News Briefs - Sept. 22
The Latest Headlines:
- FedEx's Profits More Than Double
- NRF Expects Strong Holiday Shopping Season
- Government to Help Repair I-10 Bridges, Airport in Florida
- Great Dane Adds 150 Jobs to Meet Orders
- NRF Expects Strong Holiday Shopping Season
FedEx's Profits More Than Double
FedEx Corp. said Tuesday its net income for its 2005 fiscal first quarter ended Aug. 31 was $330 million or $1.08 per share, compared with $128 million or 42 cents a year earlier.Total revenue rose 23% to $6.98 billion, the company said in a statement.
"The global economy is expanding steadily, particularly the manufacturing sector, giving our business more opportunities to grow in the future," said Frederick Smith, chairman and chief executive officer.
FedEx is ranked No. 2 on the Transport Topics 100 list of the largest U.S. and Canadian trucking companies. Transport Topics
NRF Expects Strong Holiday Shopping Season
The National Retail Federation said it expected a 4.5% increase over last year's holiday-shopping season, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.Sales in November and December will rise to $219.9 billion from $210.4 billion last year, NRF said. The holiday season accounts for nearly one-quarter of annual retail sales.
NRF chief economist Rosalind Wells said sales will be negatively affected by higher energy costs, rising interest rates, geopolitical threats and slow income growth.
Sales in last year's holiday season rose 5.1% from the year before, the largest increase since 1999. Transport Topics
Government to Help Repair I-10 Bridges, Airport in Florida
The Department of Transportation said the Tuesday the U.S. government would spend nearly $4.5 million to help fund repairs for the Interstate 10 bridges and regional airport in Pensacola, Fla., that was damaged by Hurricane Ivan."The damage done by Hurricane Ivan to Pensacola's bridges, roads and airport reminds us how much we rely on our transportation network and how important it is to our economy and quality of life," Transportation Secretaty Norman Mineta said.
Due to the bridge damage, truck drivers have been forced to detour through Alabama. Transport Topics
Great Dane Adds 150 Jobs to Meet Orders
Great Dane Trailers said Sept. 9 that it had hired 150 new employees at its Brazil, Ind., manufacturing plant to meet rising trailer demand amid a strong freight environment.The trailer maker said it added 150 production positions at its largest facility and would employ 1,300 workers there when hiring is completed. Great Dane expected to hire about 50 more in coming weeks.
In August, Great Dane said it would add the employees in Indiana because it planned to increase output at the manufacturing plant to 250 units per week from 240 because of a strong “backlog” of orders in recent months as trucking fleets have struggled with freight volumes that outpaced capacity.
The job additions in Brazil mark the second time this year that Great Dane has boosted employment and output at one of its nine plants.
In April, the company added 175 jobs at its Jonesboro, Ark., facility, a spokeswoman said. Transport Topics
