News Briefs - July 9
The Latest Headlines:
- FedEx Said to Plan So. California Distribution Hub
- Oil Prices Top $40 for Second Day
- Oshkosh Truck Completes Purchase of Jerr-Dan
- Dana to Sell Parts Unit
- Rail Intermodal Traffic Rises in June
- Hunt Says BNSF Seeking Revenue Division Arbitration
- Oil Prices Top $40 for Second Day
FedEx Said to Plan So. California Distribution Hub
FedEx Corp. announced plans to build a 218,000-square-foot distribution center in Carson, Calif., according to a report in the July 9 Los Angeles Times.The distribution center would open next year and could handle 11,000 packages an hour, the Times said.
The center is part of FedEx’s $1.8 billion plan to double the Memphis, Tenn. company’s package capacity to 5.1 million by 2010, the paper said.
FedEx is ranked No. 2 on the 2003 Transport Topics 100 listing of the largest trucking companies in the United States and Canada. Transport Topics
Oil Prices Top $40 for Second Day
The price of crude oil on the New York Mercantile Exchange remained over $40 a barrel for a second straight day Friday, Bloomberg News reported.The price of oil had spiked 4.6% during the week to $40.22 in morning trading on the Nymex, Bloomberg reported.
Analyst attributed the price spike to concerns about supply disruptions and record demand in the United States, Bloomberg said. Transport Topics
Oshkosh Truck Completes Purchase of Jerr-Dan
Oshkosh Truck Crop., a manufacturer of specialty truck bodies, said Friday it had completed the acquisition of Jerr-Dan Corp.’s stock.The stock was acquired from an affiliate of Littlejohn & Co. for $80 million that Oshkosh took from its available credit. Jerr-Dan manufactures towing and recovery equipment.
Jerr-Dan Corp. is based in Greencastle, Penn., while Oshkosh Truck is headquartered in Oshkosh, Wis. Transport Topics
Dana to Sell Parts Unit
Auto parts manufacturer Dana Corp. said it planned to sell its automotive replacement parts unit to buyout firm Cypress Group LLC for $1.1 billion, Bloomberg News reported.Dana said the unit, whose products include brakes and air filters, had sales of $2 billion and employs 14,000 people.
The Toledo, Ohio-based company said in December it planned to sell the unit and use the proceeds to reduce debt and invest in its other divisions. Transport Topics
Rail Intermodal Traffic Rises in June
The Association of American Railroads said Thursday the number of intermodal loadings on U.S. railroads totaled 116,884 trailers or containers for May, up 12.3% from June 2003.AAR also said that for the second quarter, intermodal traffic was 2.75 million units, up 11.9% from the second quarter of 2003.
"The 4.8% increase in U.S. rail carloads in the second quarter of 2004 is the highest quarterly increase since 1995, and the 2.75 million intermodal units originated in the second quarter of 2004 is by far the highest quarterly total ever," AAR Vice President Craig Rockey said in a statement.
For the week ended July 3, intermodal volume was 218,281 trailers and containers, up 33.1% from a year earlier. Transport Topics
Hunt Says BNSF Seeking Revenue Division Arbitration
J.B. Hunt said Friday it had received a notice from Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. on July 7 that the railroad had elected to exercise its right to arbitration to determine if the two companies were dividing their revenues fairly under their joint service agreement.The agreement between the two companies says revenue division can be reviewed quarterly. Any arbitrator’s decision will be applied to revenues generated at July 7.
Also on July 7, J.B. Hunt filed in the Circuit Court of Benton County, Ark., a papers seeking a decision on the companies legal relationship under the joint service agreement, which provides for the two companies to provide each other with exclusive, preferred service. Hunt said it believed the two companies were partners, BNSF has challenged that assertion.
Hunt said in its release it did not anticipate any decisions on this matter would have an impact on its financial results or in its business operations. Transport Topics
