News Briefs - July 14
The Latest Headlines:
- Price of Crude Oil Hits Six-Week High
- Flooding Closes Some Highways in Northeast
- High Demand Leaves Oil Vulnerable to Disruptions, Price Spikes
- Averitt Says Service Center Can Operate as Bonded CFS
- Arrow Truck Sales Names New CEO
- Import, Export Prices Both Decline in June
- Flooding Closes Some Highways in Northeast
Price of Crude Oil Hits Six-Week High
The price of crude oil on Wednesday rose $1.53 to $40.97, a six-week high, after the government reported the largest withdrawal of oil from storage in three months, Bloomberg reported.This was the highest closing price since the record settlement of $42.33 on June 1.
The Department of Energy said Wednesday morning that U.S. oil inventories fell 2.1 million barrels last week as refineries operated at close to maximum capacity, Bloomberg said.
Flooding Closes Some Highways in Northeast
Some highways and local roads remain closed in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland after severe flooding earlier this week, the Associated Press reported.And more rain was expected for parts of the Northeast on Wednesday, raising fears additional flooding would occur. The National Weather Service said rain could fall at a rate of more than 2 inches per hour.
At the height of the flooding, more than 750 people were forced from their homes in south-central New Jersey, AP said. Transport Topics
High Demand Leaves Oil Vulnerable to Disruptions, Price Spikes
The International Energy Agency said the global oil-supply system will be vulnerable to disruptions and price spikes in the next several months, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.The energy watchdog said oil demand in 2004 has grown by 2.3 million barrels a day to 81.1 million, the steepest annual increase since 1980.
Meanwhile, the margin of spare production capacity appears to have fallen below 2% of demand for the first time since the oil crises of the 1970s. Last year, that level was about 4%, IEA said.
The price of crude oil on the New York Mercantile Exchange closed at $39.44 a barrel on Tuesday, the Journal said. Transport Topics
Averitt Says Service Center Can Operate as Bonded CFS
Transportation firm Averitt Express said its service center in Memphis, Tenn., had met requirements to operate as a bonded Container Freight Station.A bonded CFS is a freight terminal approved by U.S. Customs for temporary storage of imported goods until they clear customs.
The company said in a statement this would eliminate the need for truckers to travel to a separate warehouse facility to retrieve goods. Instead, the imported freight could be held at the service center, cutting handling costs and transit times.
Averitt Express is ranked No. 28 on the 2004 Transport Topics 100 list of the largest U.S. and Canadian trucking companies. Transport Topics
Arrow Truck Sales Names New CEO
Arrow Truck Sales Inc., which has 19 locations in the United States and Canada, said it named Carl Heikel as its new chief executive officer effective Aug. 1.He succeeds Ed Justis, who is leaving the company to pursue other interests, the company said in a statement.
Arrow, which is a member of the Volvo Group, said it sells pre-owned medium-duty and heavy-duty trucks. Transport Topics
Import, Export Prices Both Decline in June
The Labor Department said Wednesday that the price of goods imported into the United States declined 0.2% in June, the first drop since September 2003.The report also said export prices fell 0.6%, their first decline in nearly a year.
The drop in import prices was led by a 1% dip in petroleum product costs, which followed a 9.4% jump the month before. Excluding petroleum, import prices were unchanged in June for the first time after seven consecutive monthly increases.
Food prices fell 0.5%, their largest decline in a year, and industrial supplies and materials fell 0.6%, Labor said. Transport Topics
