Executive Briefing - March 26
- Building a 'Smart Highway'
- Truck Makers Overloaded With Used Trucks
- Illinois to Detour Trucks on I-94
- Comair Pilots Begin Strike
- Delphi Increasing Output of Diesel Engine Parts
- U.S. Tax Cut Debate Aims at Quick Jolt
- Canada's Independent Drivers Form Alliance
- Truck Drivers at Higher Risk for Sleep Disorder
- Manitowoc Co. Sees Low 1Q Earnings
- Gas Prices Drop 1 Cent
- Mexico to Cut 40,000 Barrels of Oil Per Day
- Slowdown Hitting Major Economies Together
Building a 'Smart Highway'
The Colorado Department of Transportation and Adesta Communications are installing hundreds of miles of fiber-optic lines along Colorado highways that will eventually be part of a "smart highway," the Associated Press reported.Besides helping Internet users, it could eventually help truckers weigh their loads as they drive and get permits electronically. Drivers will also be able to use the Internet to see road conditions and traffic problems.
The current project includes I-70 in Colorado, and Interstates 25 and 225 through Denver. Several other states including Utah are also installing fiber-optic lines. Transport Topics
Truck Makers Overloaded With Used Trucks
Truck makers such as Navistar (NAV), Paccar (PCAR) and Freightliner are seeing a pileup of used trucks, Forbes reported.
The buyback programs also make it difficult to sell newer models because if a 1999 truck sells for about $30,000, it will becomes tougher to sell a 2002 model for $100,000. Transport Topics
Illinois to Detour Trucks on I-94
The Illinois Department of Transportation will set up a truck detour on Interstate 94, which runs north-south through Chicago, for a major bridge replacement project scheduled to begin April 1.Trucks will be banned from the construction areas from Cottage Grove to Stoney Island Avenue. The detour will be through the Stoney Island ramp system.
About 72,000 motorists drive on this 11-mile freeway that connects the Dan Ryan and Borman Expressways. Transport Topics
(Click here for the full press release.)
Comair Pilots Begin Strike
About 1,350 pilots at regional and feeder airline Comair, which operates connector flights for giant Delta Air Lines, walked off the job early Monday after contract talks with the airline broke off, news sources reported.The strike forced the cancellation of 800 flights on Monday, although Comair tried to reroute passengers onto other airlines. It has yet to set a flight schedule for Tuesday, and will make further scheduling decisions on a day-to-day basis, Bloomberg reported.
Any strike at airlines can disrupt both dedicated cargo service and freight hauls in the bellies of passenger planes. About 60% of air cargo flies on passenger planes, and all air freight involves local and regional truck operations.
omair often operates under the name Delta Connection. It serves 95 cities in the United States, Canada, Mexico and the Bahamas. Transport Topics
(Click here for the full press release.)
Delphi Increasing Output of Diesel Engine Parts
Delphi Automotive Systems (DPH), the largest auto-parts makers, said it will quadruple capacity to produce diesel-engine injection systems by 2003, Bloomberg reported.
Sales of injectors, pumps and other parts for diesel engines were $800 million in 2000, and are expected to grow by more than 10% annually for the next several years.
Delphi is also introducing a new common-rail direct injection system, which delivers diesel fuel into an engine's combustion chamber at very high pressure. The company says the system improves efficiency and increases power, while monitoring fuel combustion. Transport Topics
U.S. Tax Cut Debate Aims at Quick Jolt
With news about the U.S. economy continuing bad or getting worse, the debate over President Bush's proposed tax cuts has shifted from his ideas, to hopes for a quick jolt of rebates or other immediate tax relief for consumers.Monday's Wall Street Journal said a Democratic plan for a $60 billion fast-relief tax stimulus is now driving the issue in the closely divided Senate.
In addition, Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.), the 2000 vice presidential candidate, reportedly said on "Fox News Sunday" that the program could be in tax rebates worth about $300 to each of almost 200 million U.S. taxpayers.
The Journal also said the Senate might not consider some parts of Bush's plan until later this year or even 2002. The trucking industry wants to see Bush's proposed elimination of estate taxes win passage. Transport Topics
Canada's Independent Drivers Form Alliance
Canada's 57,000 independent truckers have formed the National Trucker Alliance of Canada, the Toronto Star reported.The group is seeking more money and lower diesel fuel prices. Trucking industry leaders in Canada say they were forced to organize after last year's strikes and protests failed to win relief.
While the alliance is trying to put together a national office and local branches, there are no current plans for organized protests yet. Transport Topics
Truck Drivers at Higher Risk for Sleep Disorder
Doctors and scientists from the British Sleep Foundation believe there is a high prevalence of sleep apnoea among truck drivers, BBC News reported.Sleep apnoea is characterized by heavy snoring at night that then leads to severe fatigue during the day. It is more common among obese people, which is another health problem facing many truck drivers.
Sleep apnoea affects more than one in 50 adults, but only 5% of sufferers ever realize they have it.
People with this condition are twice as likely to have an accident than other drivers because they are too sleepy during the day. In Britain, 20% of road accidents are caused by sleepiness.
I>Transport Topics
Manitowoc Co. Sees Low 1Q Earnings
The Manitowoc Company, which is a producer of trucks with attached cranes, said Monday that it expects first-quarter earnings of 38-43 cents per share, compared with 57 cents during the same period last year.Analysts, on the average, had predicted 54 cents per share, according to research firm Thomson Financial/First Call, Reuters reported.
The Manitowoc, Wis.-based company blamed slow boom-truck crane and foodservice equipment sales for the lower-than-expected earnings. Manitowoc also makes refrigeration equipment for the foodservice industry. Transport Topics
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Click here for the full press release.)
Gas Prices Drop 1 Cent
Continuing a trend that began in January, gasoline prices dipped a penny per gallon at the pump in the past two weeks, the Associated Press reported.According to the Lundberg Survey of 8,000 gas stations nationwide, the average price was about $1.47 a gallon, down a cent from March 9.
However, demand is expected to rise starting next month, as the nation enters the summer driving season.
Supply is also shrinking, as the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries agreed to cut oil production by 1 million barrels a day. Transport Topics
Mexico to Cut 40,000 Barrels of Oil Per Day
Mexico will cut 40,000 barrels of crude oil exports per day beginning April 1, according to news sources.The cut is in support of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries' decision last week to cut 1 million barrels of oil per day. Although Mexico is not an OPEC member, it often collaborates with the cartel.
Mexico is the third-largest supplier of oil to the U.S. market, the Wall Street Journal noted. Transport Topics
Slowdown Hitting Major Economies Together
If the current U.S. economic slowdown slides into a recession, it could become an even bigger problem because other key industrial regions are also facing similar problems, reports the latest issue of the London-based Economist magazine.And the freight-hauling industries, including trucking, would feel the impact soon.
Recessions for major trading partners overseas also hurt U.S. growth by curbing foreign markets for U.S. goods, and bringing cheaper imports to compete for sales against products made at U.S. factories.
Japan's woe-plagued economy has been faltering again recently.
The Economist notes that U.S. and Japanese recessions have not occurred at the same time since 1974. In addition, Germany's once-strong business sector stumbled with a decline in its main confidence gauge last week. Transport Topics
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