News Briefs - Aug. 12
The Latest Headlines:
- Two Storms Force Evacuations in Florida
- Initial Jobless Claims Fall by 4,000
- Profits Rise at Boyd Bros.
- Import Prices Rise 0.2% in July
- Fresh Del Monte Acquires Can-Am Express
- WTO Panel Upholds U.S. Tariffs on Most Canadian Lumber
- Calif. Budget Includes Million on Highway Improvements
- Initial Jobless Claims Fall by 4,000
Two Storms Force Evacuations in Florida
Nearly a million residents and tourists in Florida were told to get out of the way of a rapidly strengthening Hurricane Charley on Thursday, while Tropical Storm Bonnie moved ashore in the Florida Panhandle, news services reported.Charley was expected to hit Florida's west coast Friday, bringing heavy rain, swirling tornadoes and a storm surge of up to 12 feet to the Tampa Bay and Fort Myers areas, the Associated Press reported.
Meanwhile, there were no reports of serious damage or flooding in already-soaked areas of the Panhandle after Bonnie's center moved ashore with wind near 50 mph. But as Bonnie moved northward over land, forecasters issued flash flood and tornado watches for parts of Georgia and the Carolinas.
Initial Jobless Claims Fall by 4,000
The number of Americans filing initial claims for jobless benefits dropped by 4,000 to 333,000 for the week ended Aug. 7, the second straight weekly decline, the Labor Department reported Thursday.The four-week moving average of claims, closely watched because it is considered likely to iron out weekly fluctuations, fell to 339,250 from 343,500.
Labor also said the number of people who continued to collect unemployment benefits during the July 31 week -- the latest week for which the data was available -- was down by 5,000 to 2.9 million. Transport Topics
Profits Rise at Boyd Bros.
Flatbed hauler Boyd Bros. Transportation Inc. said its net income for the second quarter was $933,541 or 32 cents per share, compared with $645,291 or 23 cents a year earlier."During the second quarter, we continued to see stronger economic activity across virtually all our markets, which translated into higher freight revenue for the period," President Gail Cooper said in a statement.
Boyd Bros. said its operating revenues rose 10% to $37.9 million.
"As we look ahead to the balance of 2004, we remain cautiously optimistic that the improving fundamentals we see in our business can be sustained, barring another downturn in the economy, further spikes in key cost areas, particularly for fuel, or unexpected safety incidents," Cooper said. Transport Topics
Import Prices Rise 0.2% in July
The Labor Department said Thursday that rising petroleum costs pushed prices for goods imported into the United States higher during July.Import prices rose 0.2%, the ninth increase in the past 10 months, after a revised 0.1% decrease in June. Petroleum prices rose 0.9% last month, erasing a 0.9% decline in June, Labor said.
Excluding petroleum, July import prices gained 0.1%. Labor also said prices for exports rose 0.4% in July. Transport Topics
Fresh Del Monte Acquires Can-Am Express
Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc., a producer and marketer of fruit and vegetables, said Wednesday, it had acquired refrigerated truckload carrier Can-Am Express Inc.Can-Am had 2003 revenues of about $20 million, Fresh Del Monte said in a statement. As part of the deal, the company said it also acquired RLN Leasing Inc., a member of National Truck Leasing Systems, a provider of truck leasing and maintenance programs.
"This acquisition will allow us to better manage our overall transportation costs, similar to what we have accomplished with our successful shipping program," said Mohammad Abu-Ghazaleh, chairman and chief executive officer.
Cam-Am has a fleet of 150 tractors and 200 trailers, Fresh Del Monte said. Transport Topics
WTO Panel Upholds U.S. Tariffs on Most Canadian Lumber
The World Trade Organization on Wednesday largely upheld a previous ruling that supported antidumping tariffs imposed by the United States on imports of some Canadian lumber, but it maintained the U.S. miscalculated the amounts, news services reported.The antidumping duties, ranging from 2.18% to 12.44%, were imposed in May 2002 following an investigation by the Department of Commerce.
In its final ruling, a panel of three trade experts rejected Canadian claims the United States had acted illegally in investigating whether lumber from Canada was being sold at below the cost of production, the Associated Press reported. However, it also said the U.S. government's calculations were wrong because it used a method called "zeroing," in which sales at above-market prices are ignored.
The panel said the WTO should order the U.S. to change its measures to conform with WTO rules. And in a slight change to an earlier ruling, it also found the United States had miscalculated the price of lumber from one of the Canadian companies involved, AP said. Transport Topics
Calif. Budget Includes Million on Highway Improvements
California officials said the recently passed state budget would provide millions in funding for several highway-improvement projects, the Associated Press reported.Chief among the projects to be funded by the state is the Alameda Corridor East project in Los Angeles, which would move more intermodal rail crossings underground so drivers won’t have to wait while trains pass, AP said.
The budget also included funding for major highway expansion projects in parts of Alameda, Santa Clara, Los Angeles, Orange and Riverside counties. Transport Topics
