News Briefs - May 12
The Latest Headlines:
- Price of Crude Oil Rises to Record
- Truckers Protest Fuel Prices in Washington State, Houston
- DOE Expects Retail Gasoline to Peak at $2.03
- Ryder Doesn't Expect Big Effect From Higher Interest Rates
- DaimlerChrysler to Sell Stake in Hyundai
- UP, NITL to Host Forum on Rail Concerns
- Import Prices Rise for Seventh Straight Month
- Trade Deficit Surges 9.1% to New Record in March
- Truckers Protest Fuel Prices in Washington State, Houston
Price of Crude Oil Rises to Record
The price of crude oil futures rose to a record closing price in New York after the Energy Department reported that U.S. gasoline supplies declined last week.
rude oil for June delivery was up 72 cents, or 1.8%, at $40.77 a barrel at the close of floor trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the highest close since futures began trading in 1983, Bloomberg reported.
asoline inventories fell 1.5 million barrels to 202.5 million in the week ended May 7, DOE said. Transport Topics
Truckers Protest Fuel Prices in Washington State, Houston
More than 200 logging truckers gathered Tuesday at the Tacoma Dome in Washington state to protest high fuel prices, but said they would not block traffic, the Associated Press reported.Some of the truckers told AP high costs could force them out of business, while others said they may not have enough money for safety maintenance.
Meanwhile, Theodore Williams, an owner-operator, told Transport Topics about 170 independent truckers in Houston were protesting outside Bridge Terminal Transport for a third straight day as the sides held talks Wednesday. Transport Topics
DOE Expects Retail Gasoline to Peak at $2.03
The retail price of regular gasoline will peak in June at a record national average of $2.03 a gallon, the Department of Energy said Tuesday.The trucking industry uses an estimated 269 million gallons of gasoline each week.
DOE said its latest forecast was 21 cents higher than previously expected. It said strong petroleum demand and higher crude oil costs were driving the price of gasoline higher.
For the entire U.S. summer driving season, which runs from April through September, the Energy Department said it now expects gasoline to average $1.94 a gallon. The new average is 18 cents higher than its previous forecast. Transport Topics
Ryder Doesn't Expect Big Effect From Higher Interest Rates
Gregory Swienton, chief executive officer of Ryder System Inc., said he did not expect small increases in the benchmark interest rate to have a large effect the truck-leasing company, Bloomberg reported.Swienton said in an interview with Bloomberg that Ryder would have to start adjusting its price and costing models for long-term leases if rates rise.
yder is ranked No. 3 on the Transport Topics 100 list of the largest U.S. and Canadian trucking companies. Transport Topics
DaimlerChrysler to Sell Stake in Hyundai
DaimlerChrysler AG will sell its stake in South Korea's Hyundai Motor Co. and scrap a venture to make commercial trucks, Bloomberg reported.The company's 10.5% stake in Hyundai is currently valued at about $878 million. DaimlerChrysler bought 22.9 million Hyundai Motor shares in 2000 for $381 million.
DaimlerChrysler had planned four years ago to form an alliance with Hyundai to make up to 100,000 trucks and buses and 50,000 engines every year in South Korea, and to build small cars, Bloomberg said.
ut Hyundai said the planning to make trucks and buses was slowed by disputes with unions and disagreements over the choice of a China partner. Transport Topics
UP, NITL to Host Forum on Rail Concerns
Union Pacific Railroad and the National Industrial Transportation League said they planned to hold a forum in San Francisco May 17 to review UP’s recent capacity shortfalls in the West.The nation’s largest railroad has attributed the problems to high demand, along with shortages of manpower and equipment, causing some customers to switch to trucks.
NITL President John Ficker said May 6 the group wanted to make sure shippers’ concerns were addressed before shipping picks up later this year.
Ficker said the goal of the meeting will be “to have a constructive dialogue” and that “we’re pleased the railroad has agreed to discuss this with us.” Michael G. Malloy
This story appeared in the May 10 print edition of Transport Topics.
Import Prices Rise for Seventh Straight Month
The price of goods imported to the United States rose 0.2% in April, the seventh straight monthly rise, the Labor Department said.The most recent increase followed a revised 0.8% gain in March. Labor also said export prices were up 0.6% in April, compared with 0.9% in March, which had been the largest increase since 1995.
The cost of petroleum product imports fell 0.8% after a revised 5.2% gain in March. Non-petroleum imports rose 0.3%.
Industrial supplies, excluding petroleum, advanced 2.0% and were up 11.4% on the year, Labor said. Transport Topics
Trade Deficit Surges 9.1% to New Record in March
The U.S. trade deficit grew 9.1% in March to a record $46 billion as the high oil prices increased consumer spending and boosted imports, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.The record gap followed a deficit of $42.1 billion in February. Imports and exports surged to all-time highs, and the deficit with the OPEC oil cartel was the biggest ever, Labor said.
Imports rose 4.6% to $140.7 billion, the biggest increase in 11 years, while U.S. exports leaped 2.6% to $94.7 billion. The total oil import bill from OPEC and others jumped more than 20% in March to a record $10.2 billion.
Labor said concern over supplies drove up the price of crude oil in March, while tax refunds, low interest rates and an improved labor market helped lift demand for cars, electronic goods and other products made outside the United States. Transport Topics
