Executive Briefing - March 19
- New Rolling Blackouts Hit California
- Celadon Warns on Earnings
- Drug Distributors Merging, Closing Centers
- Ford Plant Closing in Ohio Spills Into Michigan
- Office Depot Installs New Tracking System
- Best Buy Curbing Warehouse Use
- MAN AG Keeping Truck, Diesel Units
- Yellow Warns on 1Q Earnings
- Waiting for the Fed's Decision
- Mitsubishi Said to Cancel Truck Spinoff
- Trism Get Extension on Credit Deal
- ComRoad Falls in Germany
New Rolling Blackouts Hit California
California's power grid managers ordered a new round of rolling electricity blackouts Monday that affected both the northern part of the state and for the first time hit southern California as well, news services reported.The blackouts were ordered shortly before noon West Coast time for areas served by the state's two biggest utilities -- Southern California Edison and Pacific Gas and Electric Co., in the wake of higher demand for air conditioning and a lack of hydropower electricity available from the Northwest.
Earlier this year, rolling blackouts at time disrupted traffic signals and caused some traffic jams in San Francisco, but more significantly cut into general business activity and curbed freight shipments in the areas then affected. Transport Topics
Celadon Warns on Earnings
Truckload and flatbed carrier Celadon Group (CLDN) warned Monday that earnings for its fiscal third quarter ending March 31 would be at the low end of the range of Wall Street estimates, even before counting special costs related to its Internet operation.
The average of Wall Street analysts' estimates has been for Celadon to lose 4 cents a share, Reuters reported citing the consensus from First Call/Thomson Financial. The company said the freight market remains too sluggish to overcome a very soft start to the year. Meanwhile, Celadon's majority owned e-commerce division called TruckersB2B has had a loss from operations and Celadon will also have to take a charge from postponing an initial public offering of stock in that unit.
Indianapolis-based Celadon is ranked number No. 54 in the Transport Topics 100 list of U.S. trucking companies, based on 1999 data. Transport Topics
(Click here for the full press release.)
Drug Distributors Merging, Closing Centers
Giant drug distributors AmeriSource Corp. and Bergen Brunswig Corp. plan to merge and close about half the companies' combined 52 distribution centers, Reuters reported Monday.AmeriSource has a larger presence in the eastern United States while Bergen Brunswig is larger in the West, according to a company statement.
AmeriSource is based in Valley Forge, Pa., and has 22 distribution centers. Bergen Brunswig is based in Orange County, Calif., and has 30 distribution centers.
(
Click here for the full press release.)
Ford Plant Closing in Ohio Spills Into Michigan
An outbreak of Legionnaires' disease at a Ford casting plant in Brook Park, Ohio, is causing a Ford truck plant in Michigan to suspend operations this week because it has created a parts shortage, WDIV-TV in Detroit reported on its Web site.The Ohio plant shut down last week after at least four workers contracted Legionnaires' disease. Two employees have died, and NewsNet5 in Cleveland said it may be another few days before the plant is reopened.
Officials are still trying to pinpoint the source of the disease, and are testing water samples from the plant.
The Michigan plant is expected to reopen next Monday. Transport Topics
Office Depot Installs New Tracking System
Retailer Office Depot said Monday that it has implemented a new tracking system for its fleet of 2,000 trucks.The handheld wireless system helps drivers verify what items are on each truck, gets the customers' signature and reconciles inventory.
Delray Beach, Fla.-based Office Depot operates more than 820 retail stores in the United Sates and Canada. Tranpsort Topics
(
Click here for the full press release.)
Best Buy Curbing Warehouse Use
Electronics retailer Best Buy said Monday that it is trying to limit its use of appliance warehouses, Reuters reported.Currently, the company uses warehouses to deliver appliances to customers within a day or two of the order, Reuters said. By reducing the use of these warehouses, the number of trucks used in transporting the appliances could also decline.
Best Buy said the reductions would help it cope with a slowing economy, in which consumers hold off from buying big-ticket items such as appliances. Transport Topics
MAN AG Keeping Truck, Diesel Units
German truck and engineering group MAN AG (MAN-FRK) is considering restructuring and selling some of its smaller units, but will hold onto its truck and diesel engine businesses, according to news reports.
Rudolph Rupprecht, MAN's chief executive, told Germany's Handelsblatt newspaper that the company would also hold onto its Ferrostaal industrial service units as well as its printing machine business, Reuters reported.
Earlier this month, MAN said it would be difficult to achieve pretax earnings for the full year 2001 at the same level as for 1999/2000.Transport Topics
Yellow Warns on 1Q Earnings
Trucking industry leader Yellow Corp. (YELL) said Monday it would fail to meet Wall Street earnings estimates for its first quarter of 2001, with freight tonnage expected down more than 10% from a year earlier.
A manufacturing sector slowdown that was worse than predicted combined with severe winter weather to depress business, the company said. Wall Street analysts had predicted earnings of 36 cents a share, Reuters reported.
The company owns the giant carrier Yellow Freight System that specializes in consolidating less-than-truckload shipments, plus regional truckload and LTL carrier Jevic Transportation and two other companies.
Yellow is ranked number No. 4 in the Transport Topics 100 list of U.S. trucking companies, based on 1999 data. Transport Topics
(Click here for the full press release.)
Waiting for the Fed's Decision
A growing number of analysts believe the Federal Reserve may opt for a three-quarters of a percentage point cut in interest rates when it meets Tuesday afternoon, a Reuters poll found.It was far from unanimous however, as 12 of top 25 Wall Street bond firms still think a half-point move is more likely.
One reason given for just moving 50 basis points is that rather than giving the economy a boost, a more forceful move could signal panic.
Still, even former Fed governor Lyle Gramley said a 75 basis-point move by Alan Greenspan is more likely now than a week ago.
Fed officials will gather at 9 a.m. EST on Tuesday and is expected to announce its decision at 2:15 p.m. Transport Topics
Mitsubishi Said to Cancel Truck Spinoff
Mitsubishi Motor Co. (MMO-BER) said this weekend that it would cancel plans to spin off its truck-bus division, Bloomberg reported from a Yomiuri article.
The decision came after Swedish truck maker Volvo AB (VOLVY) offered to cancel an alliance with Mitsubishi, the article said. Mitsubishi had planned to split off its truck-bus division this fall in order to establish a separate truck-making alliance with Volvo.
But Volvo said it was finding it difficult to maintain the alliance with Mitsubishi because Volvo's rival, DaimlerChrysler (DCX), has a 34% stake in Mitsubishi. Transport Topics
Trism Get Extension on Credit Deal
Trism Inc. (TSMX), which specializes in hauling heavy weight and oversized loads, said Friday it had successfully negotiated an extension of its revolving credit forbearance agreement with CIT Business Credit, to March 30.
The Kennesaw, Ga.-based company also said it has received a grace period of 30 days on its interest payment due March 15.
(Click here for the full press release.)
ComRoad Falls in Germany
ComRoad AG shares fall Monday as much as 17% in Germany on Monday on concern of the vehicle-navigation industry, Bloomberg reported.Despite raising its earnings forcasts for the next two years, shares of the maker of tracking equipment for trucks and cars fell to its lowest point in nearly a year.
On Friday, the stock got an initial boost after saying earnings would be about 14% higher than expected.
Even though it is performing better than its rivals, analysts said ComRoad's slide is in line with the rest of the sector. Transport Topics
b>
Previous Executive Briefing