News Briefs - April 21
The Latest Headlines:
- Arkansas Best Reports 1Q Profit
- Greenspan Says Threat of Deflation Is Over
- Covenant’s Profits Slip in 1Q
- C.H. Robinson Earnings Rise on Higher Truck Volumes
- Mineta Announces Safety Grants Worth $33 Million
- NHTSA Says Volvo Recalling Some VN Models
- Greenspan Says Threat of Deflation Is Over
Arkansas Best Reports 1Q Profit
Arkansas Best Corp. said Wednesday its net income for the first quarter was $4.5 million or 18 cents per share, compared with a net loss of $734,000 or 3 cents a year earlier.Its less-than-truckload unit, ABF Freight System Inc., reported revenue of $346.1 million during the quarter, a per-day increase of 3%, Arkansas Best said in a statement.
However, its operating income dipped to $8.7 million from $11.1 million due to "low business levels in January and February," said Robert Young III, Arkansas Best president.
Greenspan Says Threat of Deflation Is Over
Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said Tuesday U.S. companies were regaining the power to raise prices and that a long period of worry about deflation was over, news services reported.Speaking to the Senate Banking Committee, Greenspan said deflation concerns had evaporated in the last few weeks and called this a "long overdue and most welcome change" in the economic outlook, Reuters said.
Greenspan did not specifically say risks of inflation and deflation were balanced, though analysts increasingly expect Fed officials to reach that conclusion at their next policy session on May 4, Reuters said.
Deflation, in which prices spiral downward, is a rare phenomenon in U.S. economic history that was last seen during the Great Depression of the 1930s. Transport Topics
Covenant’s Profits Slip in 1Q
Truckload carrier Covenant Transport Inc. said Tuesday its net income for the first quarter was $721,000 or 5 cents per share, compared with $839,000 or 6 cents a year earlier.Revenue for the quarter was $137.7 million, down slightly from $137.9 million in the first quarter of 2003, the company said in a statement.
Covenant said it was nearing the end of an equipment upgrade including 1,700 tractors and 3,800 trailers. It also said it expected earnings for the full fiscal year to be in the range of $1.05 to $1.10.
Covenant is ranked No. 31 on the 2003 Transport Topics 100 list of the largest U.S. and Canadian trucking companies. Transport Topics
C.H. Robinson Earnings Rise on Higher Truck Volumes
Logistics firm C.H. Robinson Worldwide Inc. said Tuesday its first-quarter profits rose to $29.1 million or 34 cents per share, compared with $25.1 million or 29 cents a year earlier.The company said its 12.3% increase in truck transportation gross profits was driven by volume growth in the truckload and less-than-truckload sectors.
"We gained a lot of new spot market, transactional business in the quarter, particularly in March,” John Wiehoff, chief executive officer, said in a statement. “This was driven by a tighter truck capacity market, which made finding carriers tougher and did impact our margins on our contractual business.”
In addition, intermodal gross profits rose 37.4%, the company said. Transport Topics
Mineta Announces Safety Grants Worth $33 Million
Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta on Monday announced $33 million in grants for state programs to combat alcohol-impaired driving and to increase the use of safety belts and child restraints."These grants will be used by states to address our key concerns of safety belt usage and impaired driving, which are key to improving safety on America's highways," Mineta said in a statement.
Mineta said 36 states would split grants totaling $22 million for alcohol programs, while 31 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and two U.S. territories would split $11 million for safety programs.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said alcohol-related fatalities totaled 17,419 in 2002, but more than 14,000 lives were saved by safety belts and child restraints last year. Transport Topics
NHTSA Says Volvo Recalling Some VN Models
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Monday that Volvo Trucks North America Inc. have recalled some heavy-duty trucks made between November 2002 and October 2003.NHTSA said on its Web site up to 2,112 Volvo VN vehicles were recalled beginning March 8 because the engine pre-heater jumper wiring harness was incorrectly assembled and could overheat, resulting in damage to it and other heat-sensitive engine components.
The administration said Volvo, which can be contacted at (800) 528-6586, will repair the affected circuits in the jumper wiring harness connector. Transport Topics
