News Briefs - Aug. 15
The Latest Headlines:
- TransForce Announces Bid for Canadian Freightways
- N.Y. Manufacturing Expands at Slower Pace in August
- Navistar Posts Profit; Says Orders Picking Up
- Nationwide Moving Accused of Conspiracy, Fraud
- Marten Prices Public Stock Offering
- WTO Upholds U.S. Duties on Japanese Steel
- AAR Reports Intermodal Loads Up 0.9%
- N.Y. Manufacturing Expands at Slower Pace in August
TransForce Announces Bid for Canadian Freightways
TransForce Income Fund, a Canadian transportation and logistics firm, said Friday it had put together a bid to purchase nearly all of the assets of Canadian Freightways and certain of its subsidiaries.Canadian Freightways, headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, is currently owned by Consolidated Freightways Corp., which filed for bankruptcy and went out of business last year.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed. It must be accepted by Consolidated Freightways and approved by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in California. Transport Topics
N.Y. Manufacturing Expands at Slower Pace in August
Manufacturing in New York state expanded at a slower pace in August, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.The Fed's factory index fell to 9.98 this month, from a revised 20.83 for July. Values greater than zero signal that a majority of manufacturers reported improved business.
The report, the first to show how factories rated August business conditions, may signal that manufacturing across the nation expanded for a second consecutive month, Bloomberg said.
The manufacturing sector is one of trucking's largest and most important customers.
The New York Fed's index of new orders fell to 12.52 in August from 15.07. An index of factory shipments rose to 22.55 from 20.17 a month earlier.
An index of the number of employees rose to 16.33, signaling expansion in jobs, from 14.74 in July.
A gauge of expected business conditions over the next six months rose to 59.47 this month from 51.75 in July. Transport Topics
A NAME="story3">
Navistar Posts Profit; Says Orders Picking Up
Truck maker Navistar International Corp. said Friday its net income for the fiscal third quarter ended July 31 was $18 million or 26 cents per share, compared with a loss of $16 million of 27 cents a year earlier.Sales were $1.89 billion in the quarter, compared with $1.59 billion, the company said in a release.
Daniel Ustian, Navistar chief executive officer, said that the profit was achieved despite continued softness in medium-duty truck shipments. However, he said he was encouraged by strong pickup in new medium truck orders in July, the release said.
Preliminary July Class 6-7 medium truck orders totaled 7,700 units, up 37% over a year ago and the highest monthly total since August 2002, Navistar said. Transport Topics
Nationwide Moving Accused of Conspiracy, Fraud
The Justice Department said that a grand jury in the Western District of Washington had indicted seven people who either own or work at Nationwide Moving & Storage on federal criminal charges of conspiracy, wire fraud, and interference with commerce by extortion.The company is also known as Northstar Moving & Storage and American Star Moving & Storage, Justice said in an Aug. 14 release.
The department said that the crimes were alleged to have occurred between May 2002 and July 2003. The company allegedly conspired to lure customers with low moving estimates, only to then inflate the price of the move once the goods had been loaded onto the truck.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathryn Warma and being investigated by the Department of Transportation's Office of Inspector General. Transport Topics
Marten Prices Public Stock Offering
Refrigerated truckload carrier Marten Transport Ltd. said Friday that its public offering of 3 million shares of its common stock would be priced at $20.50 per share.Marten said that 2.475 million shares are being sold by the company and 525,000 shares are being sold by selling stockholders.
Marten is ranked No. 58 on the 2003 Transport Topics 100 list of the largest U.S. and Canadian trucking companies. Transport Topics
WTO Upholds U.S. Duties on Japanese Steel
The United States acted legally when it left in place duties on imports of Japanese steel products, the World Trade Organization ruled late Thursday, the Associated Press reported.Tariffs could discourage steel imports, helping truckers who carry domestic steel, but hurting truckers who pick up steel at ports.
Japan complained after the United States decided in late 2000 to maintain a special duty of 36.41% on imports of corrosion-resistant carbon steel flat products from Japan. However, the WTO ruled the United States acted properly, AP said.
Earlier this week, the United States appealed against a separate WTO finding that hefty tariffs it imposed on other steel imports in March 2002 violated global trading rules.
The appeal of the tariffs, which initially added up to 30% to the cost of foreign steel and steel products in the United States, can stay in place for at least another nine months, AP said. Transport Topics
AAR Reports Intermodal Loads Up 0.9%
Intermodal traffic on the nation's railroads continued to outperform last year, the Association of American Railroads said late Thursday.Railroading, like commercial trucking, is considered an important economic indicator. Intermodal traffic, which tends to be merchandise rather than bulk commodities, is more directly competitive with trucking and more reflective of the state of the economy.
The AAR said 193,951 trailers and containers were loaded in the week ended Aug. 9, which was up 0.9% from the corresponding week a year ago.
For the first 32 weeks of the year, trailer and container loadings totaled 5.97 million, which is 5.9% above last year's pace. Transport Topics
