News Briefs - Oct. 6
The Latest Headlines:
- UPS Cuts Time on Ground Deliveries
- Navistar Forms Unit to Sell to U.S. Military
- Chicago Garbage Workers Reject Contract
- Deutsche Post Calls for Investigation of UPS-Airline Relationship
- Drones May One Day Deliver Cargo
- Smithway CEO Smith Diagnosed With Leukemia
- Sloan Products Picks Scott Bye for President
- Navistar Forms Unit to Sell to U.S. Military
UPS Cuts Time on Ground Deliveries
United Parcel Service is cutting at least a day from the amount of time it takes to ship items by ground between many large metropolitan areas, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday.The faster deliveries began in June and are expected to take full effect this week, the article said. The improvements are concentrated in heavily populated areas where the rivalry for packages is fierce such as Houston and Washington, D.C., the article said.
To improve delivery times, UPS is using changes its package-sorting deadlines and locations, a streamlined tractor-trailer network, improved technology and quicker train service, the Journal said.
Navistar Forms Unit to Sell to U.S. Military
Navistar International Corp. said Monday that its operating company, International Truck and Engine Corp., had created a business unit to sell products to the U.S. military.The unit planned to leverage existing medium-duty truck and parts platforms, as well as International's family of diesel engines to compete for military contracts, Navistar said in a release.
The military business effort will be led by vice president Archie Massicotte, the release said. Transport Topics
Chicago Garbage Workers Reject Contract
Striking garbage workers overwhelmingly rejected a contract offer from Chicago-area private waste haulers on Sunday, the Associated Press reported.About 3,300 Teamsters who handle garbage in the suburbs and in Chicago's high-rise dwellings have been on strike since Wednesday. The latest deal was rejected by a 92% margin.
Chicago Area Refuse Haulers Association spokesman Bill Plunkett said late Sunday that his group was not planning new negotiations and had "nothing more to offer," AP said.
The association represents 16 of the largest private waste removal companies in Chicago and its suburbs. The strike has disrupted trash collection to residents and businesses in the region. Transport Topics
Deutsche Post Calls for Investigation of UPS-Airline Relationship
As Germany's Deutsche Post AG battles in the United States over its ties to a U.S. airline, it has asked the European Commission to consider whether a Danish airline that serves United Parcel Service exclusively should meet the same standards, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday.Deutsche Post said UPS contracts out intra-European flights to Star Air, and that UPS is Star Air's main customer. That is similar, Deutsche Post said, to its own relationship with Astar Air Cargo Inc., which was known as DHL Airways Inc. until July.
Although Deutsche Post now owns no stake in Astar, UPS and FedEx have argued it continues to control Astar, violating a U.S. law that bars foreign-owned and foreign-controlled airlines from carrying freight or passengers within the country.
An investigation by the European Union into the United States' two main express-delivery companies could strain tensions, but also add a sense of urgency to talks between U.S. and EU officials concerning these disputes, the Journal said. Transport Topics
Drones May One Day Deliver Cargo
NASA has launched a program aimed at allowing unmanned aircraft to share the skies with commercial airliners, which could boost national security and one day be used to move cargo across the country, the Washington Post reported Monday.The program would initially permit unmanned aerial vehicles to fly at about 40,000 feet, which is above most commercial traffic. By the end of five years, unmanned aircraft could be allowed to fly as low as 18,000 feet, allowing it to monitor border areas, the Post said.
Drones range in size from as large as a 747 to an aircraft with a nine-foot wingspan weighing just 10 pounds. They are operated by pilots on the ground.
Although officials hope to one day be able to file a flight plan in the same manner as any manned aircraft and take off from a commercial airport instead of an Air Force base, safety issues remain, the Post said. Transport Topics
Smithway CEO Smith Diagnosed With Leukemia
Truckload carrier Smithway Motor Xpress Corp. said Monday that Chairman and Chief Executive Officer William Smith has been diagnosed with leukemia.Smith has started chemotherapy treatment at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., Smithway said in a release.
G. Larry Owens, chief financial officer, said the company does not expect any interruptions in operations while Smith is gone.
Smithway is ranked No. 85 on the 2003 Transport Topics 100 list of largest U.S. and Canadian trucking companies. Transport Topics
Sloan Products Picks Scott Bye for President
Sloan Transportation Products said it had named Scott Bye president.Bye has more than 20 years of experience in the automotive components business, said Sloan, a supplier of heavy truck and trailer air brakes, brass fittings, electrical products and water pumps based in Holland, Mich. It said Bye was most recently general manager of a mirror facility for Magna Corp.
In his new position Bye is responsible not only for Sloan’s products, but for the products manufactured by its related divisions, Hebco Products, BLD Products and Novo Products.
Sloan also announced the pro-motion of Douglas Thomson to vice president of sales and marketing/heavy duty. He had previously served as executive director of heavy-duty sales and marketing, according to Sloan. Transport Topics
This story appeared in the Oct. 6 print edition of Transport Topics.
