News Briefs - Sept. 21
The Latest Headlines:
Housing Starts Rise 0.6% in August
The Commerce Department said Tuesday housing starts rose 0.6% in August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 2 million units, the second straight monthly increase.Rising construction likely means more business for flatbed trucking companies that haul building materials.
Construction permits, a sign of future activity, fell 5.5% to a 1.952 million pace, Commerce said.
USIG Teams With LINCedge
U.S. Insurance Group and trucking services provider LINCedge announced a partnership to provide transportation insurance for small and mid-size fleets.Under the venture, Tennessee-based LINCedge said it would offer liability, cargo and worker’s compensation insurance to customers who participate in its fuel-card program.
LINCedge Chief Executive Officer James Morton said the company would be able to provide affordable insurance to smaller fleets because the company would increase its “volume buying power.”
LINCedge said Bill Long-Innes, director of insurance sales and services, was appointed to oversee the new business.
USIG said it insures major trucking companies and owner-operators who are members of Professional Independent Truckers Association. Transport Topics
This story appeared in the Sept. 20 print edition of Transport Topics.
Port of L.A. Executive Director Resigns
The Port of Los Angeles said in a statement that Executive Director Larry Keller had resigned, and would be replaced on an interim basis by Chief Operating Officer Bruce Seaton.The port is the largest container port in the United States and the sixth-largest container port in the world, according to the release.
Former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan hired Keller as the port’s chief executive officer in 1997. Transport Topics
