News Briefs - June 23
The Latest Headlines:
- Report: Daimler to Combine Some Truck Units
- Peterbilt Workers in Tennessee Accept New Deal
- Lundberg: Gasoline Prices Rise Slightly
- Cost of Workers’ Compensation Insurance Soaring
- Mineta Names Cox to NHTSA Post
- U-Haul Parent Amerco Files for Bankruptcy Protection
- Peterbilt Workers in Tennessee Accept New Deal
Report: Daimler to Combine Some Truck Units
DaimlerChrysler AG will unite its Mercedes-Benz and U.S. truck units, which include the Freightliner and Sterling brands, with the powersystems unit to form one truck division, Bloomberg reported Monday, citing a German newspaper.The powersystems unit includes engines, gear boxes and steering.
Die Welt said that Daimler will announce the plan in early July, which is expected to trim the number of businesses DaimlerChrysler operates at its truck division to four from six.
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Peterbilt Workers in Tennessee Accept New Deal
Workers at Peterbilt Motors Co.'s suburban Nashville, Tenn., truck plant accepted the company's "final offer" on Sunday and are scheduled to return to work on July 1, ending a 10-month lockout, the Associated Press reported.United Auto Workers Local 1832 approved the five-year deal by a vote of 470-90, according to Peterbilt.
The company laid off about 500 employees in November in response to a drop in orders for heavy-duty trucks. Layoff notices went out Aug. 26, four days before the previous contract expired, AP said.
All 750 workers were locked out on Sept. 3. Peterbilt said about 250 union employees will return when the plant resumes operation.
Peterbilt, based in Denton, Texas, is a division of Paccar Inc. Transport Topics
Lundberg: Gasoline Prices Rise Slightly
Gasoline prices rose slightly during the past two weeks due to tighter crude oil supplies and some refinery glitches, according to the Lundberg survey of stations nationwide.The average price for a gallon of self-serve gas nationwide, including all grades and taxes, was about $1.54 on Friday, an increase of .67 cents from June 6.
About one-third of the trucking industry uses gasoline to power its vehicles.
This was the first increase since prices peaked on March 21 at $1.76 per gallon, analyst Trilby Lundberg told the Associated Press on Sunday.
Gas prices are now about 10 cents higher than they were a year ago, and 10 cents less than they were two years ago, Lundberg said. Transport Topics
Cost of Workers’ Compensation Insurance Soaring
The cost of workers' compensation insurance is soaring at the highest rate in nearly a decade, adding another burden on businesses and the struggling economy, the New York Times reported Monday.Workers' compensation insurance, which pays for treatment of on-the-job injuries and lost wages, is a particular problem to companies including trucking because its purchase is mandatory. Businesses cannot trim their workers' compensation coverage to save money because every employee must be fully insured, the Times said.
Nationwide, the average cost of workers' compensation insurance has risen 50% in the last three years, according to Robert Hartwig, the chief economist at the Insurance Information Institute.
Prices are escalating because of rising medical and legal costs, a recent price war by insurers and an increase in fraud, the Times said. Transport Topics
Mineta Names Cox to NHTSA Post
Secretary of Transportation Norman Y. Mineta named Otis G. Cox Jr. to be deputy administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.“As our administration takes on the tough challenges of increasing seat belt use and reducing drunk driving, Otis’s extensive background and experience in public safety will help us achieve those goals,” said Mineta in the June 13 announcement.
Cox held the cabinet-level position in West Virginia from 1997-2001 and was responsible for monitoring state police operations, the Office of Emergency Management, State Facilities Protection, according to a DOT news release.
Cox worked for the FBI 25 years and managed the relocation of the bureau’s Fingerprint Identification Division from Washington, D.C., to Clarksburg, W. Va., said DOT.
Recently, he taught and conducted research at West Virginia University, where he was the public safety coordinator. He was also on the staff at Marshall University as an assistant professor in the graduate school. Transport Topics
This article appeared in the June 23 print edition of Transport Topics.
U-Haul Parent Amerco Files for Bankruptcy Protection
Amerco Inc., the parent of U-Haul truck-rental service, filed for bankruptcy on Friday due to off-books accounting restatements and $884 million of debt, Bloomberg reported.U-Haul was not included in the bankruptcy filing.
U-Haul has 16,250 company-operated and independent dealers handling 184,000 trucks and trailers in the United States and Canada. It controls half of the $3 billion-a-year market for renting trucks and trailers.
Amerco joins dozens of companies that have sought bankruptcy protection in the past several years due to accounting irregularities, Bloomberg said. Transport Topics
