News Briefs - Oct. 3
The Latest Headlines:
- Yellow: Review of Roadway Deal to End by Early December
- NLRB to Hear Teamsters, Schneider Dispute
- FedEx Expects Higher Savings From Early Retirement Programs
- Delphi to Eliminate 3% of U.S. Salaried Workforce
- Amtrak Unions Call Off Strike
- Intermodal Traffic Volume Rises to Record, AAR Says
- NTSB: Fatalities From Truck-Involved Accidents Decline in 2002
- NLRB to Hear Teamsters, Schneider Dispute
Yellow: Review of Roadway Deal to End by Early December
Yellow Corp. said Friday that it expected federal regulators to finish their review of the company's $966 million plan to buy Roadway Corp. by early December, Bloomberg reported.Yellow Chief Executive Officer William Zollars has said the companies do not face antitrust issues because their $6 billion in combined annual sales is just 1% of the U.S. freight market, Bloomberg noted.
The company sold $250 million in notes in August and intends to sell $150 million after regulatory and shareholder approvals to help pay for the purchase.
NLRB to Hear Teamsters, Schneider Dispute
The National Labor Relations Board scheduled a Dec. 1 hearing concerning a dispute between the Teamsters union and truckload carrier Schneider National Inc., the Associated Press reported Friday.The Teamsters union claim that Schneider did not bargain in good faith when it dismissed about 120 union drivers earlier this year who worked for Schneider's Classic Division and Schneider Tank Lines.
Schneider dismissed the drivers to avoid making $5 million in additional pension payments to the union's Central States Pension Fund, acting just ahead of a deadline for Schneider to get out of the fund, AP said.
Schneider said it offered the drivers a new contract that would have replaced the Central State Pension Plan with another retirement mechanism, but the Teamsters did not permit the offer to come to a vote, according to AP. Transport Topics
FedEx Expects Higher Savings From Early Retirement Programs
FedEx Corp. said late Thursday it would save more than previously expected from early retirement and severance programs because more employees at its FedEx Express unit are participating.The company said in a release it now expected savings of as much as $140 million in fiscal 2004. The sign-up period for early retirement expired on Sept. 30, but the voluntary severance program continues until Nov. 24.
he company also said it estimated the pretax costs for these programs would be in a range of $380 million to $420 million in fiscal 2004. Most of the costs will be incurred in the first half of the fiscal year.
FedEx is ranked No. 2 on the 2003 Transport Topics 100 list of the largest U.S. and Canadian trucking companies. Transport Topics
(Click here for previous coverage.)
Delphi to Eliminate 3% of U.S. Salaried Workforce
Vehicle parts maker Delphi Corp. said late Thursday it planned to reduce its U.S. salaried workforce by 3% or 500 positions by the end of this year as its biggest customer, General Motors Corp., cuts production, news services reported.Spokeswoman Paula Angelo said the company began the offer of buyouts Sept. 30 and would fire workers if not enough people accept the buyouts, Reuters reported.
Delphi has cut 17,540 jobs worldwide in the past two years and closed plants to try to boost earnings, Bloomberg said. It also has targeted at least 16 unprofitable factories in North America for possible sale or closure.
Analysts expect Delphi to barely post a profit for the third quarter, traditionally the weakest of the year, according to Reuters. Transport Topics
Amtrak Unions Call Off Strike
Amtrak unions called off a one-day strike set for Friday to give a federal judge more time to determine if the walkout would violate the law, news services reported.Amtrak said a strike would have disrupted travel for about 60,000 of its passengers and another 700,000 people who ride commuter trains in several states. Freight traffic along some lines would also have been delayed. The railroad also said a one-day strike would have cost it at least $4.5 million in lost revenue.
Lawyers for some 8,000 unionized engineers, mechanics and other workers at the national passenger railroad agreed to defer any action until U.S. District Judge James Robertson sorts out labor law questions. Robertson set an Oct. 20 hearing on the railroad's request for a preliminary injunction.
Six unions threatened to strike to put pressure on Congress, which is considering Amtrak's annual funding level. Lawmakers are considering far less in subsidies for fiscal year 2004, which began on Wednesday, than the $1.8 billion the railroad has requested, Reuters said. Transport Topics
Intermodal Traffic Volume Rises to Record, AAR Says
Intermodal traffic on the nation's railroads totaled 210,099 trailers and containers for the week ended Sept. 27, an increase of 6.8% from a year ago and the highest weekly total on record, the Association of American Railroads said Thursday.Railroading, like commercial trucking, is considered an important economic indicator. Intermodal traffic, which tends to be merchandise rather than bulk commodities, is more directly competitive with trucking and more reflective of the state of the economy.
AAR also said intermodal traffic increased 2.5% in September to 19,249 trailers and containers, and 2.6% to 63,617 units in the third quarter of 2003.
Through the end of September, rail intermodal traffic was up 5.1% to 353,646 units, AAR said. Transport Topics
NTSB: Fatalities From Truck-Involved Accidents Decline in 2002
Twenty-four fewer people died during 2002 in accidents involving medium- and heavy-duty trucks than the previous year, the National Transportation Safety Board said Thursday citing previously reported data.A total of 684 people died in truck-involved accidents last year, according to estimates from the U.S. Department of Transportation, down from 708 the year before.
NTSB also said that total highway fatalities, accounting for more than 94% of the transportation deaths in 2002, increased to 42,815 from 42,196 in 2001.
Including all modes of transportation, deaths from accidents totaled 45,098 in 2002, up slightly from 44,969 the year before, NTSB said.
