News Briefs - June 9
The Latest Headlines:
- Price of Oil Edges Up Despite Rise in Fuel Inventories
- Caterpillar Raises Dividend Again
- Greenspan Says Fed Could Take Aggressive Action on Rates
- Mexican Truckers Have Mixed Reaction to Supreme Court Decision
- Study: Border Delays Costing Canada $8 Billion a Year
- Kraus Named to Lead HDMA
- Mitsubishi Fuso Reveals More Truck Defects
- Caterpillar Raises Dividend Again
Price of Oil Edges Up Despite Rise in Fuel Inventories
After declining early Wednesday, the price of crude oil closed the day up 26 cents to $37.54 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, Reuters reported.Oil dipped as low as $36.45 earlier in the day, its lowest intraday traded level in five weeks, following a report by the Department of Energy showing a rise in inventories, Reuters said.
DOE said Wednesday that crude oil stocks rose by 400,000 barrels to 302.1 million barrels last week, their highest in nearly two years, while gasoline stocks rose by 2.1 million barrels.
Caterpillar Raises Dividend Again
Diesel engine maker Caterpillar Inc. said Wednesday it was increases its quarterly dividend by 11%, the second increase in the past 12 months.The increase 41 cents per share from 37 cents is payable Aug. 20, to stockholders of record on July 20, the company said in a statement. Transport Topics
Greenspan Says Fed Could Take Aggressive Action on Rates
Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said that although interest rates could be raised gradually to head off inflation, he is not ruling out more aggressive action, the Associated Press reported.Greenspan, speaking via satellite to an international monetary conference, said the Federal Open Market Committee was still of the view that any upcoming rate increases would probably be at a "measured" pace.
The overnight bank-lending rate, also known as the federal funds rate, is currently at 1%, a 46-year low.
Greenspan said he was concerned with high energy prices and noted that inflation is now stirring after a long hibernation, AP said. But he also said productivity gains should help prevent inflation from getting out of hand. Transport Topics
Mexican Truckers Have Mixed Reaction to Supreme Court Decision
Mexican truckers reacted with caution to Monday's ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court clearing the way for Mexican trucks to use U.S. highways, the Associated Press reported.The court ruled unanimously that the Bush administration can skip a lengthy environmental study and open U.S. roadways to Mexican trucks as soon as it wishes. Currently, Mexican and U.S. trucks are allowed into a 20-mile buffer zone along each side of the international border.
Although U.S. truckers fear the new policy will prompt their employers to replace them with Mexican drivers, many Mexican truckers said they cannot afford to meet U.S. safety regulations, AP said.
In addition, Mexican trucking companies are concerned about competition from U.S firms, which have access to cheap credit, and only have to comply with one federal highway regulation in Mexico, AP said. Transport Topics
Study: Border Delays Hurting Canada's Economy
A study by the Ontario Chamber of Commerce said that delays for trucks using Ontario border crossings to get in and out of the United States are costing Canada's economy C$8.3 billion a year, Canadian Press reported.The study also said that figure stands to more than double over the next 25 years unless action is taken to ease congestion. It attributed the delays to a shortage of border staff and too few customs booths for vehicles to travel through, CP said.
Chamber members reported an average delay of between one and two hours every day, with Friday afternoons being the slowest period, the study said. Transport Topics
Kraus Named to Lead HDMA
The Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association said June 3 it named Timothy Kraus executive director of the Heavy Duty Manufacturers Association, effective June 1.Kraus also was named a vice president of MEMA, which said it was established in 1983 to provide government monitoring, market research and information services to manufacturers of heavy-duty truck components and other products.
Kraus was most recently director of sales and marketing for wheel-end products manufacturer Triseal Corp. He succeeded Jim Conner, who retired after 23 years with MEMA. Transport Topics
This story appeared in June 7 print edition of Transport Topics.
Mitsubishi Fuso Reveals More Truck Defects
Japan's Mitsubishi Fuso Truck & Bus Corp. on Tuesday disclosed an additional 93 vehicle defects based on an investigation dating back to 1992, the Associated Press reported.Fuso, which is 65% owned by DaimlerChrysler AG, said that some of the defects resulted in accidents causing injuries, AP reported.
Last week, Mitsubishi Motors Corp. — which spun off Mitsubishi Fuso in 2003 — acknowledged it had failed to disclose all known defects in 2000, when it admitted to systematically covering up problems to avoid costly recalls. Transport Topics
