News Briefs - Aug. 30
The Latest Headlines:
- Personal Spending Rises 0.8% in July
- Transforce to Acquire Highland Transport
- Velocity Express Says It Will Remain Listed on Nasdaq
- Heartland Raises Pay for Drivers in the 'Green Zone'
- Group Seeks Permission to Build Truck Bridge in Buffalo
- Truck Tonnage Index Falls 0.3% in July
- Truckers in India Return to Work
- Transforce to Acquire Highland Transport
Personal Spending Rises 0.8% in July
Personal spending rose 0.8% in July after a 0.2% drop the month before, the Commerce Department reported Monday.July’s increase was the largest since May and slightly better than the 0.7% increase economists were expecting, the Associated Press reported. Consumer spending accounts for more than two-thirds of the economy.
The report said spending on durable goods rose by 4.1%, while spending on nondurables such as food rose by 0.2%.
Transforce to Acquire Highland Transport
TransForce Income Fund, a Canadian trucking and logistics firm, said late Friday it agreed to acquire Toronto-based truckload carrier Highland Transport.The deal is expected to close on Sept. 30, the company said in a statement. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Highland’s "very extensive reach in the truckload sector greatly strengthens our presence across Canada and in the continental United States," said Alain Bedard, president of TransForce. Highland generated more than $125 million in revenues last year, the release said.
Transforce is ranked No. 35 on the Transport Topics 100 list of the largest U.S. and Canadian trucking companies. Transport Topics
Velocity Express Says It Will Remain Listed on Nasdaq
Delivery firm Velocity Express Corp. said Friday it paid its outstanding fees to Nasdaq and would continue to be traded on the Nasdaq Small Cap Market.Velocity said in a statement it had received a letter last week from the Nasdaq Listing Qualification Staff notifying the company it had not paid certain fees under the Nasdaq Marketplace Rules and would be delisted on Sept. 3.
However, the company said it paid the fees in full on Aug. 26, and they had not been "remitted as the result of not receiving Nasdaq's payment invoice due to the relocation of Velocity's accounts payable staff and its new chief financial officer to the company's new Westport, Conn., offices, from their prior location in Bloomington, Minn."
Velocity is ranked No. 60 on the Transport Topics 100 list of the largest U.S. and Canadian trucking companies. Transport Topics
Heartland Raises Pay for Drivers in the 'Green Zone'
Truckload carrier Heartland Express Inc. said that beginning Oct. 2, it would pay its company drivers as much as 50 cents per mile and owner-operators 95 cents while traveling in the "Green Zone"Heartland said the "Green Zone" is the area north of the southern border of Maryland and east of Interstate 81 running through Maryland, Pennsylvania and New York.
While in this zone, drivers would earn an extra 7 cents per mile, the company said.
Heartland is ranked No. 18 on the Transport Topics 100 list of the largest U.S. and Canadian trucking companies. Transport Topics
Group Seeks Permission to Build Truck Bridge in Buffalo
The Ambassador Niagara Signature Bridge Group last week filed for permission to build a U.S.-Canada border bridge between Buffalo and Fort Erie that would be used primarily for trucks to allevate traffic at the Peace Bridge, the Buffalo News reported.he group has proposed a $250 million bridge and related road system that would include a four-lane bridge built alongside the International Railroad Bridge. The group forecasted the bridge could be up and running in late 2008.
nder the plan, the existing Peace Bridge would become a cars-only artery, with truck traffic moving to the new span. It would also convert a former industrial site in Buffalo to a truck processing center, the article said.
As a private bridge owner, the Buffalo Ambassador Bridge Group would be able to establish tolls at whatever rate it chose. Transport Topics
Truck Tonnage Index Falls 0.3% in July
American Trucking Associations said Aug. 26 its seasonally adjusted truck tonnage index fell 0.3% in July after a revised 0.8% increase in June.“July’s truck tonnage data corresponds to an economy that has taken a breather this summer,” said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello.
“However, there are still plenty of reasons to believe that tonnage will continue to grow solidly for the remainder of the year,” Costello said. Roger Gilroy
Truckers in India Return to Work
Truckers in India called off its nationwide eight-day strike on Saturday after the government agreed to form a committee to look into all their demands, Bloomberg reported.About 3 million truckers went on strike to protest a 10% services tax that included their shipments.
The strike seriously hampered factory production and the trucker were set to expand it to food shipments before the agreement, Bloomberg said. Transport Topics
