News Briefs - April 6
The Latest Headlines:
- Price of Oil Rises on Middle East Violence
- Planned Jobs Cuts Drop to Nine-Month Low in March
- Cummins Says Demand for Engines Increasing
- Tennessee Continues Crackdown on Speeding Truckers
- EGL Raises 1Q Earnings Guidance
- Patriot Names New President of Its SunBelt Transport Unit
- UPS Gets Approval for Six Hong Kong Flights
- Planned Jobs Cuts Drop to Nine-Month Low in March
Price of Oil Rises on Middle East Violence
The price of crude oil in New York rose on Tuesday as fighting in Iraq continued and a truck carrying natural gas exploded in Yemen, Bloomberg reported.Crude oil for May delivery rose 59 cents to $34.97 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices are up 22% from a year earlier.
At least 21 people were killed Tuesday when a truck overturned in a crowded market Yemen, Agence France-Presse reported, citing unidentified hospital workers. It was unclear yet whether it was a terrorist act.
Oil prices had declined 3.8% last week after OPEC reaffirmed an earlier decision to cut output quotas on April 1 to prepare for an expected drop in world demand in the second quarter. Transport Topics
Planned Jobs Cuts Drop to Nine-Month Low in March
Large U.S. corporations announced plans to cut 68,034 jobs in March, the fewest in nine months, according to a survey by Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc.Last month's announced cuts were down 12% from February's 77,250, down 20% from a year earlier and the fewest since 59,715 in June 2003.
The report also said U.S. companies announced the elimination of 262,840 positions in the first three months this year, 26% fewer than in the first quarter of 2003 and down 28% from the fourth quarter.
Announced cuts are not the same as layoffs or firings, because some employees are reassigned, other cuts never actually take place and some are done through early retirement and other means. Transport Topics
Cummins Says Demand for Engines Increasing
Citing "growing demand across all of our markets," engine maker Cummins Inc. raised its earnings guidance for the first quarter.The company said in a statement profits would be in the range of 65 cents to 75 cents a share, compared with prior guidance of 40 cents to 50 cents. Second-quarter earnings are expected to be $1.00 to $1.10 a share, Cummins said.
The company said it also was expecting revenues to grow by 15% this year because of increased demand across all engine segments, including the North American heavy-duty truck market. Transport Topics
Tennessee Continues Crackdown on Speeding Truckers
Since starting a crackdown on speeding truckers in March, Tennessee Commercial Vehicle Enforcement officers have written more than 730 citations statewide and performed more than 450 safety inspections, the Chattanooga Times Free Press reported.Commercial Vehicle Enforcement officers are being stationed 25 miles apart along the state's interstate system, the article said.
In 2002, 149 people were killed on Tennessee roads in accidents involving large trucks, down from 185 in 1999. Transport Topics
EGL Raises 1Q Earnings Guidance
EGL Eagle Global Logistics said Tuesday it expected a net income for the first quarter of 10 cents to 12 cents per share, higher than its previously announced guidance of 5 cents to 7 cents."During the first quarter of 2004, the continuing economic recovery resulted in strong international activity overcoming weak domestic priority volumes," said James Crane, chairman and chief executive officer. "March shipments were stronger than expected, especially on the heels of the continued growth of our U.S. import and export activity."
The Houston-based company earned 6 cents in the first quarter of 2003. Transport Topics
Patriot Names New President of Its SunBelt Transport Unit
Patriot Transportation Holding Inc. said Monday it named Terry Phipps as president of its flatbed carrier SunBelt Transport Inc.Phipps was previously vice president of marketing and traffic, Patriot said in a release. He replaces Rick Copley, who resigned to pursue other interests.
SunBelt primarily hauls construction materials in the Southeast, Midwest and mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. Patriot also owns Florida Rock & Tank Lines Inc. Transport Topics
UPS Gets Approval for Six Hong Kong Flights
UPS Inc. said it won U.S. approval to add six weekly flights between Hong Kong and other cities in Asia, theastest-growing market for shipping, Bloomberg reported.
The flights will be added in October to UPS' existing schedule of 18 weekly flights, the company said. The new flights will let UPS increase service from Hong Kong to the Philippines and Singapore, Bloomberg said.
UPS is ranked No. 1 on the Transport Topics 100 list of the largest U.S. and Canadian trucking companies. Transport Topics
