News Briefs - Dec. 15
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The Latest Headlines:
- Engine Makers Say They’ll Meet ’07 Requirements
- Navistar Says First-Quarter Loss to Narrow
- Freightliner Selects Goodyear as Standard Tire Supplier
- N.Y. Factory Index Falls From Record in December
- Maine Truckers, Loggers Mull Strike
- U-Haul Parent Amerco Advances Reorganization Plan
- Navistar Says First-Quarter Loss to Narrow
Engine Makers Say They’ll Meet ’07 Requirements
Heavy-duty engine makers Caterpillar Inc. and Cummins Inc., as well as truck and engine maker International Truck and Engine Corp., each said Dec. 15 they would meet the federal diesel engine emissions standards coming in 2007 without using aftertreatment methods based on either selective catalytic reduction or nitrogen oxide adsorbers.aterpillar and Cummins are the primary Class 8 engine suppliers for International’s vehicles. In combination, they also supply Freightliner LLC, Paccar Inc. and Volvo Trucks North America brands.
Patrick Charbonneau, International’s vice president of regulatory and technology affairs, said, “Using ultra-low-sulfur fuel, each of the three engine manufacturers has found it is feasible to reduce in-cylinder emissions of NOx to a level that reduces the burden on aftertreatment . . . .” Transport Topics
Navistar Says First-Quarter Loss to Narrow
Truck maker Navistar International Corp. said Monday its net loss for its fiscal 2004 first quarter would narrow to 40 cents to 50 cents a share from $1.49 a year earlier, Bloomberg reported.Chief Executive Officer Daniel Ustian in an interview with CNBC that it had cut costs and is selling more trucks in the United States and Canada.
The company, which plans to cut 1,600 jobs in 2004, has forecast profit of $2.02 a share for fiscal 2004, compared with a net loss of 27 cents or $536 million in the 2003 fiscal year that ended Oct. 1. Transport Topics
Freightliner Selects Goodyear as Standard Tire Supplier
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. said Monday that truck maker Freightliner LLC had named the company as its standard tire supplier.Goodyear said in a release it would supply a variety of truck tires for Freightliner's brands including Sterling, Western Star, American LaFrance and Thomas Built Buses.
"Goodyear has been a supplier to Freightliner for many years, and has now committed additional resources to address our needs for competitiveness and quality in a very competitive tire market," said Roger Nielsen, Freightliner's chief operating officer.
Last month, Goodyear said it signed a three-year deal making commercial truck tires the standard equipment on all Volvo trucks produced for North America. Transport Topics
N.Y. Factory Index Falls From Record in December
Manufacturing in New York state expanded at a slower pace in December than the month before, the Buffalo branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said Monday.The factory index registered 37.4 during the month, down from a record of 41 in November. Values greater than zero signal that a majority of manufacturers said business improved.
The New York Fed's index of unfilled orders rose to 11.6 for the month, the highest since September 2001, from 0.98.
However, the overall index was pulled down by a drop in the index of new orders to 31.2 from 41.5. An index of factory shipments rose to 39.3 in December from 36.7 a month earlier.
A gauge of expected business conditions over the next six months rose to 66.8 this month from 66.5 in November. Transport Topics
Maine Truckers, Loggers Mull Strike
Log-hauling truckers and loggers in Maine, who originally planned to stage a work stoppage on Monday, have postponed any action until they meet with Irving Woodlands officials, the Associated Press reported.Irving Woodlands is northern Maine's largest landowner. A group of about 65 truckers who haul logs for Irving want rate increases of 25% to 30%, a surcharge payment when diesel fuel costs rise above $1.45 a gallon and better road conditions, AP said.
The truckers said the company is now offering them a rate increase of 7%. The loggers' cutting contract doesn't expire until spring, but they said they would honor a strike by truckers, AP said. Transport Topics
U-Haul Parent Amerco Advances Reorganization Plan
Amerco Inc., owner of the U-Haul truck-rental business, can move forward with its plan to fully pay creditors owed more than $1.4 billion and exit bankruptcy by early February, Bloomberg reported MondayU.S. Bankruptcy Judge Gregg Zive in Reno, Nevada, approved Amerco's reorganization at a hearing, allowing the company to send the plan to stakeholders for a vote, Bloomberg said.
Amerco filed for bankruptcy protection on June 20. U-Haul was not included in the filing. Transport Topics
