News Briefs - Nov. 24

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The Latest Headlines:


NABE Predicts Strong Economic Growth in 2004

The National Association for Business Economics said Monday the U.S. economy should grow next year at the fastest pace in two decades, the Associated Press reported.

Tax cuts and low interest rates should spark the growth, but that would do little to decrease unemployment, the group said.



The NABE outlook, assembled by a panel of 28 forecasters from various industries, predicted that the overall economy will grow by 4.5% in 2004.

The forecasting panel also predicted payroll employment rising by 1.1%, or about 1.3 million workers. However, that is not enough to replace the 2.3 million jobs that have been lost since Bush took office in January 2001, the AP said. Transport Topics


N.M. Highway Bill Increase Diesel Tax, Vehicle Fees

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson signed a bill on Friday that will increase the state tax on diesel fuel and registration fees for vehicles next year, the Associated Press reported.

The bill provides about $1.6 billion in highway and transportation projects, AP said.

The tax on diesel fuel will go up starting in July 2004 - to 21 cents from 18 cents. Registration fees will increase by 33% starting in March 2004 for cars, trucks, motorcycles, buses, utility trailers, travel trailers and other motor vehicles.

The legislation also will increase a weight-distance tax for commercial trucks and raise permit fees for overweight and oversize trucks. Transport Topics


Lundberg: Gasoline Prices Inch Up

Retail gasoline prices rose about a half-cent per gallon in the past two weeks, according the Lundberg Survey of stations nationwide.

The average price Friday for a gallon of self-serve gas nationwide, including all grades and taxes, was about $1.55, up 0.53 cents since Nov. 7.

Industry analyst Trilby Lundberg said higher crude oil prices and increased demand caused to price increase, the Associated Press reported. And she said prices are expected to rise moderately in the short term, but steeper increases are possible if OPEC cuts production at its Dec. 4 meeting.

About one-third of commercial trucking uses gasoline, which is 11.34 cents higher than the average on the same day last year.

The national weighted average price of gasoline, including taxes, at self-serve pumps Friday was about $1.52 a gallon for regular, $1.62 for mid-grade and $1.71 for premium. Transport Topics


Studies Link Highway Deaths With Higher Speeds

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, an independent agency, said Monday more highway deaths are occurring because vehicle manufacturers are making more horsepower available and drivers are going faster than ever.

The institute studied habits in six states and five major cities, and found in some areas, almost a quarter of drivers were traveling 80 mph or faster.

And despite a 55 mph limit on urban intestates, 78% of the drivers typically hit speeds of 70 mph and almost 20% are driving faster than 80, the study found.

A second study by researchers from New Zealand also found that faster cars and higher speeds were adding to deaths on U.S. highways, CNN reported.

The researchers studied death rates on rural intestates where the speed limits had been increased to 75 mph from 55 mph. The study found a 38% increase, or about 780 more deaths, CNN said. Transport Topics


Volvo Logistics Appoints Alt Unit’s President

Volvo Logistics North America Inc. of Greensboro, N.C., said it had named Susan Alt president of the Volvo Group subsidiary that provides customized logistics services for automotive and aviation industries worldwide.

VLNA said Alt succeeds Ake Niklasson, who earlier this year left the company to lead Volvo Logistics’ global operations.

Volvo said Alt has been with Volvo Truck Corp. for 15 years, in both the United States and Sweden, most recently as vice president-marketing for Volvo Trucks North America Inc. Transport Topics

This story appeared in the Nov. 24 print edition of Transport Topics.

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