News Briefs - Oct. 1
The Latest Headlines:
- Air Cargo Shipments Decline in August
- Arkansas Best Extends Credit Agreement
- C.H. Robinson Acquires European Freight Forwarder
- Vitran Announces Stock Repurchase
- Amtrak Chief Sees 'Good Chance' at Full Funding Request
- Arkansas Best Extends Credit Agreement
Air Cargo Shipments Decline in August
The Air Transport Association said Tuesday that air cargo shipments slipped by 2.6% in August, led by a decline in freight and express package shipments.Overall cargo shipments declined to 1.92 billion revenue ton-miles. A revenue ton-mile is the measure by which the association gauges air cargo shipments. A revenue ton-mile is the revenue generated by carrying one ton of freight one mile.
Freight and express shipments fell 3% to 1.83 billion revenue ton-miles, with mail shipments jumped 6.8% to 98.3 million revenue ton-miles.
Arkansas Best Extends Credit Agreement
Arkansas Best Corp., the parent company of less-than-truckload carried ABF Freight System Inc., said Tuesday it has extended its existing $225 credit agreement by two years.The company made the announcement in a Form 8-K with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
The credit agreement is now scheduled to mature on May 15, 2007.
Based in Fort Smith, Ark., Arkansas Best was ranked No. 16 on the 2003 Transport Topics 100 listing of the largest trucking companies in the United States and Canada. Transport Topics
C.H. Robinson Acquires European Freight Forwarder
Logistics company C.H. Robinson Worldwide Inc. said Tuesday it was acquiring “substantially all of the operating assets of Frank M. Viet GmbH Internationale Spedition through a newly formed German subsidiary.Based in Hamburg, Germany, Viet currently provides air and ocean international freight forwarding and truck transportation in Europe to a portfolio of approximately 400 customers.
Last year, the company had annual gross revenues of approximately $5.6 million.
C.H. Robinson said it expects to close the deal Wednesday. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Based in Eden Prairie, Minn., C.H. Robinson was ranked No. 16 on the 2003 Transport Topics 50 listing of the largest logistics companies in the United States and Canada. Transport Topics
Vitran Announces Stock Repurchase
Canadian trucking company Vitran Corp. Inc. announced its intention Tuesday to buy back roughly 479,000 or 5% of its outstanding Class A shares on the open market.The bid will commence on Thursday and run through July 31, 2004 the Toronto-based transportation group said.
Vitran, which operates less-than-truckload, truckload and logistics companies in Canada and the United States, was ranked No. 57 on the 2003 Transport Topics 100 listing of the largest trucking companies in the United States and Canada. Transport Topics
Amtrak Chief Sees 'Good Chance' at Full Funding Request
Amtrak President David Gunn said he was optimistic that the nation’s passenger railroad would get the $1.8 billion it says it needs to keep operating, Bloomberg News reported Tuesday.Gunn told reporters that Amtrak had a “good chance of getting adequate funding,” Bloomberg said. Currently, Congress is weighing slashing aid to Amtrak to $900 million.
The possible cuts have drawn the ire of the railroad’s unions, who have threatened a one-day strike later this week.
In addition to carrying hundreds of thousands of inter-city travelers and intra-city commuters, Amtrak also derives much of its revenue from hauling small packages, mail and other freight and from allowing freight railroads to use its tracks. Transport Topics
