News Briefs - May 19
The Latest Headlines:
- Celadon's Public Offering Priced at $14.50
- Bush Again Says He Will Not Tap SPR
- Schneider, Teamsters Settle Dispute a Year Later
- Illinois Votes to Increase Truck Speed Limit, but Veto Planned
- Cannon Express Plans Liquidation
- US 1 Industries' Profits Decline
- Official: Stronger Economy Means Longer Bottlenecks at Border
- USF to Challenge NLRB Ruling
- Bush Again Says He Will Not Tap SPR
Celadon's Public Offering Priced at $14.50
Truckload carrier Celadon Group Inc. on Wednesday announced the public offering of 1.69 million shares of its common stock at $14.50 per share.Celadon said in a statement that 1.6 million shares are being sold by the company, with the remainder being sold by company officials.
It also said it granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to 253,500 shares of common stock to cover over-allotments.
Bush Again Says He Will Not Tap SPR
President Bush on Wednesday rejected Democrats' calls to ease high gasoline prices by tapping the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, news services reported.Bush said tapping the reserve would leave the nation vulnerable to terrorism in a time of war, Reuters reported.
A group of Democratic senators has introduced a resolution calling for the release of 1 million of barrels of oil a day from the stockpile for up to 60 days, arguing that would force down gas prices.
Meanwhile, OPEC President Purnomo Yusgiantoro said the cartel has enough spare capacity to boost output by up to 15% if it sees the need, the Associated Press reported.
OPEC is producing 25.5 million barrels a day -- or 2 million barrels above its target -- and it could add as much as 3.8 million barrels to global supplies, AP said. Transport Topics
Schneider, Teamsters Settle Dispute a Year Later
Union drivers who lost their jobs with Schneider National Inc. last year have approved a new contract with the company that allows about 120 drivers to decide if they want to return to the company, the Associated Press reported.Last year, the truckload company closed its Schneider Tank Lines and Schneider Transport Classic Division because of liability problems with the Teamsters' Central States Pension Fund, which was about $6.9 billion in debt.
Under the settlement, the drivers who were fired would each receive $16,000, whether or not they return to work. In addition, Schneider will pay $2 million into a retirement health benefits fund and the company will contribute $85 a week into returning drivers' 401(k) retirement plans, AP said.
The drivers that decide to return to the company would also receive an increase of 8 cents a mile over the six-year contract, AP said.
Schneider is ranked No. 7 on the Transport Topics 100 list of the largest U.S. and Canadian trucking companies. Transport Topics
Illinois Votes to Increase Truck Speed Limit, but Veto Planned
Illinois lawmakers gave truckers the green light to travel 65 mph on rural stretches of interstate highways on Tuesday, but Gov. Rod Blagojevich planned to veto the measure, the Associated Press reported.The House voted 81-37 on Tuesday to raise the speed limit for trucks to 65 mph from 55 mph. The Senate had approved the bill in March.
Blagojevich vetoed a similar bill last year, citing safety concerns, AP said.
Supporters of the legislation said one speed limit would reduce accidents because there would not be a difference in speed between cars and trucks, AP said.
It would also improve business because it could speed up delivery of goods, Don Schaefer, executive vice president of the Midwest Truckers Association, said. Transport Topics
Cannon Express Plans Liquidation
Truckload carrier Cannon Express Inc., Springdale, Ark., wants to change its bankruptcy status to liquidation from reorganization, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported.The company closed April 30, and Cannon's Web site and phones were down last week. But Lane Kidd, president of the Arkansas Trucking Association, told Transport Topics May 18 that "Cannon is for all practical purposes out of business."
Attorney James Dowden said the company would change from a Chapter 11 to a Chapter 7 liquidation at a June 7 hearing. It filed for bankruptcy protection in December. Transport Topics
US 1 Industries' Profits Decline
US 1 Industries Inc. said Tuesday its net income for the first quarter was $231,939 or 2 cents per share, compared with $487,079 or 4 cents a year earlier.The company provides financial resources, insurance and information technology to the trucking and logistics industries.
Revenues were $30.7 million, an increase of 7%, the company said in a release. Transport Topics
Official: Stronger Economy Means Longer Bottlenecks at Border
Paul-Arthur Huot, president of Quebec Manufacturers and Exporters, said Tuesday that bottlenecks at many U.S.-Canada border crossing are expected to increase as Canadian manufacturers ramp up exports after two years of decline, the Montreal Gazette reported.Huot said waits for truckers shippers and trucking companies can now top six hours at the crossing connecting Champlain, N.Y. and Lacolle, Quebec, Canada. He said delays could get much worse as exporters ship more goods.
Ontario faces a bigger delay problem than Quebec because it has fewer land crossings, the Gazette said.
He said the delays will hurt, but will not curb exports because the value of goods being shipped far surpasses the cost of shipping, the Gazette reported. Transport Topics
USF to Challenge NLRB Ruling
USF Corp. said it would challenge an unfair labor practice charge brought by the Teamsters over the results of a March 18 vote in which workers at less-than-truckload carrier USF Dugan’s Kansas City, Kan., facility voted down union representation.The National Labor Relations Board said there was some validity to charges that USF had engaged in unfair labor practices, the Kansas City Star reported.
Mike McConnell, NLRB’s regional director in Kansas City, Mo., told Transport Topics that there was evidence of “improper conduct” by the company, and the parties could either agree to a new election or litigate the decision.
USF spokesman Jim Hyland said the company would challenge the board’s finding, and that any new election could take up to a year. Michael G. Malloy
This story appeared in the May 17 print edition of Transport Topics.
