News Briefs - June 18
The Latest Headlines:
- NBER Not Ready to Declare Recession Over
- Idaho Governor Touted as Possible EPA Administrator
- Volvo Truck Deliveries Decline in May
- Sunco Carriers Rearranges Executive Staff
- Mitsubishi Fuso Expects Profit to Triple
- Idaho Governor Touted as Possible EPA Administrator
NBER Not Ready to Declare Recession Over
The National Bureau of Economic Research, the group charged with officially tracking U.S. business cycles, said Wednesday that it was not ready to declare the recession of 2001 dead yet, MSBNC reported.Many independent analysts have already declared an end to the recession, which NBER said began back in March of 2001.
Jeffery Frankel, an economist at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard and a member of NBER’s Business Cycle Dating Committee, said that there is "a pretty strong case” that the recession ended in late 2001, but that continuing decline in employment figures makes it feel to many people like the recession has continued, MSNBC reported.
Idaho Governor Touted as Possible EPA Administrator
Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne is the leading candidate to become the new administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Washington Post reported Wednesday.Kempthorne is in his second term as governor and is a former U.S. senator. He met with White House officials on June 11, the Post said.
He would replace Christie Whitman, who submitted her resignation last month effective June 27. (Click here for the full story.)
During her tenure, she was involved in several major rules affecting the trucking industry including ensuring the consent decrees that diesel engine makers signed in 1998 were implemented on Oct. 1, 2002.
Although Kempthorne received a near-zero rating from the League of Conservation Voters during his one term as a senator, environmental advocates said his Senate background would probably help ease his confirmation process, according to the Post. Transport Topics
Volvo Truck Deliveries Decline in May
Volvo said Wednesday that deliveries from its truck operations declined 11% in May, compared with the corresponding month last year.North America deliveries declined 12%, while deliveries increased 1% in Europe, the company said in a release.
Volvo’s figures include deliveries from Volvo Trucks, Mack Trucks Inc. and Renault Trucks. So far in 2003, deliveries totaled 61,772, which is in line with the year-earlier period.
"In North America, deliveries were somewhat lower than last year, but the positive trend that we have seen in the most recent months continued through May," said Chief Executive Officer Leif Johansson. Transport Topics
(Click here for the full press release.)
Sunco Carriers Rearranges Executive Staff
The Environmental Protection Agency announced June 12 it had Sunco Carriers, Lakeland, Fla., announced it had named Joe Whitfield president and promoted several other people at its headquarters and Atlanta offices.Whitfield, with 22 years of industry experience, will be responsible for all Sunco operations, maintenance, safety and sales functions. He was regional vice president in its Atlanta office for the past 14 years, Sunco said.
Hunt Berryman, one of the company’s founders and most recently its president, has become vice chairman and continues to handle administrative functions, according to the carrier.
Ron Williamson was promoted to vice president of sales and marketing from his former position as regional sales manager in Atlanta, the carrier said, adding that both he and Whitfield will relocate to the Lakeland headquarters.
The company also said it promoted Mark Stidham to regional manager of the Atlanta operation. He has 24 years of industry experience, most of it with Sunco.
A specialized carrier of foodstuffs and other temperature-sensitive commodities, Sunco is a subsidiary of Watkins Associated Industries, which ranks No. 21 on the 2002 Transport Topics 100 list of the largest U.S. and Canadian trucking companies. Transport Topics
This story appeared in the June 16 print edition of Transport Topics.
Mitsubishi Fuso Expects Profit to Triple
Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corp., Japan's third-largest truck maker, said it expected profit to more than triple this fiscal year, Bloomberg reported Wednesday.The company, 43% owned by DaimlerChrysler AG, said net income would be $42 million in the fiscal year started April 1.
Truck makers are expecting higher sales in Japan, helped by stricter environmental rules forcing truck operators to renew their fleets.
The Japanese government will introduce new diesel regulations in October and impose stricter standards in 2005, which will give Japan the most stringent diesel emission regulations in the world, Bloomberg said. Transport Topics
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