for in the carhaul contract, Berstein said. Non-union workers also have no pension benefits, Berstein said. Daniel P. Bearth, Transport Topics
Diesel Retrofit Promises Beating EPA Goal
The Environmental Protection Agency said it has received commitments to clean up 13,500 diesel trucks and buses across the country by Jan. 1, surpassing the original goal set last March of 10,000 vehicles.Retrofitting those engines will eliminate more than 15,000 tons of pollutants, according to the agency.
Participating cities include New York, Boston, Seattle and Washington. California and New York have state programs. Transport Topics
