News Briefs - March 30
The Latest Headlines:
- Quality Distribution's Loss Widens in 4Q
- Freightliner Hiring Workers in Canada, U.S.
- FedEx Seeks to Resolve Dispute Over Chinese Tax
- K&R Express Systems Shuts Down
- Freightliner Hiring Workers in Canada, U.S.
Quality Distribution's Loss Widens in 4Q
Tank-truck carrier Quality Distribution Inc. said late Monday its net loss for the fourth quarter was $67.9 million or $4.95 per share, compared with a loss of $8.6 million or $2.56 a year earlier.Results for the quarter include several special items, including a charge of $59.4 million for the conversion of preferred stock into common stock and a $4.7 million gain on the early extinguishment of debt.
Revenue for the quarter increased 10.5% to $139.4 million, the company said in a statement.
Quality Distribution is ranked No. 34 on the Transport Topics 100 list of the largest U.S. and Canadian trucking companies. Transport Topics
Freightliner Hiring Workers in Canada, U.S.
Freightliner LLC said it would add 300 full-time weekend jobs to its assembly line at St. Thomas, Ontario, in order to meet "strong demand" for its Sterling trucks, the Windsor Star reported.Freightliner is the North American truck making unit of DaimlerChrysler AG.
The new Freightliner employees will work a three-day weekend shift, from Friday to Sunday. The rest of the workforce will continue working Monday to Friday on the day shift and four 10-hour evening shifts from Monday to Thursday.
Last week, Freightliner said it would add 65 jobs to its chassis manufacturing facility in Gaffney, S.C., the Spartanburg Herald-Journal reported. Transport Topics
FedEx Seeks to Resolve Dispute Over Chinese Tax
FedEx Corp. said it hoped to solve a dispute between overseas express carriers and China's postal regulator without involving the World Trade Organization, Bloomberg reported.FedEx and rivals are protesting a proposed tax on overseas express carriers that would be used to protect China's postal monopoly, Bloomberg said.
The tax may crimp efforts by FedEx and rivals to increase their market share in China, Bloomberg said. FedEx's revenue in China revenue by more than 40% in the third quarter ended February.
Earlier this month, the United States filed a WTO complaint against China over tax breaks for domestic chipmakers. Transport Topics
K&R Express Systems Shuts Down
Freight forwarder K&R Express Systems Inc. shut down on March 26, saying on its Web site it "experienced great difficulties in financing and maintaining our customer base."Based in Burr Ridge, Ill., the company had 300 employees represented by the Teamsters, with half located in the Chicago area, the Chicago Tribune reported.
"We desperately wanted to avoid this, but the simple fact remains the company is no longer sustainable," the company said. Transport Topics
