News Briefs - June 15
The Latest Headlines:
- N.Y. Manufacturing Index Steady in June
- Yellow Roadway Raises 2Q Earnings Estimate
- Preliminary Consumer Sentiment Index Rise in June
- Business Inventories Rise Again in April
- Ringleader Pleads Guilty in Deadly Immigrant-Smuggling Scheme
- Pacer Cartage Names Noel President
- Waggoner Named President of USF Bestway
- Japan's Transport Ministry Extends Mitsubishi Boycott
- Yellow Roadway Raises 2Q Earnings Estimate
N.Y. Manufacturing Index Steady in June
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York said Tuesday its general business conditions index fell to 30.17 in June from 30.21 the month before.Despite the slight decline, June was the 14th straight month of positive readings on manufacturing activity in the region. The index set record highs in February of 42.05 and in January at 38.85.
The new orders index declined to 26.46 from 36.59 in May, while the shipments index decreased to 33.43 from 42.28. Transport Topics
Yellow Roadway Raises 2Q Earnings Estimate
Less-than-truckload firm Yellow Roadway Corp. said late Monday it expected its second-quarter profits to be in the range of 85 cents to 90 cents a share, up from its previous guidance of 70 cents to 75 cents."All our business units continue to perform very well," Bill Zollars, chairman and president, said in a statement. "The improvement in our second-quarter earnings outlook is being driven by excellent execution along with favorable economic conditions."
Yellow Roadway was formed in December Yellow Corp. completed the purchase of larger rival Roadway Corp. for about $1.05 billion. Transport Topics
Preliminary Consumer Sentiment Index Rise in June
The University of Michigan's preliminary survey of consumer sentiment for June rose to 95.2 from a final reading of 90.2 in May, Reuters reported.The index, which had declined the prior two months, reached a three-year high of 103.8 in January. The confidence measure averaged 89.4 the past three years.
The expectations index, which measures optimism about the next one to five months, rose to 86.9 in June from 81.6 in May.
The current conditions index, based on perceptions of consumers' financial situation and whether it's a good time to make big purchases, rose to 108.1 in June from 103.6 in May. Transport Topics
Business Inventories Rise Again in April
The Commerce Department reported Tuesday that business inventories rose 0.5% in April to a record $1.212 trillion, the eighth straight monthly increase.If inventories are increasing, it likely means trucks are seeing an increase in business as businesses restock shelves.
Commerce also said business sales fell 0.1%, the first drop since August, after a revised record 3.2% surge in April.
The inventory-to-sales ratio, a measure of how lean businesses are keeping inventories in relation to sales, was steady at 1.30 months' worth, a record low level recorded in March. Transport Topics
Ringleader Pleads Guilty in Deadly Immigrant-Smuggling Scheme
Karla Patricia Chavez, the ringleader in the nation's deadliest immigrant-smuggling scheme, pleaded guilty on Monday in connection with the deaths of 19 people abandoned in a truck trailer, the Associated Press reported.More than 70 illegal immigrants were smuggled from the Rio Grande Valley aboard a tractor-trailer. The stifling trailer was abandoned at a truck stop near Houston in May 2003. Seventeen were found dead at the scene and two died later.
The woman, who pleaded guilty to conspiring to harbor and transport illegal immigrants in a manner that led to their deaths, could get life in prison without parole, AP said.
However, prosecutors said they would recommend a lighter sentence if she cooperates against others in the case, including the truck driver, Tyrone Williams, who could get the death penalty. Transport Topics
Pacer Cartage Names Noel President
Pacer International Inc. said Tuesday it named Val Noel president of Pacer Cartage, its local trucking business unit.Noel was most recently president of CSX Intermodal, Pacer said in a statement.
Pacer Cartage is part of Pacer's wholesale segment, which also includes Pacer Stacktrain. Cartage refers to the local pickup and delivery of freight by truck. It may involve transfer to or from a port or a rail station.
Pacer is ranked No. 14 on the Transport Topics 100 list of the largest U.S. and Canadian trucking companies. Transport Topics
Waggoner Named President of USF Bestway
USF Corp. said Monday Douglas Waggoner had been promoted to president of regional less-than-truckload carrier USF Bestway Inc.The position had been vacant since Gary Beggs' reassignment, the company said in a statement. Previously, Waggoner was president of California-based Daylight Transport.
USF is ranked No. 10 on the Transport Topics 100 list of the largest U.S. and Canadian trucking companies. Transport Topics
Japan's Transport Ministry Extends Mitsubishi Boycott
Japan's transport ministry on Monday extended its boycott on purchases of Mitsubishi Motors Corp. and Mitsubishi Fuso Truck & Bus Corp. vehicles by almost a month after the police last week arrested six former executives, Bloomberg reported.
he ministry will not buy Mitsubishi Motors or Fuso vehicles until Dec. 13, 2005, extending the period from Nov. 6 next year. It said last month it owned 2,282 vehicles made by the companies, Bloomberg said.
Last week, police arrested former Mitsubishi Motors President Katsuhiko Kawasoe and five other former executives and charged them with negligence relating to a fatal accident in October 2002 involving a truck made by the company's commercial vehicle division. Transport Topics
