News Briefs - March 2
The Latest Headlines:
- Ryder Completes Acquisition of Ruan
- Journal: Manufacturers Starting to Hire Again
- Morrow Named President of Motor Cargo Industries
- Notes at Truck Stop Could Offer Clues in Murders
- Study Supports Truck-Only Toll Lanes on Chicago-Area Highway
- Journal: Manufacturers Starting to Hire Again
Ryder Completes Acquisition of Ruan
Ryder System Inc. said Monday it completed the acquisition of Ruan Leasing Co., Des Moines, Iowa, a privately owned commercial truck leasing, rental and contract maintenance company.Ruan said in a release the deal represents less than a third of its annual revenue, and it would continue to provide dedicated contract carriage logistics and brokerage services.
The deal was worth about $145 million, Ryder said. Ryder said it acquired Ruan's fleet of over 6,400 vehicles, 37 of its 111 service locations and more than 500 customers.
Journal: Manufacturers Starting to Hire Again
U.S. manufacturers said they are finally starting to hire again as orders rebound, exports increase and inventories shrink, the Wall Street Journal reported.Manufacturing is one of trucking's largest and most important customers. Rising orders would increase the demand for trucking to deliver goods to stores.
The Institute for Supply Management's employment index released Monday stood at 56.3 in February, up from 52.9 in January. The February number was the highest since December 1987.
The National Association of Manufacturers is projecting an increase of 250,000 manufacturing jobs to a total of 14.6 million. Manufacturing accounts for about 11% of total U.S. nonfarm payroll employment, the Journal said. Transport Topics
Morrow Named President of Motor Cargo Industries
Less-than-truckload carrier Overnite Corp, said Monday that Peter Morrow has been named president of its Motor Cargo Industries Inc. unit effective April 1.Morrow succeeds Louis Holdener, who named Motor Cargo vice chairman, and will report to Overnite Chairman Leo Suggs. He has spent 12 years with Overnite.
Regional LTL carrier Motor Cargo is based in Salt Lake City. Overnite is ranked No. 18 on the Transport Topics 100 list of the largest U.S. and Canadian trucking companies. Transport Topics
Notes at Truck Stop Could Offer Clues in Murders
Police are investigating whether notes left at a truck-stop ministry could offer clues about who killed seven women, most of them prostitutes, the Associated Press reported.The notes were found at an Oklahoma City truck stop where one of the victims was last seen, AP said. One refers to "parking lot sin," and a second note, dated Jan. 31, reads: "Hey Minister, You Need to Get busy for Jesus AND Clear The Whores Out of Here." It was signed, "WARNING."
The victims' bodies were discovered between July and January along highways or near creeks in Oklahoma, Arkansas, Texas and Mississippi. At least four were last seen at truck stops. Transport Topics
Study Supports Truck-Only Toll Lanes on Chicago-Area Highway
Two interstate highways that pass through the Chicago area were tapped as the best locations to build trucks-only toll lanes, the Chicago Tribune reported Monday.A study by the the Reason Foundation called for constructing truck tollways on the median or shoulder of Interstate Highway 80 across Illinois and Iowa and on Interstate Highway 94 from outside metro Chicago through Wisconsin to Minneapolis.
By moving trucks into their own lanes, triple-length trailers, which are banned in Illinois, would be able to operate, the article said. I-80 would connect Chicago with the western Great Plains and Rocky Mountain states where longer-combination vehicles already operate.
The I-94 truck route would connect the Chicago area with the Twin Cities.
Trucking companies would not be required to use the special toll lanes under the proposal, the Tribune said. Instead, trucks using the toll road would be exempt from federal fuel taxes and user fees for miles traveled on the trucks-only lanes to avoid double taxation. Transport Topics
