News Briefs - March 10
The Latest Headlines:
- Wabash Raises Prices of New Trailers
- DOE: Gasoline Prices to Reach Record Highs
- New Entrant Program Receives $25 Million
- Journal: Many Ports Face Opposition to Expansion
- Trade Gap Widens to Record $43.1B in January
- Oregon Seeks to Eliminate Myrtle Creek Curves
- DOE: Gasoline Prices to Reach Record Highs
Wabash Raises Prices of New Trailers
Truck trailer maker Wabash National Corp. said late Tuesday it had increased pricing on new trailers by 4.5% to 6% due to cost increases from its suppliers of raw materials such as steel, aluminum and wood."The amount of cost increases we are currently experiencing requires us to pass through these increases to our customers," Chief Executive Officer William Greubel said in a statement.
"While there may be a brief lag effect in the near term in recovering these cost increases, we expect to be able to pass a substantial portion, if not all, of the increases through." Transport Topics
DOE: Gasoline Prices to Reach Record Highs
The U.S. Department of Energy said motorists will pay record prices for gasoline this spring and summer because of soaring crude-oil costs and low fuel inventories.Trucking uses an estimated 269 million gallons of gasoline a week.
DOE's Energy Information Administration estimated in its monthly report published on its Web site that regular gasoline will climb to an average of $1.83 a gallon during April and $1.74 from April through September, up 13 cents from a forecast last month.
he all-time record for gasoline is $1.747, set on Aug. 25. DOE said Monday the current average is $1.738. Transport Topics
New Entrant Program Receives $25 Million
The recently signed extension of the federal highway funding bill included $24.9 million for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s new-entrant program, an agency spokesman told Transport Topics.David Longo said the agency received state grant funding for the program that oversees and audits new trucking companies, plus $3.5 million for staffing so FMCSA could “hire 10 oversight personnel and one attorney for the new-entrant program.” Transport Topics
This story appeared in the March 8 print edition of Transport Topics.
Journal: Many Ports Face Opposition to Expansion
Port officials across the United States are trying to expand their facilities to make room for more ships and cargo, but in many cases they are finding well-organized resistance, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.Much of the backlash stems from environmental concerns, the article said, while population growth and lowered property values have also been cited.
An estimated 95% of all cargo from outside North American arrives by ships, the Journal said, making ports a crucial trade link between the United States and the world.
In 1998, the Port of Houston Authority said it would build a $1.2 billion cargo terminal on Galveston Bay. However, the plans are still stuck on the drawing board because of opposition from environmental groups and nearby residents, the Journal said. Transport Topics
Trade Gap Widens to Record $43.1B in January
The Commerce Department said Wednesday the U.S. trade deficit in January widened to a record $43.1 billion from $42.7 billion in December.Commerce said imports of goods and services came to $132 billion in January, the second-highest level on record. Exports totaled $89 billion in January, representing a 1.2% decrease from December.
A 40% drop in meat and poultry exports to the lowest level since November 1993 contributed to the widening trade gap, Commerce said, as countries shunned American beef over the discovery of mad cow disease.
Commerce also said oil import prices were the highest since March 2003, when the U.S. invaded Iraq. Transport Topics
Oregon Seeks to Eliminate Myrtle Creek Curves
The Oregon Department of Transportation plans to eliminate the Myrtle Creek curves, considered one of the most dangerous sections of Interstate 5, the Associated Press reported.I-5 is the main north-south highway along the West Coast. In the last six years, more than 40 accidents with at least $1,000 damage have been reported at the curves, located at Milepost 108.
ODOT will likely bypass the curves by either cutting a chunk out of the adjacent rock mountain or boring through the rock to create a tunnel, AP said.
When a truck is involved in an accident along the curves, it takes an average of about six hours to clear the wreckage and reopen the road, AP said. Accidents back traffic up for miles and there is only one alternate route through Tri City and Myrtle Creek. Transport Topics
