News Briefs - Dec. 2
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The Latest Headlines:
- Bank of Canada Keeps Interest Rates Steady
- Clipper Exxpress Sells LTL Division
- Report: Announced Job Cuts Fall to 99,452 in November
- Navistar Reports Profit in Fiscal 4Q
- FedEx Increases Dividend
- Postal Service Says Holiday Volume Increasing
- Senators Propose Bonds to Raise $50 Billion for Roads
- Extended Hours for Southern California Ports Being Considered
- Railcar Shortage Forces Some in Farm Sector to Turn to Trucks
- Clipper Exxpress Sells LTL Division
Bank of Canada Keeps Interest Rates Steady
The Bank of Canada kept its overnight interest rate unchanged at 2.75% on Tuesday, but left the door open to rate cuts later to stimulate the economy, Reuters reported.The bank said it was unsure how much the Canadian dollar's 17% rise against the U.S. dollar this year would curb exports and admitted it did not know if interest rates are low enough to push up business investment and household demand.
The bank cut rates in July and in September, following a chain of rate hikes from 2002 and early 2003. Transport Topics
Clipper Exxpress Sells LTL Division
Arkansas Best Corp. said Tuesday that subsidiary Clipper Exxpress Co. had agreed to sell its customer and vendor lists related to Clipper's less-than-truckload business to Hercules Forwarding Inc. for $2.6 million.The planned closing date of the transaction is Dec. 31, Arkansas Best said in a release. The company said it would continue to own Clipper Exxpress and Clipper Controlled Logistics after the deal closes. Besides LTL, Clipper provides intermodal, brokerage and temperature-controlled services.
Arkansas Best is ranked No. 16 on the 2003 Transport Topics 100 list of the largest U.S. and Canadian trucking companies. Transport Topics
Report: Announced Job Cuts Fall to 99,452 in November
Large U.S. corporations announced plans in November to eliminate 99,452 jobs, down 42% from 171,874 in October and 157,508 in September, according to placement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc.Since Jan. 1, companies have announced plans to eliminate 1.14 million jobs, 16.8% fewer than in the first 11 months of last year, Bloomberg reported.
The decline in firing intentions was led by automotive companies, which said they would cut 3,058 jobs compared with 28,363 in October. Retailers planned 7,335 reductions, down from 21,169 announced in October.
Job reduction plans aren't the same as firings because many of the cuts will be carried out through attrition and some employees will find work elsewhere in their companies. Also, many announced staff reductions never take place because business improves. Transport Topics
Navistar Reports Profit in Fiscal 4Q
Truck maker Navistar International Corp. said Tuesday its net income for the fiscal fourth quarter ended Oct. 31 was $77 million or $1 per share, compared with a net loss of $460 million or $7.58 a year earlier.Total sales for the quarter fell to $2 billion from $2.06 billion, the company said in a release.
For the full fiscal year, Navistar's net loss was $18 million or 27 cents per share, compared with a loss of $536 million or $8.88 in fiscal 2002.
Looking ahead, the company forecasted total industry retail sales of heavy-duty trucks in the United States and Canada to increase 20% to 191,000 in fiscal 2004. Transport Topics
FedEx Increases Dividend
FedEx Corp. said late Monday its board of directors had increased its quarterly cash dividend to 6 cents per share from 5 cents.The dividend is payable Jan. 2, to stockholders of record at the close of business on Dec. 12.
FedEx is ranked No. 2 on the 2003 Transport Topics 100 list of the largest U.S. and Canadian trucking companies. Transport Topics
Postal Service Says Holiday Volume Increasing
The U.S. Postal Service said Monday it had already seen a 1% increase in volume compared with the 2002 holiday season, and it expects to handle a total of 20 billion letters, packages and other items during this holiday season, the Associated Press reported.The heaviest mailing day should be Dec. 15, AP said, with 850 million to 900 million cards and letters going out. The busiest delivery day would follow two days later.
Air cargo capacity will be increased by nearly 40% two weeks before Christmas, and hundreds of trucks will be added, AP said. Transport Topics
Senators Propose Bonds to Raise $50 Billion for Roads
The U.S. government would raise $50 billion for highway and transit projects in a bond sale under a plan by three senators to avoid an increase in taxes on motor fuels, Bloomberg reported.The bond sale, proposed by Sens. James Talent (R-Mo.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Norm Coleman (R-Minn.), would be in addition to $255 billion a Senate committee plans to spend on highways over six years, Bloomberg said.
The proposal would create a nonprofit corporation that would issue about $63 billion in 30-year bonds, $13 billion of which would be invested in low-risk securities to pay the principal, Bloomberg said.
The government would pay about $3 billion a year in interest to the bondholders in the form of tax credits. Transport Topics
Extended Hours for Southern California Ports Being Considered
To combat heavy congestion that is placing a growing burden on Southern California's highway and rail systems, some officials are suggesting keeping gates to the Port of Los Angeles and Long Beach open to trucks 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the New York Times reported Monday.About 35% of imports and exports handled by ship travel through the port, the busiest in the United States and the third busiest in the world, after Hong Kong and Singapore, the Times said.
While most port terminals operate around the clock, most of the terminal gates used by trucks open only for the day shift, meaning much of the port's truck traffic is using the area's freeways at the same time as commuters.
However officials at shipping lines, which own the terminals at the ports, said extended hours would only work if all parties involved changed the way they did business, according to the Times. Transport Topics
Railcar Shortage Forces Some in Farm Sector to Turn to Trucks
A boom in the farm sector and a shortage of railcars has caused some people to turn to trucks to keep ensure their products are delivered, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday.About 40% of the nation's grain is transported by railroad, with most of the remainder being carried by trucks and barges, the Journal said.
Although train delays are common during the harvest season, this year the train shortage is far more severe, resulting in higher expenses, the Journal said. As a result, some feed mills in the South are turning to trucks to keep their plants supplied with Midwest grain.
Major railroads told the Journal they expect to get their service back on track by early next year, when parts of their business typically slow down after the Christmas season. Transport Topics
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