News Briefs - March 18
The Latest Headlines:
- Jobless Claims Hit Three-Year Low
- PPI Rises 0.6% in January
- Truck Stop on Florida's Turnpike Approved
- Central Freight Makes Purchase; Lowers Earnings Guidance
- Canada’s 16-Hour Rule to Be Reviewed
- PPI Rises 0.6% in January
Jobless Claims Hit Three-Year Low
The number of Americans filing initial claims for unemployment benefits fell last week by 6,000 to 336,000, the lowest since Jan. 13, 2001, the Labor Department said Thursday.The four-week average of claims, a less-volatile indicator, declined by 2,000 to 344,000, the lowest since 336,500 in the week ended Jan. 27, 2001.
The number of people continuing to collect state jobless benefits jumped by 47,000 to 3.064 million in the week ended March 6. Transport Topics
PPI Rises 0.6% in January
Wholesale prices in the United States rose 0.6% in January, led by higher costs for gasoline and heating oil, the Labor Department said Thursday.The producer price index had increased 0.2% in December. Excluding volatile food and energy prices, the core rate gained 0.3% percent after falling 0.1% a month earlier.
A rising PPI could indicate stronger demand for goods, which would mean fewer shipments for trucking companies.
Difficulties converting statistics to a new classification system caused the government to delay the producer prices report from its originally scheduled Feb. 19 release. The Labor Department said Wednesday it had not set a new date for its February producer price report, originally due March 12.
In January's report, energy prices jumped 4.7% after rising 1.6% in December. Gasoline prices surged 14.1%, while passenger car prices climbed 0.6%. Transport Topics
Truck Stop on Florida's Turnpike Approved
The Davie Town Council on Wednesday night approved plans for a 33-acre truck stop for the southeast corner of Florida's Turnpike and Interstate 595, the Miami Herald reported Thursday.The truck stop would have nearly 300 parking spaces, dozens of fuel pumps, offices and places to eat, the Herald said.
Before being built, the owner of the land must first sort out a conflict over ownership of an access road and work with the police and fire department to address public safety concerns, the article said. Transport Topics
Central Freight Makes Purchase; Lowers Earnings Guidance
Less-than-truckload carrier Central Freight Lines Inc. said it purchased the 21-terminal network and rolling stock of regional LTL carrier Eastern Oregon Fast Freight Inc. for about $10 million.Central also said in a release its expansion would cause it to report "substantially lower earnings" for the first quarter than its previous guidance of 12 cents to 16 cents per share.
EOFF owns six terminals and leases 15 others in Oregon, Washington and Idaho, Central said.
Central Freight is ranked No. 45 on the Transport Topics 100 list of the largest U.S. and Canadian trucking companies. Transport Topics
Canada’s 16-Hour Rule to Be Reviewed
Canada’s federal and provincial governments have decided that if a so-called “16-hour window” is to be included in the new Canadian hours-of-service regulations for truck drivers, it must be reviewed within one year after taking effect, according to the Canadian Trucking Alliance.The measure requires a truck driver to complete all driving time within 16 hours of going on duty. The review will determine whether there are negative safety and economic consequences, CTA said March 11.
CTA argued such a measure would discourage rest breaks and cut driver productivity.
“Our position remains that a fixed 16-hour window is not in the best interests of reducing driver fatigue and will have a negative impact on industry productivity,” said David Bradley, CTA’s chief executive officer.
Canada is reviewing its hours-of-service rules, which are due to take effect later this year.
